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Categories: Space: The Solar System

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Space: The Solar System
Published

Physicists more fully describe sun's electric field      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Physicists have described in fuller detail the sun's electric field. The researchers measured the flow of electrons streaming from the sun as the Parker Solar Probe spacecraft made its closest approach to date to our home star.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Trace gas phosphine points to volcanic activity on Venus, scientists say      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Last autumn, researchers reported finding the gas phosphine in trace amounts in Venus' upper atmosphere, raising the slim possibility of a biological signature. Now scientists say that the phosphine's chemical fingerprints support a different find: evidence of explosive volcanoes.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists solve 40-year mystery over Jupiter's X-ray aurora      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers combined close-up observations of Jupiter's environment by NASA's satellite Juno, which is currently orbiting the planet, with simultaneous X-ray measurements from the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton observatory (which is in Earth's own orbit). The X-rays are part of Jupiter's aurora -- bursts of visible and invisible light that occur when charged particles interact with the planet's atmosphere. A similar phenomenon occurs on Earth, creating the northern lights, but Jupiter's is much more powerful, releasing hundreds of gigawatts of energy, enough to briefly power all of human civilization.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Icequakes likely rumble along geyser-spitting fractures in Saturn's icy moon Enceladus      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Tidal stresses may be causing constant icequakes on Saturn's sixth largest moon Enceladus, a world of interest in the search for life beyond Earth, according to a new study.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Why does Mercury have such a big iron core?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new study disputes the prevailing hypothesis on why Mercury has a big core relative to its mantle. For decades, scientists argued that hit-and-run collisions blew away much of Mercury's rocky mantle and left the big, dense, metal core inside. But new research reveals that collisions are not to blame -- instead, the density, mass and iron content of a rocky planet's core is influenced by its distance from the sun's magnetic field.

Space: The Solar System
Published

'Pack ice' tectonics reveal Venus' geological secrets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new analysis of Venus' surface shows evidence of tectonic motion in the form of crustal blocks that have jostled against each other like broken chunks of pack ice.

Space: The Solar System
Published

The give and take of mega-flares from stars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The long relationships between stars and the planets around them - including the Sun and the Earth - may be even more complex than previously thought. This is one conclusion of a new study involving thousands of stars using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Lightning impacts edge of space in ways not previously observed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of researchers working with data collected by an Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR) have examined the simultaneous impacts of thunderstorms and solar flares on the ionospheric D-region (often referred to as the edge of space).

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Boundary of heliosphere mapped      (via sciencedaily.com) 

For the first time, the boundary of the heliosphere has been mapped, giving scientists a better understanding of how solar and interstellar winds interact.

Space: The Solar System
Published

The sun's clock      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Not only the 11-year cycle, but also all other periodic solar activity fluctuations can be clocked by planetary attractive forces. With new model calculations, they are proposing a comprehensive explanation of known sun cycles for the first time. They also reveal the longest fluctuations in activity over thousands of years as a chaotic process.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists discover new exoplanet with an atmosphere ripe for study      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have discovered a new, temperate sub-Neptune sized exoplanet with a 24-day orbital period orbiting a nearby M dwarf star. The recent discovery offers exciting research opportunities thanks to the planet's substantial atmosphere, small star, and how fast the system is moving away from the Earth.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

'Surfing' particles: Physicists solve a mystery surrounding aurora borealis      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The spectacularly colorful aurora borealis -- or northern lights -- that fills the sky in high-latitude regions has fascinated people for thousands of years. Now, a team of scientists has resolved one of the final mysteries surrounding its origin.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Which way does the solar wind blow?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

High performance computers are central to the quest to understand the sun's behavior and its role in space weather events. Scientists are using the Frontera supercomputer to improve the state-of-the-art in space weather forecasting. Researchers described the role of backstreaming pickup ions in the acceleration of charged particles in the universe, which play an important role in space weather.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Deep oceans dissolve the rocky shell of water-ice planets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Laboratory experiments allow insights into the processes under the extreme pressure and temperature conditions of distant worlds.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Moon mission delays could increase risks from solar storms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Although patterns in the timing of moderate space weather events are known, the most extreme and dangerous events were thought to be random in their timing. This study found for the first time that extreme space weather occurs most frequently at predictable times during solar cycles, meaning space missions could be timed to avoid them.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Supermassive black holes devour gas just like their petite counterparts      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Supermassive black holes devour stellar material just like their more petite counterparts, a new study finds.

Space: The Solar System
Published

In the emptiness of space, Voyager I detects plasma 'hum'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

NASA's Voyager I spacecraft has long since zipped past the edge of the solar system through the heliopause - the solar system's border with interstellar space - into the interstellar medium. Now, its instruments have detected the constant drone of interstellar gas (plasma waves).

Space: The Solar System
Published

Physicists describe new type of aurora      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The famed northern and southern lights have been studied for millennia, but they still hold secrets. Physicists describe a new phenomenon they call 'diffuse auroral erasers,' in which patches of the background glow are blotted out, then suddenly intensify and reappear.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists model Saturn's interior, explain planet's unique magnetic field      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New simulations offer an intriguing look into Saturn's interior, suggesting that a thick layer of helium rain influences the planet's magnetic field.

Space: The Solar System
Published

New lunar map to help guide future exploration missions      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new map of the Schrodinger basin of the moon could help guide future exploration missions.