Rotation curves of distant galaxies. Data in red and blue remains relatively flat (i.e., high), similar to local massive disk galaxies at z~0 (dashed gray line) that need extended dark…
Category: Planetary Science
NASA CubeSat finds new radiation belts after May 2024 solar storm
The May 2024 solar storm created two extra radiation belts, sandwiched between the two permanent Van Allen Belts. One of the new belts, shown in purple, included a population of…
En route to Jupiter, Europa Clipper captures images of stars
An artist’s concept of NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Three months after its launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency’s Europa Clipper has another 1.6 billion…
Is there life out there? The existence of other technological species is highly likely
Credit: CC0 Public Domain We live in a golden age for space exploration. Scientists are gathering massive amounts of new information and scientific evidence at a record pace. Yet the…
Japan launches a navigation satellite on a new flagship rocket for an improved positioning system
The H3 Launch Vehicle No. 5, carrying the Quasi-Zenith Satellite “Michibiki No. 6,” lifts off at a launch pad in Tanegashima Space Center in Tanegashima, southern Japan, Sunday Feb. 2,…
What we know so far
On 27 December last year, astronomers using the ATLAS survey telescope in Chile discovered a small asteroid moving away from Earth. Follow-up observations have revealed that the asteroid, 2024 YR4,…
Are we all aliens? NASA’s returned asteroid samples hold the ingredients of life from a watery world
This image provided by NASA shows a top-down view of the OSIRIS-REx Touch-and-Go-Sample-Acquisition-Mechanism (TAGSAM) head with the lid removed, revealing the remainder of the asteroid sample inside. Credit: NASA via…
Surprising signatures in WASP-121b’s dynamic atmosphere challenge understanding of how ‘roasting marshmallows’ form
Artist impression of a hot Jupiter Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. da Silva/Spaceengine/M. Zamani Nearly one third of known exoplanets are enormous gas giants, similar to Jupiter or Saturn. But whereas…
Testing tech in lava tubes for future space exploration
DLR’s SCOUT Rover is designed to explore the complex terrain of lava tubes. Credit: Roy Lichtenheldt, DLR What does an ancient lava tube in the Canary Islands have in common…
