Space: Structures and Features
Published

Early planetary migration can explain missing planets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Computer simulations by Rice University scientists and their collaborators are the first to integrate a model of planet formation and evolution that explains two puzzling observations of exoplanets orbiting distant stars: the rarity of worlds about 1.8 times larger than Earth and the near-identical size of adjacent planets in hundreds of planetary systems.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Oldest planetary debris in our galaxy found from new study      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Astronomers have identified the oldest star in our galaxy that is accreting debris from orbiting planetesimals, making it one of the oldest rocky and icy planetary systems discovered in the Milky Way.

Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Astronomers discover closest black hole to Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have discovered the closest-known black hole to Earth. This is the first unambiguous detection of a dormant stellar-mass black hole in the Milky Way. Its close proximity to Earth, a mere 1600 light-years away, offers an intriguing target of study to advance our understanding of the evolution of binary systems.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Magnetized dead star likely has solid surface      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A signature in the X-ray light emitted by a highly magnetized dead star known as a magnetar suggests the star has a solid surface with no atmosphere.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Polarized X-rays reveal shape, orientation of extremely hot matter around black hole      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The first observations of a mass-accreting black hole from the Imaging X-Ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission reveal new details about the configuration of extremely hot matter in the region immediately surrounding it. Researchers are using measurements of the polarization of X-rays to test and refine models that describe how black holes swallow matter, becoming some of the most luminous sources of light -- including X-rays -- in the universe.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
Published

IceCube neutrinos give us first glimpse into the inner depths of an active galaxy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have found evidence of high-energy neutrino emission from NGC 1068, also known as Messier 77, an active galaxy in the constellation Cetus and one of the most familiar and well-studied galaxies to date.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
Published

Uncovering the massive quantum mysteries of black holes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Bizarre quantum properties of black holes -- including their mind-bending ability to have different masses simultaneously -- have been confirmed by physicists.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

ESO captures the ghost of a giant star      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A beautiful tapestry of colors, showing the ghostly remains of a gigantic star, was captured in incredible detail with the VLT Survey Telescope, hosted at the European Southern Observatory's Paranal site in Chile.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Modeling Mathematics: Statistics
Published

Mathematical modeling suggests U.S. counties are still unprepared for COVID spikes      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

America was unprepared for the magnitude of the pandemic, which overwhelmed many counties and filled some hospitals to capacity. A new study suggests there may have been a mathematical method, of sorts, to the madness of those early COVID days.

Ecology: Trees Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Tree rings offer insight into devastating radiation storms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study has shed new light on a mysterious, unpredictable and potentially devastating kind of astrophysical event.

Space: Cosmology Space: Structures and Features
Published

Cosmic rays drive galaxy's winds      (via sciencedaily.com) 

VLA observations revealed that cosmic rays can play an important role in driving winds that rob galaxies of the gas needed to form new stars. This mechanism may be an important factor in galactic evolution, particularly at earlier times in the history of the universe.

Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Ancient bacteria might lurk beneath Mars' surface      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists found that ancient bacteria could survive close to the surface on Mars much longer than previously assumed. So, if life did, in fact, evolve when the last waters flowed on Mars, it would likely still be there today -- billions of years later.

Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Discovery could dramatically narrow search for space creatures      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An Earth-like planet orbiting an M dwarf -- the most common type of star in the universe -- appears to have no atmosphere at all. This discovery could cause a major shift in the search for life on other planets.

Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Looking to move to a galaxy far, far away? Innovative system evaluates habitability of distant planets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The research framework developed, along with observational data from the Webb Space Telescope, will enable scientists to efficiently assess the atmospheres of many other planets without having to send a space crew to visit them physically. This will help us make informed decisions in the future about which planets are good candidates for human settlement and perhaps even to find life on those planets.

Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

Unprecedented glimpse of merging galaxies      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Using the James Webb Space Telescope to look back in time at the early universe, astronomers discovered a surprise: a cluster of galaxies merging together around a rare red quasar within a massive black hole. The findings offer an unprecedented opportunity to observe how billions of years ago galaxies coalesced into the modern universe.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

New way to make telescope mirrors could sharpen our view of the universe      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a new way to use femtosecond laser pulses to fabricate the high-precision ultrathin mirrors required for high-performance x-ray telescopes. The technique could help improve the space-based x-ray telescopes used to capture high-energy cosmic events involved in forming new stars and supermassive black holes.

Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

NASA's Webb takes star-filled portrait of pillars of creation      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured a lush, highly detailed landscape -- the iconic Pillars of Creation -- where new stars are forming within dense clouds of gas and dust. The three-dimensional pillars look like majestic rock formations, but are far more permeable. These columns are made up of cool interstellar gas and dust that appear -- at times -- semi-transparent in near-infrared light.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

The most precise accounting yet of dark energy and dark matter      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Analyzing more than two decades' worth of supernova explosions convincingly bolsters modern cosmological theories and reinvigorates efforts to answer fundamental questions.

Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features
Published

NASA's Swift, Fermi missions detect exceptional cosmic blast      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers around the world are captivated by an unusually bright and long-lasting pulse of high-energy radiation that swept over Earth Sunday, Oct. 9. The emission came from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) -- the most powerful class of explosions in the universe -- that ranks among the most luminous events known.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Heaviest element yet detected in an exoplanet atmosphere      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have discovered the heaviest element ever found in an exoplanet atmosphere -- barium. They were surprised to discover barium at high altitudes in the atmospheres of the ultra-hot gas giants WASP-76 b and WASP-121 b -- two exoplanets, planets which orbit stars outside our Solar System. This unexpected discovery raises questions about what these exotic atmospheres may be like.