Universe Today

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Why is JWST Having So Much Trouble with the TRAPPIST-1 System?

A new step-by-step roadmap describes how to improve the efficiency of data gathering with the JWST to benefit the astronomy community at large. “Our hope now is that a large-scale community effort guided by the roadmap can be initiated to yield deliverables at a timely pace,” says MIT Associate Professor Julien de Wit. Credits:Image components courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech.

When the James Webb Space Telescope was launched it came with a fanfare expecting amazing things, much like the Hubble Space Telescope. One of JWST’s most anticipated target was TRAPPIST-1. This inconspicuous star is host to seven Earth-sized planets, with at least three in the habitable zone. The two inner planets are airless worlds but so far there has been no word of the third planet, the first in the habitable zone. The question is why and what makes it so tricky to observe?

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by Matt Williams

Planetary Habitability Depends on its Star’s Magnetic Field

Earth's magnetosphere is the region defined by our planet's magnetic field. Image Credit: NASA

The extrasolar planet census recently passed a major milestone, with 5500 confirmed candidates in 4,243 solar systems. With so many exoplanets available for study, astronomers have learned a great deal about the types of planets that exist in our galaxy and have been rethinking several preconceived notions. These include the notion of “habitability” and whether Earth is the standard by which this should be measured – i.e., could there be “super habitable” exoplanets out there? – and the very concept of the circumsolar habitable zone (CHZ).

Traditionally, astronomers have defined habitable zones based on the type of star and the orbital distance where a planet would be warm enough to maintain liquid water on its surface. But in recent years, other factors have been considered, including the presence of planetary magnetic fields and whether they get enough ultraviolet light. In a recent study, a team from Rice University extended the definition of a CHZ to include a star’s magnetic field. Their findings could have significant implications in the search for life on other planets (aka. astrobiology).

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by Evan Gough

A Solution to the “Final Parsec Problem?”

Simulation of merging supermassive black holes. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble — Simulation of merging supermassive black holes. New research shows how dark matter overcomes the Final Parsec Problem. Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble

Supermassive Black Holes are Nature’s confounding behemoths. It’s difficult for Earth-bound minds to comprehend their magnitude and power. Astrophysicists have spent decades studying them, and they’ve made progress. But one problem still baffles even them: the Final Parsec Problem.

New research might have solved the problem, and dark matter plays a role in the solution.

July 25, 2024July 25, 2024 by Evan Gough

Our Carbon Dioxide Emissions Have a Mesmerizing Side

This screenshot is from NASA's new global CO2 visualization. Image Credit: NASA/SVS

Our CO₂ emissions are warming the planet and making life uncomfortable and even unbearable in some regions. In July, the planet set consecutive records for the hottest day.

NASA is mapping our emissions, and while what they show us isn’t uplifting, it is visually appealing in a ghoulish way. Maybe the combination of visual appeal and ghoulishness will build momentum in the fight against climate change.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Astronauts Can Now Watch 4K Streaming Video on the Station

A graphic representation of a laser communications relay between the International Space Station, the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration spacecraft, and the Earth. Credit: NASA/Dave Ryan

We take high definition streaming for granted in many parts of the world. Even now, as I type this article, I have the Martian streaming in high definition but until now astronauts on board the Space Station have had to accept low definition streaming. A team of researchers at NASA have developed and used a new system using an aircraft as a relay. A laser terminal was installed on a research aircraft and data was sent to a ground station. The signals were sent around the Earth and beamed to a relay satellite which then sent the signal on to the Space Station. What the astronauts will actually use it for is less likely to be streaming HD movies but will certainly be able to take advantage of the high bandwidth for science data and communications.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024 by Evan Gough

The Shelf Life of Many Medications Is Shorter Than A Round Trip To Mars

Color mosaic image of Mars, taken by the HRSC instrument aboard the ESA's Mars Express orbiter. Credit: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Michael)

Check any container of over-the-counter medicine, and you’ll see its expiration date. Prescription medicines have similar lifetimes, and we’re told to discard old medications rather than hold on to them. Most of them lose their effectiveness over time, and some can even become toxic. We’re discouraged from disposing of them in our wastewater because they can find their way into other organisms, sometimes with deleterious effects.

We can replace them relatively easily on Earth, but not on a space mission beyond Low Earth Orbit.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024 by Evan Gough

Astronomers Have Tools That Can Help Detect Deepfake Images

This AI-generated image of the Pope in a puffer jacket went viral in 2023 and many were fooled into thinking it was real. It was generated with the AI tool Midjourney and was posted on Reddit by a user whose account is now gone. On the right is a Hubble Space Telescope image of the Antennae Galaxies. Image Credit: Midjourney/NASA/ESA

There’s a burgeoning arms race between Artificial Intelligence (AI) deepfake images and the methods used to detect them. The latest advancement on the detection side comes from astronomy. The intricate methods used to dissect and understand light in astronomical images can be brought to bear on deepfakes.

July 24, 2024July 24, 2024 by Andy Tomaswick

A Pair of CubeSats Using Ground Penetrating Radar Could Map The Interior of Near Earth Asteroids

This illustration shows the ESA's Hera spacecraft and its two CubeSats at the binary asteroid Didymos. Image Credit: ESA

Characterizing near-Earths asteroids (NEAs) is critical if we hope to eventually stop one from hitting us. But so far, missions to do so have been expensive, which is never good for space exploration. So a team led by Patrick Bambach of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany developed a mission concept that utilizes a relatively inexpensive 6U CubeSat (or, more accurately, two of them) to characterize the interior of NEAs that would cost only a fraction of the price of previous missions.

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024 by Mark Thompson

New Horizons Measures the Background Light of the Universe

The locations of the NCOB, DCAL, SCAL, and IPD fields are shown on the IRIS full-sky 100 µm map in Galactic coordinates.

Think about background radiation and most people immediately think of the cosmic background radiation and stories of pigeon excrement during its discovery. That’s for another day though. Turns out that the universe has several background radiations, such as infrared and even gravitational wave backgrounds. NASA’s New Horizons is far enough out of the Solar System now that it’s in the perfect place to measure the cosmic optical background (COB). Most of this light comes from the stars in galaxies, but astronomers have always wondered if there are other sources of light filling our night sky. New Horizons has an answer. No!

July 23, 2024July 23, 2024 by Mark Thompson

Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope To Unlock Mysteries of Black Holes

Impact of scattering on the observed polarimetric spiral phase from one 345 GHz frame of the GRMHD simulation of Sgr A*

The prospect of actually resolving the event horizon of black holes feels like the stuff of science fiction yet it is a reality. Already the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) has resolved the horizon of the black holes at the centre of the Milky Way and M87. A team of astronomers are now looking to the next generation of the EHT which will work at multiple frequencies with more telescopes than EHT. A new paper suggests it may even be possible to capture the ring where light goes into orbit around the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way.