Space and astronomy news
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.
Continue reading “Astronomers Have Tools That Can Help Detect Deepfake Images”
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.
Continue reading “A Pair of CubeSats Using Ground Penetrating Radar Could Map The Interior of Near Earth Asteroids”
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!
Continue reading “New Horizons Measures the Background Light of the Universe”
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.
Continue reading “Next Generation Event Horizon Telescope To Unlock Mysteries of Black Holes”
The field of extrasolar planet studies has grown exponentially in the past twenty years. Thanks to missions like Kepler, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), and other dedicated observatories, astronomers have confirmed 5,690 exoplanets in 4,243 star systems. With so many planets and systems available for study, scientists have been forced to reconsider many previously-held notions about planet formation and evolution and what conditions are necessary for life. In the latter case, scientists have been rethinking the concept of the Circumsolar Habitable Zone (CHZ).
By definition, a CHZ is the region around a star where an orbiting planet would be warm enough to maintain liquid water on its surface. As stars evolve with time, their radiance and heat will increase or decrease depending on their mass, altering the boundaries of the CHZ. In a recent study, a team of astronomers from the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) considered how the evolution of stars affects their ultraviolet emissions. Since UV light seems important for the emergence of life as we know it, they considered how the evolution of a star’s Ultraviolet Habitable Zone (UHZ) and its CHZ could be intertwined.
Continue reading “The Ultraviolet Habitable Zone Sets a Time Limit on the Formation of Life”
On May 30th, the Mars Curiosity rover was just minding its own business exploring Gediz Vallis when it ran over a rock. Its wheel cracked the rock and voila! Pure elemental sulfur spilled out. The rover took a picture of the broken rock about a week later, marking the first time sulfur has been found in a pure form on Mars.
Continue reading “Curiosity Drives Over a Rock, Cracking it Open and Revealing an Amazing Yellow Crystal”
One of the challenges engineers face when developing technologies for use in space is that of different gravities. Mostly, engineers only have access to test beds that reflect either Earth’s normal gravity or, if they’re fortunate, the microgravity of the ISS. Designing and testing systems for the reduced, but not negligible, gravity on the Moon and Mars is much more difficult. But for some systems, it is essential. One such system is electrolysis, the process by which explorers will make oxygen for astronauts to breathe on a permanent Moon or Mars base, as well as critical ingredients like hydrogen for rocket fuel. To help steer the development of systems that will work in those conditions, a team of researchers led by computational physicist Dr. Paul Burke of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory decided to turn to a favorite tool of scientists everywhere: models.
Continue reading “Producing Oxygen From Rock Is Harder In Lower Gravities”
Why July 2024 is a prime time to see distant Pluto before it fades from view.
Lots of the ‘wow factor’ in astronomy revolves around knowing just what you’re seeing. Sure, a quasar might be a faint +14th magnitude point of light seen at the eyepiece, but it’s also a powerful energy source from the ancient Universe, billions of light-years distant.
The same case is true for finding Pluto. Though its 0.1” disc won’t resolve into anything more than a speck in even the most powerful backyard telescope, knowing just what you’re seeing is part of the thrill of finding the distant world.
Continue reading “Astro-Challenge: Catching Pluto at Opposition 2024”
Craters are a familiar sight on the lunar surface and indeed on many of the rocky planets in the Solar System. There are other circular features that are picked up on images from orbiters but these pits are thought to be the collapsed roofs of lava tubes. A team of researchers have mapped one of these tubes using radar reflection and created the first 3D map of the tube’s entrance. Places like these could make ideal places to setup research stations, protected from the harsh environment of an alien world.
Continue reading “The Entrance of a Lunar Lava Tube Mapped from Space”
Water purification is a big business on Earth. Companies offer everything from desalination to providing just the right pH level for drinking water. But on the Moon, there won’t be a similar technical infrastructure to support the astronauts attempting to make a permanent base there. And there’s one particular material that will make water purification even harder – Moon dust.
Continue reading “Moon Dust Could Contaminate Lunar Explorers’ Water Supply”