Geoscience: Severe Weather Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Why do Earth's hemispheres look equally bright when viewed from space?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

When seen from space, Earth's hemispheres -- northern and southern -- appear equally bright. For years, the brightness symmetry between hemispheres remained a mystery. In a new study, researchers reveal a strong correlation between storm intensity, cloudiness and the solar energy reflection rate in each hemisphere. They offer a solution to the mystery, alongside an assessment of how climate change might alter the reflection rate in the future.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

'Forbidden' planet orbiting small star challenges gas giant formation theories      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have discovered an unusual planetary system in which a large gas giant planet orbits a small red dwarf star called TOI-5205. Their findings challenge long-held ideas about planet formation.

Geoscience: Geology Offbeat: Earth and Climate Offbeat: Plants and Animals Offbeat: Space Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Meteorite crater discovered in French winery      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Countless meteorites have struck Earth in the past and shaped the history of our planet. It is assumed, for example, that meteorites brought with them a large part of its water. The extinction of the dinosaurs might also have been triggered by the impact of a very large meteorite. It turns out that the marketing 'gag' of the 'Domaine du Météore' winery is acutally a real impact crater. Meteorite craters which are still visible today are rare because most traces of the celestial bodies have long since disappeared again.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Cosmology Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

James Webb spots super old, massive galaxies that shouldn't exist      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team of international researchers have identified six candidate galaxies that existed roughly 500 to 700 million years after the Big Bang and are about as big as the modern Milky Way Galaxy -- a feat that scientists didn't think was possible.

Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Better tools needed to determine ancient life on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Current state-of-the-art instrumentation being sent to Mars to collect and analyze evidence of life might not be sensitive enough to make accurate assessments, according to new research.

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

Researchers discover mysterious source of 'heartbeat-like' radio bursts in a solar fare      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A solar radio burst with a signal pattern, akin to that of a heartbeat, has been pinpointed in the Sun's atmosphere, according to a new study. An international team of researchers has reported uncovering the source location of a radio signal coming from within a C-class solar flare more than 5,000 kilometers above the Sun's surface.

Computer Science: General Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Improving the performance of satellites in low Earth orbit      (via sciencedaily.com) 

On-chip distributed radiation sensors and current-sharing techniques can be used to reduce the impact of radiation on the radio and power consumption of small satellites, respectively. New findings can be used to make small satellites more robust, which can increase the connectivity of networks across the globe.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Newly discovered form of salty ice could exist on surface of extraterrestrial moons      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

An international team has found two new crystal structures for salty ice, or solid hydrate made from water and sodium chloride. The newly discovered material's properties match those of the substance seen on the surface of icy moons, like Europa and Ganymede, and may offer clues to their icy oceans.

Space: Exploration Space: General Space: The Solar System
Published

Space travel influences the way the brain works      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

Scientists have found how the human brain changes and adapts to weightlessness, after being in space for 6 months. Some of the changes turned out to be lasting -- even after 8 months back on Earth.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: General Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Tadpole playing around black hole      (via sciencedaily.com)     Original source 

A peculiar cloud of gas, nicknamed the Tadpole due to its shape, appears to be revolving around a space devoid of any bright objects. This suggests that the Tadpole is orbiting a dark object, most likely a black hole 100,000 times more massive than the Sun. Future observations will help determine what is responsible for the shape and motion of the Tadpole.

Offbeat: Space Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Study quantifies global impact of electricity in dust storms on Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Mars is infamous for its intense dust storms, some of which kick up enough dust to be seen by telescopes on Earth. When dust particles rub against each other, as they do in Martian dust storms, they can become electrified. New research shows that one particularly efficient way to move chlorine from the ground to the air on Mars is by way of reactions set off by electrical discharge generated in dust activities.

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

Four classes of planetary systems      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have long been aware that planetary systems are not necessarily structured like our solar system. Researchers have now shown that there are in fact four types of planetary systems.

Geoscience: Environmental Issues Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Upsurge in rocket launches could impact the ozone layer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have summarized the threats that future rocket launches would pose to Earth's protective ozone layer.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Hubble captures the start of a new spoke season at Saturn      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Since their discovery by NASA's Voyager mission in the 1980s, temporary 'spoke' features across Saturn's rings have fascinated scientists, yet eluded explanation. They have been observed in the years preceding and following the planet's equinox, becoming more prominent as the date approaches. Saturn's upcoming autumnal equinox of the northern hemisphere on May 6, 2025, means that spoke season has come again. NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will be on the job studying the spokes, thanks to time dedicated to Saturn in the mission's ongoing Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program. Are the smudgy features related to Saturn's magnetic field and its interaction with the solar wind, as prevailing theory suggests? Confirmation could come in this spoke season, as scientists combine archival data from NASA's Cassini mission with new Hubble observations.

Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Space dust as Earth's sun shield      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Dust launched from the moon's surface or from a space station positioned between Earth and the sun could reduce enough solar radiation to mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

Spanish lagoon used to better understand wet-to-dry transition of Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In the ongoing search for signs of life on Mars, a new study proposes focusing on 'time-resolved analogs' -- dynamic and similar Earth environments where changes can be analyzed over many years.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

A new ring system discovered in our Solar System      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have discovered a new ring system around a dwarf planet on the edge of the Solar System. The ring system orbits much further out than is typical for other ring systems, calling into question current theories of how ring systems are formed.

Space: The Solar System
Published

New models explain canyons on Pluto moon      (via sciencedaily.com) 

In 2015, when NASA's New Horizons spacecraft encountered the Pluto-Charon system, scientists discovered interesting, geologically active objects instead of the inert icy orbs previously envisioned. Scientists have revisited the data to explore the source of cryovolcanic flows and an obvious belt of fractures on Pluto's large moon Charon. These new models suggest that when the moon's internal ocean froze, it may have formed the deep, elongated depressions along its girth but was less likely to lead to cryovolcanoes erupting with ice, water and other materials in its northern hemisphere.

Offbeat: Space Space: Astronomy Space: Astrophysics Space: Exploration Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Hubble directly measures mass of a lone white dwarf      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have directly measured the mass of a single, isolated white dwarf -- the surviving core of a burned-out, Sun-like star. Researchers found that the white dwarf is 56 percent the mass of our Sun. This agrees with earlier theoretical predictions of the white dwarf's mass and corroborates current theories of how white dwarfs evolve as the end product of a typical star's evolution. The unique observation yields insights into theories of the structure and composition of white dwarfs.

Energy: Alternative Fuels Geoscience: Environmental Issues Space: Structures and Features Space: The Solar System
Published

Thin, lightweight layer provides radiation barrier for perovskites in space, protection from elements on Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An ultrathin protective coating proves sufficient to protect a perovskite solar cell from the harmful effects of space and harden it against environmental factors on Earth, according to newly published research.