Space: The Solar System
Published

'Titans in a jar' could answer key questions ahead of NASA's space exploration      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers from Southern Methodist University (SMU) could help determine if Saturn's icy moon -- Titan -- has ever been home to life long before NASA completes an exploratory visit to its surface by a drone helicopter.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Atmosphere of midsize planet revealed by Hubble, Spitzer      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Two NASA space telescopes have identified the detailed chemical 'fingerprint' of a planet between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. No planets like this can be found in our own solar system, but they are common around other stars.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Team studies binaries to make heads or tails of planet formation      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team studied the orientation of distant solar system bodies to bolster the 'streaming instability' theory of planet formation.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

How icy outer solar system satellites may have formed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Beyond the orbit of the planet Neptune, there are a multitude of icy and rocky small bodies, smaller than planets but larger than comets. These likely formed at the same time as the Solar System, and understanding their origin could provide important clues as to how the entire Solar System originated. Using sophisticated computer simulations and observations of TNOs, astronomers have shown how these so-called trans-Neptunian Objects (or TNOs) may have formed.

Space: The Solar System
Published

'Bathtub rings' around Titan's lakes might be made of alien crystals      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The frigid lakeshores of Saturn's moon Titan might be encrusted with strange, unearthly minerals, according to new research.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

Northern lights' 'social networking' reveals true scale of magnetic storms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Magnetic disturbances caused by phenomena like the northern lights can be tracked by a 'social network' of ground-based instruments, according to a new study.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Astronomers see 'warm' glow of Uranus's rings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Two telescopes have measured the faint heat from the main, or epsilon ring, of Uranus, enabling astronomers for the first time to determine its temperature: a cool 77 Kelvin. Earlier images of the rings came from reflected light only. The observations also show that the rings lack dust, which is common in the rings of other planets, and are composed of centimeter-sized particles and larger.

Space: The Solar System
Published

NASA's Cassini reveals New Sculpting in Saturn Rings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As NASA's Cassini dove close to Saturn in its final year, the spacecraft provided intricate detail on the workings of Saturn's complex rings, new analysis shows.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms
Published

Rare 'superflares' could one day threaten Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research shows that the sun could experience a massive burst of energy called a superflare sometime in the next several thousand years.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Saturn's moon Mimas: A 'snowplough' in the planet's rings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have shown that Mimas, one of Saturn's moons, acted as a kind of remote snowplough, pushing apart the ice particles that make up the rings.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Exomoons may be home to extra-terrestrial life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research looks at the possibility of moons outside our solar system causing gaps in the rings of planet J1407b.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Astronomers find 'Forbidden' planet in 'Neptunian Desert' around its star      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An exoplanet smaller than Neptune with its own atmosphere has been discovered in a region close to its star where no Neptune-sized planets would normally be found.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Neptune's moon Triton fosters rare icy union      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers using the Gemini Observatory explore Neptune's largest moon Triton and observe, for the first time beyond the lab, an extraordinary union between carbon monoxide and nitrogen ices. The discovery offers insights into how this volatile mixture can transport material across the moon's surface via geysers, trigger seasonal atmospheric changes, and provide a context for conditions on other distant, icy worlds.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Gas insulation could be protecting an ocean inside Pluto      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Computer simulations provide compelling evidence that an insulating layer of gas hydrates could keep a subsurface ocean from freezing beneath Pluto's icy exterior.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Giant planets and big data: What deep learning reveals about Saturn's storms      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A deep learning approach to detecting storms on Saturn shows the vast regions affected by storms and that dark storm clouds contain material swept up from the lower atmosphere.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Ice feature on Saturn's giant moon, TItan      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Research team finds huge ice feature on Titan while trying to understand where Saturn's largest moon gets all of its methane. This research, which used Principal Components Analysis in an unconventional way, also validated results from previous Titan missions.

Geoscience: Geomagnetic Storms Space: The Solar System
Published

Scientists discover what powers celestial phenomenon STEVE      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The celestial phenomenon known as STEVE is likely caused by a combination of heating of charged particles in the atmosphere and energetic electrons like those that power the aurora, according to new research. In a new study, scientists found STEVE's source region in space and identified two mechanisms that cause it.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Mercury has a solid inner core: New evidence      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have long known that Earth and Mercury have metallic cores. Like Earth, Mercury's outer core is composed of liquid metal, but there have only been hints that Mercury's innermost core is solid. Now, in a new study, scientists report evidence that Mercury's inner core is indeed solid and that it is very nearly the same size as Earth's solid inner core.

Space: The Solar System
Published

NASA's Cassini reveals surprises with Titan's lakes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

On its final flyby of Saturn's largest moon in 2017, NASA's Cassini spacecraft gathered radar data revealing that the small liquid lakes in Titan's northern hemisphere are surprisingly deep, perched atop hills and filled with methane.

Space: The Solar System
Published

TESS finds its first Earth-sized planet      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A nearby system hosts the first Earth-sized planet discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanets Survey Satellite, as well as a warm sub-Neptune-sized world. This milestone sets the path for finding smaller planets around even smaller stars, and those planets may potentially be habitable.