This artist’s illustration shows planetisimals around a young star. New research shows that planetesimals are blasted by headwind, losing debris into space. Credit: NASA/JPL Before planets form around a young…
Category: Space
Solar electric propulsion systems could be just what we need for efficient trips to Mars
Artist’s impression of a solar electric propulsion system. Credit: NASA There are many different ways to get to Mars, but there are always tradeoffs. Chemical propulsion, proven the most popular,…
Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope detects surprise gamma-ray feature beyond our galaxy
This artist’s concept shows the entire sky in gamma rays with magenta circles illustrating the uncertainty in the direction from which more high-energy gamma rays than average seem to be…
Sweating the Small Stuff: Scientists Have Begun to Study Samples from Asteroid Bennu
At the university’s Kuiper-Arizona Laboratory for Astromaterials Analysis, a suite of instruments allows researchers to study the particles collected by the OSIRIS-REx mission down to the atomic scale. This mosaic…
Dark Energy Survey Uncovers Clues to Universe’s Complexity
In 1998, astronomers discovered that the universe is accelerating, thanks to a mysterious force called dark energy that makes up about 70% of the universe. The discovery came as a surprise…
Old stars may be the best places to search for life
Composite image illustrating 51 Pegasi system and its measured magnetic field. The detected “Weak Magnetic Braking” of 51 Peg represents a relatively sudden change that makes the magnetic environment more…
Space Oddity: Uncovering the Origin of the Universe’s Rare Radio Circles
Outflowing galactic winds from exploding stars may explain the enormous rings. It’s not every day astronomers say, “What is that?” After all, most observed astronomical phenomena are known: stars, planets,…
Webb finds signs of possible aurorae on isolated brown dwarf
This artist concept portrays the brown dwarf W1935, which is located 47 light-years from Earth. Astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope found infrared emission from methane coming from W1935.…
Questions about NASA’s Mars Sample Return mission put JPL jobs in jeopardy
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The Jet Propulsion Laboratory laid off 100 contractors last week and will scale back part of the first-ever effort to bring pieces of Mars to Earth,…
NASA’s Hubble Observes Exoplanet Atmosphere Changing Over 3 Years
By combining several years of observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and conducting computer modelling, astronomers have found evidence for massive cyclones and other dynamic weather activity swirling on a hot,…
