Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

[publiusr]

Polyhymnia diameter is 54.39±11.84 km
ten time higher as lead

Kretlow, Mike. "Size, Mass and Density of Asteroids (SiMDA) – Summary for: (33) Polyhymnia".
Size, Mass and Density of Asteroids (SiMDA). 12 October 2023.

The faster an object spins---the more massive?

A Tipler cylinder in our back yard would be nice.

Some civilizations may be trapped:

Some intelligent civilizations could be trapped on their worlds

Evolution has produced a wondrously diverse variety of lifeforms here on Earth. It just so happens that talking primates with opposable thumbs rose to the top and are building a spacefaring civilization. And we're land-dwellers. But what about other planets? If the dominant species on an ocean...

phys.org

The strong force and other space news

How 'the strong force' influences the gravitational wave background

Gravitationally speaking, the universe is a noisy place. A hodgepodge of gravitational waves from unknown sources streams unpredictably around space, including possibly from the early universe.

phys.org

Scientists discover radiation from massive stars shapes planetary systems

How do planetary systems such as the solar system form? To find out, CNRS scientists taking part in an international research team studied a stellar nursery, the Orion Nebula, using the James Webb Space Telescope. By observing a protoplanetary disk named d203-506, they have discovered the key...

phys.org

Dust growth model finds planets may form more easily than previously thought

The building blocks of new planets could form more easily than previously thought, according to calculations by a team led by a RIKEN astrophysicist.

phys.org

Novel theory-based evaluation gives a clearer picture of fusion in the sun

Most of the energy from the sun and other stars comes from a chain of nuclear fusion reactions. The end of this chain is marked by the fusion of protons with beryllium-7 to form boron-8. This process is key in determining the flow of high-energy solar neutrinos that reach the Earth.

phys.org

Scientists explain: What is inertial fusion energy?

Fusion is a natural phenomenon that provides our planet with much of its energy—generated millions of miles away in the center of our sun.

phys.org

A NASA mission that collided with an asteroid didn't just leave a dent. It reshaped the space rock

A frequent idea in sci-fi and apocalyptic films is that of an asteroid striking Earth and causing global devastation. While the probabilities of this kind of mass extinction occurring on our planet are incredibly small, they are not zero.

phys.org

Metal scar found on cannibal star

When a star like our sun reaches the end of its life, it can ingest the surrounding planets and asteroids that were born with it. Now, using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) in Chile, researchers have found a unique signature of this process for the first...

phys.org

New measurement captures clearer picture of our galaxy and beyond

With unique capabilities to track microwave energy fluctuations, a small observatory in the Andes mountains of northern Chile produced maps of 75% of the sky as part of an effort to measure the universe's origin and evolution more accurately.

phys.org

A new mechanism for excitation of quasiperiodic, fast-propagating waves on both sides of a coronal mass ejection

In a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal, Hu Jialiang and Prof. Lin Jun from Yunnan Observatories (YNAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and their collaborators proposed a new mechanism for the generation of large-scale quasiperiodic fast-propagating (QFP) magnetoacoustic...

phys.org

New research suggests explosive 'axion stars' could pinpoint where and what dark matter is

We could be closer to understanding the mystery behind what dark matter is, following new research from physicists at King's College London.

phys.org

Earth as a test object to evaluate the planned LIFE space mission

Physicists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich wanted to know whether the planned LIFE space mission could really detect traces of life on other planets. Yes, it can, say the researchers, with the help of observations of our own planet.

phys.org

Astronomers build a 3D map of dust within thousands of light-years

If you explore the night sky it won't be long before you realize there is a lot of dust and gas up there. The interstellar dust between the stars accounts for 1% of the mass of the interstellar medium but reflects 30% of the starlight in infrared wavelengths. The dust plays a key role in the...

phys.org

How will space transform the global food system?

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global agricultural production will need to increase by 60% by 2050 to meet the food demands of the growing global population.

phys.org

Who owns the moon?

The first successful moon landing of a private lander, Odysseus, last week came a month after Japan and six months after India touched down on Earth's natural satellite.

phys.org

NASA's planetary radar images slowly spinning asteroid

During the close approach of 2008 OS7 with Earth on Feb. 2, the agency's Deep Space Network planetary radar gathered the first detailed images of the stadium-size asteroid.

phys.org

The countdown to NASA's Jupiter mission is on. This JPL engineer is helping it happen

Think of meticulously handcrafted objects and certain things come immediately to mind: fine art, exotic cars, luxury timepieces.

phys.org

Satellites are burning up in the upper atmosphere—what impact could this have on the Earth's climate?

Elon Musk's SpaceX has announced it will dispose of 100 Starlink satellites over the next six months, after it discovered a design flaw that may cause them to fail. Rather than risk posing a threat to other spacecraft, SpaceX will "de-orbit" these satellites to burn up in the atmosphere.

phys.org

Highlights of results from space station science in 2023

The International Space Station is a microgravity research lab hosting groundbreaking technology demonstrations and scientific investigations. More than 3,700 investigations conducted to date have generated roughly 500 research articles published in scientific journals. In 2023, the orbiting lab...

phys.org

 

[Michel Van]

The faster an object spins---the more massive?

oddly the contrary, 33 Polyhymnia rotation period is 18.6 hours

 

[publiusr]

That really needs a visit

 

[Flyaway]

Stars Like Our Sun May Still Support Life After They Die. There's Just One Problem.

Stars Like Our Sun May Still Support Life After They Die. There's Just One Problem.

Astronomers have found plenty of white dwarf stars surrounded by debris disks.

www.sciencealert.com

Related paper:

https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.15219

 

[FighterJock]

A highly interesting theory Flyaway. I always had thought that once stars like our sun die that was it, planets would die also.

 

[publiusr]

Red Dwarfs last a long time...

Collision?

Scientist might have just witnessed two planets collide, but they're unsure

According to a Dutch astronomer, we might have just seen the aftermath of two giant planets colliding in a distant...

spaceexplored.com

Gulp

Did Betelgeuse Consume a Smaller Star?

Betelgeuse generates a lot of headlines. New research suggests that the star may have consumed a companion some time in the past.

www.universetoday.com

The 'Cosmic Vine': Astronomers discover a large structure that hosts at least 20 massive galaxies

An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a large-scale structure that consists of at least 20 massive galaxies. The structure, dubbed "Cosmic Vine," has a size of about 13 million physical light years. The finding was detailed in a paper published Nov. 8 on the pre-print...

phys.org

The universe is expanding faster than theory predicts—physicists are trying to explain the mismatch

Astronomers have known for decades that the universe is expanding. When they use telescopes to observe faraway galaxies, they see that these galaxies are moving away from Earth.

phys.org

Researchers discover alternative cosmic source of gold

Dr. Shing Chi Leung, SUNY Poly assistant professor of physics, in collaboration with Mr. Chun-Ming Yip, Dr. Ming-Chung Chu and Dr. Lap-Ming Lin, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, have discovered that the explosion of a low-mass neutron star can be the alternative cosmic source for...

phys.org

Answering longstanding questions about jets from black holes

The one thing everyone knows about black holes is that absolutely everything nearby gets sucked into them. Almost everything, it turns out.

phys.org

How black holes consume entropy

Entropy is one of those fearsomely deep concepts that form the core of entire fields of physics (in this case, thermodynamics) that is unfortunately so mathematical that it's difficult to explain in plain language. But we will give it a try. Whenever I see the word entropy, I like to replace it...

phys.org

Brightest flash ever disturbed Earth's atmosphere last year

Last year the brightest flash of light ever seen in the night sky disturbed Earth's upper atmosphere in a way that has never before detected before, researchers said on Tuesday.

phys.org

'Bouncing' comets could deliver building blocks for life to exoplanets

How did the molecular building blocks for life end up on Earth? One long-standing theory is that they could have been delivered by comets. Now, researchers from the University of Cambridge have shown how comets could deposit similar building blocks to other planets in the galaxy.

phys.org

Testing of citizen scientist discovery suggests it is on the boundary between comet and asteroid

A team of space scientists, astronomers and astrophysicists affiliated with multiple institutions across the U.S., working with a colleague from Italy, has determined that a celestial object spotted by citizen scientists back in 2016 is neither a comet nor an asteroid, but an object that lies on...

phys.org

Scientists uncover aurora-like radio emission above a sunspot

In a study published in Nature Astronomy, astronomers from New Jersey Institute of Technology's Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (NJIT-CSTR) have detailed radio observations of an extraordinary aurora-like display occurring 40,000 km above a relatively dark and cold patch on the sun, known...

phys.org

 

[Flyaway]

Now, a team of researchers has shed new light on a seven-planet system in Kepler’s ocean of data.

The star is called Kepler 385, and it’s about 4,670 light-years away. Some of its planets were confirmed back in 2014, while some remained as candidates. But in a new updated catalogue, exoplanet scientists have confirmed the rest of the planets and revealed new details on this rare system.

…

“Our revision to the Kepler Exoplanet catalogue provides the first true uniform analysis of exoplanet properties,” said co-author Jason Rowe, Canada Research Chair in Exoplanet Astrophysics and Professor at Bishop’s University in Quebec, Canada. “Improvements to all planetary and stellar properties have allowed us to conduct an in-depth study of the fundamental properties of exoplanetary systems to better understand exoplanets and directly compare these distant worlds to our own Solar System and to focus in on the details of individual systems such as Kepler-385.”

Old Data from Kepler Turns Up A System with Seven Planets

Researchers have developed an improved Kepler exoplanet catalogue, and they've already uncovered a rare seven planet system.

www.universetoday.com

Related paper:

[2311.00238] Updated Catalog of Kepler Planet Candidates: Focus on Accuracy and Orbital Periods

 

[Flyaway]

Massive anomaly within Earth's mantle may be remnant of collision that formed moon

An interdisciplinary international research team has recently discovered that a massive anomaly deep within the Earth's interior may be a remnant of the collision about 4.5 billion years ago that formed the moon.

…

According to Dr. Yuan, "Through precise analysis of a wider range of rock samples, combined with more refined giant impact models and Earth evolution models, we can infer the material composition and orbital dynamics of the primordial Earth, Gaia, and Theia. This allows us to constrain the entire history of the formation of the inner solar system."

Prof. Deng sees an even broader role for the current study. "This research even provides inspiration for understanding the formation and habitability of exoplanets beyond our solar system."

Massive anomaly within Earth's mantle may be remnant of collision that formed moon

An interdisciplinary international research team has recently discovered that a massive anomaly deep within the Earth's interior may be a remnant of the collision about 4.5 billion years ago that formed the moon.

phys.org

Related video:

View: https://youtu.be/K0XO06EqnvU


And related paper:

Moon-forming impactor as a source of Earth’s basal mantle anomalies - Nature

Computer simulations show that mantle material from Theia, a proto-planet theorized to have struck the proto-Earth in the Moon-forming giant impact, may be the source of Earth’s basal mantle anomalies.

www.nature.com

 

[Rhinocrates]

'Here lies Theia.' I guess we can put the gravestone anywhere.

 

[Nik]

Looks like you'd need two...
Else these are remnants of first two proto-cratons to chill from global magma lake, subsequently over-ridden, subducted ??
FWIW, currently reading 'Geoforming Mars' by Dr. Robert Malcuit. (eg Amazon)
Although there's a lot of useful material on 'generic' terraforming --Serious resources required-- Doc has a 'Bee in his Bonnet' that, IIRC, Moon was captured intact rather than formed from mega-impact debris. Happens he has robust math to show there's a 'sweet spot' for capture, but I suspect he's wrong for this case.

Partly due to recent report that Earth's spin-down from ~12 hr day due solar tides was long-stuck at ~20 hr day due arcane --AKA too clever for me to follow-- resonance effects with Moon and tides...

Ha !! Thought I'd cached it !! (Open access !!)

Mid-Proterozoic day length stalled by tidal resonance
Ross N. Mitchell & Uwe Kirscher

Mid-Proterozoic day length stalled by tidal resonance - Nature Geoscience

Analysis of changes in the Earth’s rotation in the Precambrian suggests that day length stabilized at 19 h for 1 billion years due to tidal resonance, which may have been linked to a relatively quiescent period of tectonic activity and biological evolution.

www.nature.com

( Regret post a tad terse due Duty Cat sprawled across my track-ball and right arm, lost in REM-sleep, so this typed left-handed... )

 

[PMN1]

Looks like you'd need two...
Else these are remnants of first two proto-cratons to chill from global magma lake, subsequently over-ridden, subducted ??
FWIW, currently reading 'Geoforming Mars' by Dr. Robert Malcuit. (eg Amazon)
Although there's a lot of useful material on 'generic' terraforming --Serious resources required-- Doc has a 'Bee in his Bonnet' that, IIRC, Moon was captured intact rather than formed from mega-impact debris. Happens he has robust math to show there's a 'sweet spot' for capture, but I suspect he's wrong for this case.

Partly due to recent report that Earth's spin-down from ~12 hr day due solar tides was long-stuck at ~20 hr day due arcane --AKA too clever for me to follow-- resonance effects with Moon and tides...

Ha !! Thought I'd cached it !! (Open access !!)

Mid-Proterozoic day length stalled by tidal resonance
Ross N. Mitchell & Uwe Kirscher

Mid-Proterozoic day length stalled by tidal resonance - Nature Geoscience

Analysis of changes in the Earth’s rotation in the Precambrian suggests that day length stabilized at 19 h for 1 billion years due to tidal resonance, which may have been linked to a relatively quiescent period of tectonic activity and biological evolution.

www.nature.com

( Regret post a tad terse due Duty Cat sprawled across my track-ball and right arm, lost in REM-sleep, so this typed left-handed... )

Now if he had said captured 50,000 years ago......

 

[Nik]

"Now if he had said captured 50,000 years ago......"
Nah, would not have worked, as geology would still be raw and tides tsunamic...
Though I do wonder if Jupiter's 'Great Red Spot' was not spawned by serendipitous combination of storms, but a massive impact.
So, totally backward from the 'Veli-Kov-Spit Hypothesis'...

 

[Flyaway]

A supermassive black hole smack-bang in the Cosmic Dawn has broken the record for the earliest black hole we've ever seen.

It's been spotted in a galaxy known as UHZ1, just 470 million years after the Big Bang, a time period when the Universe was still just a baby. In fact, it's so early in the Universe that the black hole is at a stage of development we've never seen before – it's of a similar mass to the host galaxy that is growing around it.

…

The discovery, according to a team led by astrophysicist Akos Bogdan of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), constitutes key evidence for the mode of supermassive black hole formation that requires the direct gravitational collapse of a huge cloud of gas into an ultradense object that then grows larger and larger as time marches on.

Earliest Black Hole Ever Spotted at The Dawn of Time And It's Already Huge

A supermassive black hole smack-bang in the Cosmic Dawn has broken the record for the earliest black hole we've ever seen.

www.sciencealert.com

Related video:

View: https://youtu.be/zgGJY7ZlnSM


And related paper:

[2305.15458] Evidence for heavy seed origin of early supermassive black holes from a z~10 X-ray quasar

 

[Flyaway]

Direct detection of atomic oxygen on the dayside and nightside of Venus

Abstract
Atomic oxygen is a key species in the mesosphere and thermosphere of Venus. It peaks in the transition region between the two dominant atmospheric circulation patterns, the retrograde super-rotating zonal flow below 70 km and the subsolar to antisolar flow above 120 km altitude. However, past and current detection methods are indirect and based on measurements of other molecules in combination with photochemical models. Here, we show direct detection of atomic oxygen on the dayside as well as on the nightside of Venus by measuring its ground-state transition at 4.74 THz (63.2 µm). The atomic oxygen is concentrated at altitudes around 100 km with a maximum column density on the dayside where it is generated by photolysis of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide. This method enables detailed investigations of the Venusian atmosphere in the region between the two atmospheric circulation patterns in support of future space missions to Venus.

Direct detection of atomic oxygen on the dayside and nightside of Venus - Nature Communications

Atomic oxygen is important for the photochemistry and energy balance of Venus’s atmosphere, but it was not directly observed on the dayside of Venus. Here, the authors show direct detection of atomic oxygen on the both dayside and nightside of Venus by measuring its ground-state transition at...

www.nature.com

 

[Flyaway]

The white dwarf WD 0810-353 –– the hot and dense corpse of a Sun-like star –– was set for a close encounter with our Solar System in just 29 000 years, the blink of an eye on evolutionary and cosmic time scales. Now, however, using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have found that the dead star isn’t coming our way after all. Breathe a sigh of relief, humanity.

…

“We found that the approach speed measured by the Gaia project is incorrect, and the close encounter predicted between WD0810-353 and the Sun is actually not going to happen,” says Stefano Bagnulo, an astronomer at Armagh and co-author of the study. “In fact, WD0810-353 may not even be moving towards the Sun at all.”

ESOblog: Rogue star not heading for Solar System collision after all

Rogue star not heading for Solar System collision after all

www.eso.org

 

[Flyaway]

But scientists are gaining a fuller understanding of Eris and its differences with Pluto thanks to research that discerns details about this frigid remote world's internal structure and composition based on its orbital relationship with its moon Dysnomia.

Eris, the researchers said on Wednesday, appears to have a rocky interior below a shell of ice. Pluto also has an icy exterior with rock below, but possesses a higher ice content and is thought to harbor an underground liquid ocean.

Scientists discern internal structure of mysterious dwarf planet Eris

Dwarf planet Eris, similar in size to its better-known cosmic cousin Pluto, has remained an enigma since being discovered in 2005 lurking in the solar system's far reaches. While Pluto was explored by NASA's New Horizons spacecraft during a 2015 flyby, Eris - about 40% further from the sun - has...

www.reuters.com

Related paper:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi9201

 

[publiusr]

Now, would the sea-level pressure HAVOK airships benefit? Or would they float beneath 100 km.

So much attention has be paid to cooling Venus. Perhaps make it hotter.

What about reflectors/ concentrators bouncing light from space reflectors to an unmanned airship.

Might you get things hot enough that pure carbon soot rains out in a controlled fashion?

 

[Flyaway]

The Hubble Space Telescope has measured the diameter of the nearest transiting exoplanet to us, discovering that it is a rocky planet very similar in size to Earth. Unfortunately, however, the world's surface is far too hot to support liquid water or life as we know it.

…

The more massive the planet, the larger the wobble; ESPRESSO measured the mass of LTT 1445Ac to be 1.37 times the mass of Earth.

Knowing its radius and its mass, it was then a simple matter to calculate LTT 1445Ac’s density, which came out to 5.9 grams per cubic centimeter. Earth, by comparison, has an average density of 5.51 grams per cubic centimeter. All in all, LTT 1445Ac is a little larger, a little denser and somewhat more massive than our planet, with a surface gravity 1.37 times greater than on Earth (a surface gravitational acceleration of 13.4 meters per second squared compared to Earth's 9.8 meters per second squared).

Hubble Telescope investigates nearby exoplanet, finds it's Earth-size

This alien world will make an ideal target for follow-up studies of its atmosphere — if it has one.

www.space.com

Related paper:

ShieldSquare Captcha

 

[Flyaway]

A high-energy particle falls from space to the Earth’s surface—it is not clear where it came from or even what it is, exactly. This may sound like something out of science fiction, but it is in fact a scientific reality, as evidenced by the research led by Associate Professor Toshihiro Fujii from the Graduate School of Science and Nambu Yoichiro Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics at Osaka Metropolitan University.

“Amaterasu” particle: a new cosmic mystery

<p style="text-align:justify">Osaka Metropolitan University researchers and their colleagues have successfully detected an ultra-high-energy cosmic ray with an energy level comparable to the most energetic cosmic ray ever observed. The cosmic ray is set to be named after the Japanese sun...

www.eurekalert.org

 

[Flyaway]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1729660498638160160

View: https://twitter.com/nasajpl/status/1729660498638160160

What would it look like to orbit Mars in the @Space_Station?

The Odyssey spacecraft, which orbits the Red Planet at the same altitude as the ISS orbits Earth, completed an innovative maneuver to capture this stunning view.

What it tells us:

NASA Orbiter Snaps Stunning Views of Mars Horizon

The Odyssey orbiter captured clouds and dust in the Red Planet’s skies, along with one of its two tiny moons.

www.jpl.nasa.gov

View: https://youtu.be/gm_g93wNj_8

Laura Kerber, deputy project scientist for NASA’s Mars Odyssey orbiter, explains how and why the spacecraft captured a view of the Red Planet similar to the International Space Station’s view of Earth. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

 

[Flyaway]

This is the first time such a stellar disc has been found outside our galaxy:

Stellar disc discovered in another galaxy! (ESOCast 268 Light)

View: https://youtu.be/D0EKI0FKciI?si=0jJa3WiUfKqDq90K

 

[Flyaway]

Six planets that orbit their star in a coordinated dance have been discovered by scientists, who say the finding could help shed light on why planets in our own solar system move to their own beat.

Planets of distant solar system orbit star in coordinated dance, say scientists

Findings could help explain how planets in our own solar system move around the sun

www.theguardian.com

Related paper:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06692-3.epdf

 

[Flyaway]

‘Horde of dead stars!’ Spider Pulsars caught destroying nearby stars:

View: https://youtu.be/B2PL55vsqiE?si=oJeRedr55nEJqlEX

 

[Flyaway]

This planet is so large in comparison to its host star that it challenges our theories of planetary formation.

Astronomers are questioning the theories of planet formation after discovering an exoplanet that technically shouldn’t exist.

The planet, about the mass of Neptune and more than 13 times as massive as Earth, was detected orbiting an ultracool M-dwarf star called LHS 3154 — which is nine times less massive than our sun. An M-dwarf star is the smallest and coolest type of star.

Puzzlingly massive planet found orbiting a small star | CNN

Astronomers have found a massive planet orbiting a small, cool star, and planet formation theories struggle to explain its existence.

amp.cnn.com

Related paper:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abo0233

 

[publiusr]

The Void

Do we live in a giant void? That could solve the puzzle of the universe's expansion, research suggests

One of the biggest mysteries in cosmology is the rate at which the universe is expanding. This can be predicted using the standard model of cosmology, also known as Lambda-cold dark matter (ΛCDM). This model is based on detailed observations of the light left over from the Big Bang—the so-called...

phys.org

Polygons

Zhurong rover detects mysterious polygons beneath the surface of Mars

China's Zhurong rover was equipped with a ground-penetrating radar system, allowing it to peer beneath Mars's surface. Researchers have announced new results from the scans of Zhurong's landing site in Utopia Planitia, saying they identified irregular polygonal wedges located at a depth of about...

phys.org

Phaethon and Chiron

Research team describes the composition of asteroid Phaethon

Asteroid Phaethon, which is five kilometers in diameter, has been puzzling researchers for a long time. A comet-like tail is visible for a few days when the asteroid passes closest to the sun during its orbit.

phys.org

Observations find evolving material, not rings, circling Centaur Chiron

Observations during a stellar occultation detected the presence of evolving material orbiting around Centaur (2060) Chiron, rather than a two-ring system interpretation, according to a paper by Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Amanda Sickafoose.

phys.org

Data sharing

Groundbreaking method to match celestial objects across telescopes

A team of Johns Hopkins researchers has developed a cutting-edge data science approach capable of matching observations of celestial objects taken across multiple telescope surveys, overcoming a significant challenge in modern astronomy.

phys.org

 

[Flyaway]

Dwarf planet Eris is squishier than expected

Dwarf planet Eris is squishier than expected

University of California, Santa Cruz Professor of Planetary Sciences Francis Nimmo recently co-authored a Science Advances paper about the internal structure of the dwarf planet Eris.

news.ucsc.edu

Related paper:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adi9201

 

[FighterJock]

That surprising piece of news has got me wondering if Pluto had the same internal make up as Eris as well Flyaway. We just do not know what Pluto is like internally.

 

[Flyaway]

A Dutch-led international team of astronomers has made the first two-dimensional inventory of ice in a planet-forming disk of dust and gas surrounding a young star. They used the James Webb Space Telescope and have published their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

…

The researchers studied the starlight from the young star HH 48 NE as it passes through its planet-forming disk towards the space telescope. The star and disk are located about 600 light years from Earth in the southern constellation Chameleon. The disk appears like a hamburger, with a dark central lane and two bright buns because we are looking at it from the side, edge-on.

…

The researchers observed distinct peaks of water ice (H2O), carbon dioxide ice (CO2), and carbon monoxide ice (CO) in the absorption spectra. Furthermore, they found evidence of ice of ammonia (NH3), cyanate (OCN–), carbonyl sulfide (OCS), and heavy carbon dioxide (13CO2).

Astronomers provide first detailed picture of ice in planet-forming disk

A Dutch-led international team of astronomers has made the first two-dimensional inventory of ice in a planet-forming disk of dust and gas surrounding a young star. They used the James Webb Space Telescope and have published their findings in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

phys.org

Related paper:

A JWST inventory of protoplanetary disk ices - The edge-on protoplanetary disk HH 48 NE, seen with the Ice Age ERS program | Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A)

Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is an international journal which publishes papers on all aspects of astronomy and astrophysics

www.aanda.org

 

[Flyaway]

The vicinity of a supermassive black hole is thought to be way too extreme and messy to allow for star formation, so astronomers believe that any stars hanging about there must have come from somewhere else.

Well, now a team led by astrophysicist Shogo Nishiyama of Miyagi University of Education has determined the origins of one of those stars, named S0-6 – and found that it's decidedly not from around here.

In fact, S0-6 appears to be from outside the Milky Way entirely, making it the first star in the galactic center found to have an extragalactic origin story.

Mysterious Star at Heart of Milky Way Appears to Be From Alien Galaxy

At the center of the Milky Way orbits a swarm of stars attendant on a supermassive black hole.

www.sciencealert.com

Related paper:

Origin of an orbiting star around the galactic supermassive black hole

Access full-text academic articles: J-STAGE is an online platform for Japanese academic journals.

www.jstage.jst.go.jp

 

[Archibald]

Would be fun if the stars came FROM the black hole - and thus from another universe or dimension...

 

[FighterJock]

You would be breaking the current laws of Physics as they stand right now Archibald, I think that the most probable answer to that might be is that star came from a Galaxy that colided with the Milky Way many millions of years ago, and indead we have evidence provided by the Hubble Space Telescope that supports that theory. That also might explain why our Galaxy now is a Barred Spiral instead of a normal Spiral galaxy as was the case when I was growing up in the 1980s and just getting into Astronomy.

 

[Flyaway]

JWST shows the early Universe is different than we thought (that’s a good thing)

View: https://youtu.be/FjWwQEDq0KU?si=jRmgjOpho-Jn7WMW

 

[publiusr]

Superflares and general space news

Physics behind unusual behavior of stars' super flares discovered

Our sun actively produces solar flares that can impact Earth, with the strongest flares having the capacity to cause blackouts and disrupt communications—potentially on a global scale. While solar flares can be powerful, they are insignificant compared to the thousands of "super flares" observed...

phys.org

Protecting power grids from space weather

Activity from the sun, such as solar flares, can cause fluctuations in Earth's geomagnetic field that send electrical currents flowing through power grids. These geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) can cause problems ranging from temporary voltage instability to widespread blackouts to...

phys.org

A possible way for early life on Earth to survive cosmic radiation

A team of biophysicists affiliated with several institutions in China has uncovered via experimentation the means by which early life might have been able to survive cosmic radiation. In their study, reported in the journal Nature Communications, the group conducted experiments with...

phys.org

Astronomers discover galaxies have bipolar gas outflows reaching far into intergalactic space

Astronomers have observed, for the first time in three dimensions, that gas from spiral galaxies is blown upward and downward at high velocity, far out of the galaxy. The observations confirm the prevailing theory of galaxy evolution that says that star-forming galaxies drive intergalactic winds...

phys.org

Scholars say it's time to declare a new epoch on the moon, the 'Lunar Anthropocene'

Human beings first disturbed moon dust on Sept. 13, 1959, when the USSR's unmanned spacecraft Luna 2 alighted on the lunar surface. In the following decades, more than a hundred other spacecraft have touched the moon—both crewed and uncrewed, sometimes landing and sometimes crashing. The most...

phys.org

Asteroid will pass in front of bright star Betelgeuse to produce a rare eclipse visible to millions

One of the biggest and brightest stars in the night sky will momentarily vanish as an asteroid passes in front of it to produce a one-of-a-kind eclipse.

phys.org

The longstanding mystery of Mars' moons—and the mission that could solve it

The two small moons of Mars, Phobos (about 22km in diameter) and Deimos (about 13km in diameter), have been puzzling scientists for decades, with their origin remaining a matter of debate. Some have proposed that they may be made up of residual debris produced from a planet or large asteroid...

phys.org

Image: The beginnings of a sunrise

City lights stretch across the United States like a string of holiday lights in this image taken from the International Space Station on Nov. 10, 2023. At far left, the lights of Chicago, Illinois, are outlined by Lake Michigan. At far right, the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area shines...

phys.org

On the tracking of objects

UFOs: How astronomers are searching the sky for alien probes near Earth

There has been increased interest in unidentified flying objects (UFOs) ever since the Pentagon's 2021 report revealed what appears to be anomalous objects in US airspace, dubbed unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP). Fast forward to 2023, and Nasa has already formed a panel to investigate the...

phys.org

SETI: How we're searching for alien life at previously unexplored frequencies

Is there life beyond Earth? The question has turned out to be one of the hardest to answer in science. Despite the seemingly boundless expanse of the universe, which implies there's potential for abundant life, the vast distances between stars render the search akin to locating a needle in a...

phys.org

Tracking undetectable space junk

Satellite and spacecraft operators may finally be able to detect small pieces of debris orbiting Earth using an approach proposed by researchers from the University of Michigan.

phys.org

Teaching physics from the din of flying discs

Disc golf is booming, with record numbers of players turning up each year to partake in the disc-throwing sport. It is also whizzing and whistling. In fact, the sound a disc makes while soaring through the air toward its target is full of information about how fast the disc is flying and how...

phys.org

An astronaut speaks

An Astronaut's Journey / Goddess Energy & Past Lives | Coast to Coast AM

Former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino discussed his various space missions and life lessons. Followed by author Dr. Shelley Kaehr on goddess energy and past life therapy.

www.coasttocoastam.com

Communication woes

Communicating with a relativistic spacecraft gets pretty weird

Someday, in the not-too-distant future, humans may send robotic probes to explore nearby star systems. These robot explorers will likely take the form of lightsails and wafercraft (a la Breakthrough Starshot) that will rely on directed energy (lasers) to accelerate to relativistic speeds—aka a...

phys.org

 

[Flyaway]

Attempting to counter some of sensationalist headlines you see online around strange matter.

Could Quark Stars be the Engines of Self-Replicating Strange Matter?

View: https://youtu.be/iNiE293-EvE?si=K6zhMDCev91bxKJH

 

[Flyaway]

Scientists Found Evidence Of A Nearby Kilonova 3.5 Million Years Ago

Most of the times astronomers reported dramatic, cataclysmic events like neutron star mergers or the creation of a black hole; they are taking place light years away, typically in in another galaxy. While we can observe their destructive power through the light they emit, they have minimal impact on Earth. However, a relatively recent discovery of certain types of isotopes at the bottom of the ocean hints at one of these events happening fairly close to home. And it probably didn’t happen all that long ago.

Scientists Found Evidence Of A Nearby Kilonova 3.5 Million Years Ago

Most of the times astronomers reported dramatic, cataclysmic events like neutron star mergers or the creation of a black hole; they are taking place light years away, typically in in another galaxy. While we can observe their destructive power through the light they emit, they have minimal...

www.universetoday.com

Related paper:

[2311.17159] Did a kilonova set off in our Galactic backyard 3.5 Myr ago?

 

[Flyaway]

PBS have now made a short documentary about the Silurian hypothesis:

View: https://youtu.be/vyEWLhOfLgQ?si=BjRkhs8trDvSPG3A

 

[Flyaway]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1735064528335909065

View: https://twitter.com/nasa_marshall/status/1735064528335909065

A team using @NASAWebb has identified a new record holder: a tiny, free-floating brown dwarf with only three to four times the mass of Jupiter. Brown dwarfs straddle the dividing line between stars and planets.

Read more about this elf-sized one >>

NASA’s Webb Identifies Tiniest Free-Floating Brown Dwarf - NASA

Brown dwarfs are objects that straddle the dividing line between stars and planets. They form like stars, growing dense enough to collapse under their own

www.nasa.gov

 

[Flyaway]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1735374869804748810

View: https://twitter.com/nasajpl/status/1735374869804748810

More evidence for habitability on Enceladus

A study using data from @NASA’s Cassini mission has found evidence of a key ingredient for life – and a powerful source of chemical energy to fuel it – on Saturn’s icy moon.

What this means:

NASA Study Finds Life-Sparking Energy Source and Molecule at Enceladus

A study zooms in on data that NASA’s Cassini gathered at Saturn’s icy moon and finds evidence of a key ingredient for life and a supercharged source of energy to fuel it.

www.jpl.nasa.gov

 

[Flyaway]

Mysterious fast radio bursts in space keep getting stranger

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/12/14/world/repeating-fast-radio-burst-quirk-scn/index.html

 

[FighterJock]

So what could the Fast radio burst in space be? Aliens trying to make contact? Or the most probable explanation is Magnetars letting of some steam when their magnetic fields break, as in a much more powerful solar flare.