https://phys.org/space-news/ en-us The latest science news on astronomy, astrobiology, and space exploration from Phys.org. Astronomers have discovered a rare in-sync solar system with six planets moving like a grand cosmic orchestra, untouched by outside forces since their birth billions of years ago. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-six-planet-solar-synchrony-milky.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Sun, 03 Dec 2023 08:20:01 EST news620536497 The universe is expanding. How fast it does so is described by the so-called Hubble-Lemaitre constant. But there is a dispute about how big this constant actually is: Different measurement methods provide contradictory values. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-explanation-hubble-tension.html Astronomy Sat, 02 Dec 2023 09:20:01 EST news620655654 Imagine you're a farmer searching for eggs in the chicken coop—but instead of a chicken egg, you find an ostrich egg, much larger than anything a chicken could lay. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-massive-planet-big-sun-astronomers.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Sat, 02 Dec 2023 08:10:01 EST news620640245 It first appeared as a glowing blob from ground-based telescopes and then vanished completely in images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, the ghostly object has reappeared as a faint, yet distinct galaxy in an image from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). https://phys.org/news/2023-12-ghostlike-dusty-galaxy-reappears-james.html Astronomy Fri, 01 Dec 2023 15:18:24 EST news620666297 When the Vera C. Rubin Observatory comes online in 2025, it will be one of the most powerful tools available to astronomers, capturing huge portions of the sky every night with its 8.4-meter mirror and 3.2-gigapixel camera. Each image will be analyzed within 60 seconds, alerting astronomers to transient events like supernovae. An incredible 5 petabytes (5,000 terabytes) of new raw images will be recorded each year and made available for astronomers to study. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-vera-rubin-telescope-generate-mind-boggling.html Astronomy Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:56:33 EST news620650589 With NASA gearing up to send humans back to the moon in the next few years with the Artemis missions with the goal of establishing a permanent outpost at the lunar south pole, nations are making efforts to contribute to Artemis and a permanent presence on our nearest celestial neighbor. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-europe-multi-purpose-habitat-moon.html Space Exploration Fri, 01 Dec 2023 10:49:03 EST news620650141 Our search for life beyond Earth is still in its infancy. We're focused on Mars and, to a lesser extent, ocean moons like Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus. Should we extend our search to cover more unlikely places like molecular clouds? https://phys.org/news/2023-12-life-molecular-clouds.html Astronomy Astrobiology Fri, 01 Dec 2023 09:06:40 EST news620643997 One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is the rate at which the universe is expanding. This can be predicted using the standard model of cosmology, also known as Lambda-cold dark matter (ΛCDM). This model is based on detailed observations of the light left over from the Big Bang—the so-called cosmic microwave background (CMB). https://phys.org/news/2023-12-giant-void-puzzle-universe-expansion.html Astronomy Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:03:56 EST news620640233 Micrometeorites originating from icy celestial bodies in the outer solar system may be responsible for transporting nitrogen to the near-Earth region in the early days of our solar system. That discovery was published in Nature Astronomy by an international team of researchers, including University of Hawai'i at Mānoa scientists, led by Kyoto University. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-meteorites-source-nitrogen-early-earth.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 01 Dec 2023 07:29:03 EST news620638141 In early November of this year, aurora borealis were observed at surprisingly low latitudes, as far south as Italy and Texas. Such phenomena indicate the impacts of a solar coronal mass ejection on the Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. Far more dramatic than this recent light show was, it was nothing compared to a huge solar storm in February 1872. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-largest-magnetic-storms-history-quantified.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 19:00:04 EST news620593201 A new study develops a theory of how magnetic switchbacks are formed around the sun. This quantitative model can be used to predict magnetic field variations and potentially explain the heating and acceleration of the solar wind. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-theory-magnetic-switchbacks-solar.html Astronomy Space Exploration Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:42:04 EST news620581322 New ideas in space exploration come from all corners, and, by and large, the community welcomes anybody interested in the field. Having just read "A City on Mars," it seems that even people who disagree with the idea that the age of space settlement is imminent will be accepted into the fold by enthusiasts. Now, a new entrant has joined—Daniel Akinwumi is a Nigerian graduate student at the University of Strathclyde who recently posted his master's thesis to ResearchGate detailing the design of the "intergalactic hub," or I-HUB. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-space-station-sunearth-l2.html Space Exploration Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:43:03 EST news620577781 In around six months, ESA's Earth Cloud Aerosol and Radiation Explorer mission will take to the skies to advance our understanding of the interactions between clouds, aerosols and radiation in Earth's atmosphere. But how will it do that exactly? https://phys.org/news/2023-11-earthcare-mission-clouds.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:39:04 EST news620577541 The discovery of a planet that is far too massive for its sun is calling into question what was previously understood about the formation of planets and their solar systems, according to Penn State researchers. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-discovery-planet-big-sun-solar.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:00:02 EST news620560814 Most NASA missions feature one spacecraft or, occasionally, a few. The agency's Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) uses half a dozen. This month, mission members completed the construction of the six identical cereal box-size satellites, which will now go into storage and await their final testing and ride to space. SunRISE will launch as a rideshare aboard a United Launch Alliance Vulcan rocket, sponsored by the United States Space Force (USSF)'s Space Systems Command (SSC). https://phys.org/news/2023-11-nasa-pack-mini-satellites-ready-moment.html Astronomy Space Exploration Thu, 30 Nov 2023 13:18:23 EST news620572701 Density turbulence in the solar corona and solar wind is evident via the properties of solar radio bursts; angular scattering-broadening of extra-solar radio sources observed through the solar atmosphere, and can be measured in-situ in the solar wind. A viable density turbulence model should simultaneously explain all three types of density fluctuation observations. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-anisotropic-density-turbulence-sun-au.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:57:52 EST news620571468 A group of dead stars known as "spider pulsars" are obliterating companion stars within their reach. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory of the globular cluster Omega Centauri is helping astronomers understand how these spider pulsars prey on their stellar companions. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-chandra-spider-pulsars-destroying-nearby.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:56:34 EST news620571392 NASA conducted the third RS-25 engine hot fire in a critical 12-test certification series Nov. 29, demonstrating a key capability necessary for flight of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket during Artemis missions to the moon and beyond. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-nasa-in-flight-capability-artemis-moon.html Space Exploration Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:54:04 EST news620571242 City lights stretch across the United States like a string of holiday lights in this image taken from the International Space Station on Nov. 10, 2023. At far left, the lights of Chicago, Illinois, are outlined by Lake Michigan. At far right, the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area shines through the clouds while the sun's first rays start to light up Earth's atmosphere (at top). https://phys.org/news/2023-11-image-sunrise.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:53:03 EST news620571181 Ever want to play a game of cosmic billiards? That's commonly how the DART mission was described when it successfully changed the orbit of a near-Earth asteroid last year. If you want an idea of how it works, just Google it and an Easter egg from the search giant will give you a general idea. But DART was more like trying to brute force a billiards break—there are many other things you can do with a set of asteroids and impactors on the galactic stage. One of the more interesting is to try to force two asteroids together to form a "contact binary"—the goal of a mission design put forward by a group of scientists from Cornell in a recent paper in Acta Astronautica. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-contact-binary-asteroids-common-weve.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:35:04 EST news620570102 The satellite discovered during the first asteroid encounter of NASA's Lucy mission has an official name. On Nov. 27, 2023, the International Astronomical Union approved the name "Selam" or ሰላም, which means "peace" in the Ethiopian language Amharic, for Dinkinesh's moon. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-satellite-nasa-lucy-mission.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:28:04 EST news620569682 NASA is working to resume science operations of the agency's Hubble Space Telescope after it entered safe mode Nov. 23 due to an ongoing gyroscope (gyro) issue. Hubble's instruments are stable, and the telescope is in good health. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-nasa-hubble-space-telescope-science.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:26:03 EST news620569562 An international team of astronomers have used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to provide the first observation of water and other molecules in the inner, rocky-planet-forming regions of a disk in one of the most extreme environments in our galaxy. These results suggest that the conditions for rocky-planet formation, typically found in the disks of low-mass star-forming regions, can also occur in massive-star-forming regions and possibly a broader range of environments. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-webb-reveals-rocky-planets-extreme.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:59:24 EST news620567961 Three astronomers from the Netherlands have proven that gas that was previously heated near a supermassive black hole flowed to the outskirts of the galaxy and cooled down, moving back towards the black hole. While there had been indirect evidence for this theory, this is the first time that the cooled gas moving toward the black hole has actually been observed. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dutch-astronomers-piece-gas-feedback-feeding.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620483258 A cornerstone but surprising prediction arising from Einstein's theory of general relativity is the existence of black holes, which astronomers later found to be widespread throughout the universe. Key characteristics of black holes include their masses and their "spin"—they rotate even though they have no actual surface, with an event horizon that defines where light cannot escape. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-unveiling-black-hole-polarized-radio.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:58:04 EST news620564282 China's Zhurong rover was equipped with a ground-penetrating radar system, allowing it to peer beneath Mars's surface. Researchers have announced new results from the scans of Zhurong's landing site in Utopia Planitia, saying they identified irregular polygonal wedges located at a depth of about 35 meters all along the robot's journey. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-zhurong-rover-mysterious-polygons-beneath.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:11:14 EST news620561471 Using the MeerKAT radio telescope, astronomers from the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Charlottesville, Virginia, and elsewhere have investigated a batch of 36 high latitude supernova remnants. Results of the observations campaign, published Nov. 20 on the pre-print server arXiv, deliver important insights into the properties of these remnants. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-astronomers-supernova-remnants-meerkat.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 10:10:02 EST news620560719 The European Space Agency announced on Thursday that the long-delayed first launch of its next-generation Ariane 6 rocket will take place between June 15 and July 31 next year. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-europe-ariane-rocket-june-july.html Space Exploration Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:44:52 EST news620559889 University of California, Santa Cruz Professor of Planetary Sciences Francis Nimmo recently co-authored a Science Advances paper about the internal structure of the dwarf planet Eris. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-dwarf-planet-eris-squishier.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 30 Nov 2023 08:31:48 EST news620555506 To their surprise, an international team of researchers has discovered a giant and extremely faint stream of stars between galaxies. While streams are already known in our own galaxy and in nearby galaxies, this is the first time that a stream running between galaxies has been observed. It is the largest stream detected to date. The astronomers have published their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-astronomers-giant-stream-stars-galaxies.html Astronomy Thu, 30 Nov 2023 04:00:01 EST news620491933