There's a population of planets that drifts through space untethered to any stars. They're called rogue planets or free-floating planets (FFPs.) Some FFPs form as loners, never having enjoyed the company of a star. But most ...
Planetary Sciences
Apr 2, 2024
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Most of the planets in the universe orbit a star. They are part of a system of planets, similar to our own solar system. But a few planets drift alone in the cosmos. For whatever reason, be it a near collision or slow gravitational ...
Planetary Sciences
Oct 30, 2023
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44
NASA's DART mission (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) slammed into asteroid Dimorphos in September 2022, changing its orbital period. Ground and space-based telescopes turned to watch the event unfold, not only to study ...
Astronomy
Oct 26, 2023
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32
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are some of the most violent events in the universe. Some have a power output equivalent to all of the other stars in the observable universe, at least in the spectrum of gamma rays. But we know very ...
Astronomy
Oct 2, 2023
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When you look up in the night sky and find your way to the North Star, you are looking at Polaris. Not only is it the brightest star in the Ursa Minor constellation (the Little Dipper), but its position relative to the north ...
Astronomy
Sep 11, 2023
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189
Until recently, there were only ten known stars on trajectories that will allow them to escape the Milky Way galaxy, thrown astray by powerful supernova explosions. A new study using data from ESA's Gaia survey this June ...
Astronomy
Jun 13, 2023
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Fast radio bursts—intense, milliseconds-long flashes of radio energy from outer space—have puzzled astronomers since they were first spotted in 2007. A single burst can emit as much energy in its brief life as the Sun ...
Astronomy
May 14, 2023
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98
We're building the tools to trap ions and watch them glow (or not). The art-deco-esque device shown above is a combined trap for ions (charged atoms) and detector for individual photons (particles of light). When you hold ...
Optics & Photonics
May 1, 2023
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25
Alpha Centauri is our closest stellar neighbor, a binary star system located just 4.376 light-years away. Despite its proximity, repeated astronomical surveys have failed to find hard evidence of extrasolar planets in this ...
Space Exploration
Mar 22, 2023
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78
Planets orbiting binary stars are in a tough situation: They have to contend with the gravitational pull of two separate stars. Planetary formation around a single star like our sun is relatively straightforward compared ...
Astronomy
Feb 2, 2023
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