Space and astronomy news
The InSight Lander arrived on Mars in 2018 to study the planet’s interior. Its mission ended prematurely in December 2022 after its solar panels were covered in the planet’s ubiquitous dust. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of InSight recently and will continue to do so as the Martian dust slowly and inexorably reclaims the lander.
Continue reading “NASA is Keeping an Eye on InSight from Space”
It has been thought that the existence of plate tectonics has been a significant factor in the shaping of our planet and the evolution of life. Mars and Venus don’t experience such movements of crustal plates but then the differences between the worlds is evident. The exploration of exoplanets too finds many varied environments. Many of these new alien worlds seem to have significant internal heating and so lack plate movements too. Instead a new study reveals that these ‘Ignan Earths’ are more likely to have heat pipes that channel magma to she surface. The likely result is a surface temperature similar to Earth in its hottest period when liquid water started forming.
Continue reading “Planets Without Plate Tectonics Could Still Be Habitable”
When was the last time you looked up into the night sky and saw the Milky Way? If you happen to live in one of the truly remote areas of the world, your answer might be “last night.” If you live in one of the generally “rural” areas of your country, you might remember how you used to see the Milky Way regularly, but the rise of LEDs, particularly the blue/white ones, has gradually erased the Milky Way from your nights. For the large majority of humans on our small world, the answer is “never.”
Continue reading “Astronomers are Losing the Night Sky (and Radio Sky) to Satellite Megaconstellations”
Of all the unanswered questions in modern science, perhaps the most talked about is whether we are alone in the Universe. A new paper looks at another way we might be able to detect advanced civilisations and at its centre is the need for energy! The more advanced a civilisation becomes, the greater their need for energy and one of the most efficient ways, according to current theories, is to harness the energy from an actively feeding black hole. The paper suggests a civilisation feeding matter into a black hole could harvest energy from it, more excitingly perhaps, the process could be detectable within 17,000 light years!
On July 14th, 2015, the New Horizons probe made history by accomplishing the first flyby of Pluto and its largest satellite, Charon. The stunning images this mission took of these icy worlds have helped scientists address some of the key questions about Pluto and its massive moon, which have been shrouded in mystery for decades (owing to their great distance from Earth). One of the biggest mysteries that scientists have contemplated since Charon was first discovered in 1978 is how it came together with Pluto in the first place.
For decades, astronomers suspected that Pluto and Charon formed through a process similar to Earth and the Moon. This theory, known as the Giant Impact Hypothesis, states that roughly 4.5 billion years ago, primordial Earth was struck by a Mars-sized body named Theia. In a new study, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona challenged this assumption and offered an alternate theory known as “kiss and capture.” Their findings could help scientists better understand how planetary bodies in the outer Solar System form and evolve.
Continue reading “Here's How Pluto and Charon Became a Bizarre Double Planet”
How old is the Moon? Astronaut-gathered samples from the lunar surface put its age at about 4.35 billion years. However, other evidence suggests it’s much older, around 4.53 billion years old. A team of scientists published a recent paper that suggests the Moon’s surface age was “reset” in a melting event.
Continue reading “The Lunar Surface Remelted, Obscuring an Easy Answer to its True Age”
Months after deciding that its previous plan for bringing samples back from Mars wasn’t going to work, NASA says it’s working out the details for two new sample return scenarios, with the aim of bringing 30 titanium tubes filled with Martian rocks and soil back to Earth in the 2030s.
One scenario calls for using a beefed-up version of NASA’s sky crane to drop the required hardware onto the Red Planet’s surface, while the other would use heavy-lift commercial capabilities provided by the likes of SpaceX or Blue Origin.
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the space agency plans to flesh out the engineering details for each option over the course of the next year and make its choice in 2026. But that all depends on what Congress and President-elect Donald Trump’s administration want to do.
Continue reading “NASA Lays Out Two New Options for Mars Sample Return”
The long-awaited detection of gravitational waves has opened up a whole new world of astronomy. One of the key efforts is now to tie signals across multiple domains – for example, a gravitational wave and the associated electromagnetic radiation created by that same event, such as a black hole merger or a gamma-ray burst. We’ll need new equipment to detect such “multimodal” signals, especially electromagnetic ones. One such project is the Black Hole Coded Aperture Telescope (BlackCAT), which will be launched early this year by a team led by researchers at Penn State.
Continue reading “A CubeSat Mission Will Detect X-rays from GRBs and Black-Hole Mergers”
When it comes to exploring our planetary neighbours, Mars tends to get a lot of the attention. For one thing its easier to explore as the environment is far less hostile than other planets but it also offers the tantalising possibility of finding evidence of primitive life, past or present! Venus however is still a fascinating world and perhaps one that gives us a glimpse into our future if we don’t do something to check global warming. A team of scientists are proposing an official Venus Exploration Program for NASA similar to the existing Mars program.
Continue reading “Venus is Important. We Should Take its Exploration Seriously.”
I’ve used this fact a gazillion times; every atom in your body has been through the core of a star! The carbon in our bones formed through fusion like many other elements and was thrown out into space to seed the cosmos with the elements for life. A team of researchers have been exploring this journey, tracking a giant conveyor belt that surrounds the Galaxy and the results are surprising.