A diagram of left-handed and right-handed versions of the amino acid isovaline, found in the Murchison meteorite. Credit: NASA The mystery of why life uses molecules with specific orientations has…
Category: Planetary Science
Chandra and Hubble tune into ‘flame-throwing’ Guitar Nebula
Outline of the guitar shape in the X-ray and optical image. Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/Stanford Univ./M. de Vries et al.; Optical: (Hubble) NASA/ESA/STScI and (Palomar) Hale Telescope/Palomar/CalTech; Illustrated outline: NASA/CXC/K. DiVona;…
New DESI data shed light on gravity’s pull in the universe
DESI observes the sky from the Mayall Telescope, shown here during the 2023 Geminid meteor shower. Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/R. Sparks Gravity has shaped our cosmos. Its attractive influence turned tiny differences…
How we’ll land large payloads on the Red Planet
Credit: CC0 Public Domain Back in 2007, I talked with Rob Manning, engineer extraordinaire at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he told me something shocking. Even though he had successfully…
A new way to detect daisy worlds
Daisy Worlds are planets where the biosphere regulates the environment to keep it habitable. Earth is one, sort of. Can we use information theory to identify agnostic biosignatures from these…
Trump and Musk could redefine US space strategy
Donald Trump’s fascination with space is nothing new — during his first term he created Space Force and launched the Artemis program to return to the moon. Should NASA return…
Solar wind power likely governs Uranus’ thermosphere temperature
Uranus captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI Uranus’s upper atmosphere has been cooling for decades—and now scientists have shown why. Observations from Earth have shown Uranus’…
Basalt samples from Chang’e-6 mission offer insights on lunar farside volcanism
Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Yang Muhan Basalt…
How the aurora borealis captivated 18th-century minds
Credit: CC0 Public Domain Since May this year, the aurora borealis (northern lights), has at times been visible further south than usual over Britain, sparking amazement and fascination. Social media…
Astronomers defy the zone of avoidance to find hundreds of new galaxies
Observed galaxies within the Vela supercluster. Credit: Sambatriniaina H. A. Rajohnson, et al There is a region of the sky where astronomers fear to look. Filled with dark clouds of…
