Many people know that stars appear to be twinkling because our atmosphere bends starlight as it travels to Earth. But stars also have an innate “twinkle” — caused by rippling…
Category: Space
Two intermediate polars investigated by astronomers
TESS light curve of Swift J0939.7-3224 spanning 24 days. Credit: Rawat et al, 2023 By analyzing the long-term, high-cadence continuous photometry from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have…
Optimizing heat exchange flow in microgravity
Interior of CM-HT test section: Test fluid (normal perfluoro hexane or nPFH) is vaporized and pumped through the steel tube embedded in an insulating material section at the entrance and…
Webb Telescope Sees Jupiter Moons in New Light
With its sensitive infrared cameras and high-resolution spectrometer, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing new secrets about Jupiter’s Galilean satellites, in particular Ganymede, the largest moon, and Io,…
Water Discovered in Rocky Planet-Forming Zone Offers Clues on Habitability
James Webb Space Telescope observations find water for the first time in the inner disk around a young star with giant planets. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, the MPIA-led…
Webb Snaps Highly Detailed Infrared Image of Actively Forming Stars
Young stars are rambunctious! NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured the “antics” of a pair of actively forming young stars, known as Herbig-Haro 46/47, in high-resolution near-infrared light. To…
European wind-mapping satellite returned safely to Earth
Credit: ESA A European wind-mapping satellite has returned successfully to Earth following a delicate assisted return designed to minimize damage from flying debris, the European Space Agency said on Saturday.…
Two supermoons in August mean double the stargazing fun
A commercial airliner flies Northwest across Lake Michigan in front of the “Full Buck” supermoon, the first of four supermoons in 2023, July 3, 2023, in Chicago. The cosmos is…
Why Does Matter Exist? Roundness of Electrons May Hold Clues
JILA physicists make record-breaking measurement of a key electron property, related to the possible existence of all matter. In the first moments of our universe, countless numbers of protons, neutrons…
In Search of Other Worlds: How Exoplanets Form and Evolve
Assistant Professor Marta Bryan is studying the properties of exoplanets to better understand how our planet and species fit into the larger universe. It wasn’t that long ago that astronomers…
