The sun sets as seen between buildings along 42nd Street in New York, May 30, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, file Twice a year, New Yorkers and visitors are treated…
Category: Planetary Science
Is Venus hiding dangerous asteroids?
Most of the solar system’s asteroids are in the main belt between Mars and Jupiter. However, others are co-orbital with planets, like the Jupiter Trojans, which form two groups: one…
Strauss’ ‘Blue Danube’ waltz is launching into space to mark his 200th birthday
This undated photo released by the European Space Agency shows the 35 meter-diameter deep-space dish antenna, DSA-2, in Cebreros, Spain, receiving the first signals from Venus Express. Credit: ESA via…
Hopes for alien life dim as doubts emerge over exoplanet K2-18b chemical signals
An artist’s illustration of the planet K2-18b, one of the prime suspects to host life beyond this solar system. When astronomers announced last month they might have discovered the most…
After two setbacks, SpaceX could try to launch massive Starship next week
SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft. SpaceX said Friday it will make another launch attempt next week of the massive Starship rocket—key to CEO Elon Musk’s long-term vision of colonizing Mars—after two consecutive…
Numerical simulations reveal the origin of barred olivine crystals in early solar system
This figure illustrates the formation and numerical replication of barred olivine, a unique crystalline texture found in chondrules within meteorites. (a) A polarized light micrograph shows a natural chondrule containing…
The formation of a new exoplanet can cause chemical discrepancies in paired stars
Image of a protoplanetary disk from ALMA. Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) Co-paired stars, or stars that travel together, can provide insights into processes that other stars can’t. Differences in their brightness,…
Building a giant catcher’s mitt on the moon
Artist’s impression of MACEDONAS set up on the moon. Credit: Lunar Cargo / C. Kosmas Members of the space exploration community are always coming up with novel ideas to solve…
Sunset at Mars’s Gusev Crater in 2005
Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Texas A&M / Cornell On May 19th, 2005, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover Spirit captured this stunning view as the sun sank below the rim of…