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…
Category: Planetary Science
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…
A lunar telescope that could explore the cosmic dark ages
NASA’s Webb delivers deepest infrared image of universe yet. Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI Multiple space agencies will send missions to the moon this decade and the next, with plans to establish infrastructure…
Indian space agency’s satellite mission fails due to technical issue in launch vehicle
This photo released by Indian Space Research Organization shows the EOS-09 Earth observation satellite on board the PSLV-C61 launch vehicle at Sriharikota space center in southern India, Saturday, May 17,…
Twin spacecraft mission reveals there might be a ‘hot’ side of the moon
This two-faced mosaic from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter shows the near side (left) and the far side (right) of the moon. Credit: NASA/GSFC/Arizona State University The moon’s nearside (that is,…
Tracking down ‘annihilation photons’ could lead to unique binary systems
Artist’s impression of a MSP binary system. Credit: ESA & Francesco Ferraro (Bologna Astronomical Observatory) Tracking the sources of photons is a hobby of many astrophysicists. Some types of photons…
First ultraviolet data collected from NASA’s Europa Clipper mission
This “first-light” image from the Europa-UVS instrument shows data at far-ultraviolet wavelengths, photons more energetic than the UV light that gives us sunburns on Earth. Light passes from its telescope…
