Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

The simulated Milky Way: 100 billion stars using 7 million CPU cores

Researchers led by Keiya Hirashima at the RIKEN Center for Interdisciplinary Theoretical and Mathematical Sciences (iTHEMS) in Japan, with colleagues from The University of Tokyo and Universitat de Barcelona in Spain, have successfully performed the world’s first Milky Way simulation that accurately represents more than 100 billion individual stars over the course of 10 thousand years. This feat was accomplished by combining artificial intelligence (AI) with numerical simulations. Not only does the simulation represent 100 times more individual stars than previous state-of-the-art models, but it was produced more than 100 times faster. Published in the international supercomputing conference SC ’25, this study represents a breakthrough at the intersection of astrophysics, high-performance computing, and AI. Beyond astrophysics, this new methodology can be used to model other phenomenon such as climate change and weather patterns.



“I believe that integrating AI with high-performance computing marks a fundamental shift in how we tackle multi-scale, multi-physics problems across the computational sciences,” says Hirashima. “This achievement also shows that AI-accelerated simulations can move beyond pattern recognition to become a genuine tool for scientific discovery—helping us trace how the elements that formed life itself emerged within our galaxy.”

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1105992
Related paper:

https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3712285.3759866
 
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Captured From Every Angle By NASA

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxRJudX_3p4


Nov 20, 2025
Last month the interstelllar comet 3I/ATLAS made a close approach to Mars and this presented a unique opportunity to observe it from spacecraft that are usually studying Mars. This was partly done because the comet was also passing on the opposite side of the sun during it's closest approach to the sun.
However because of the government shutdown, none of the observations were released at the time, so NASA had a press conference yesterday to reveal the new images.
 
Theia – The Giant Impactor That Formed The Moon – Assembled Closer To The Sun Than Earth Is Now

To our best of our understanding, the Moon formed from Earth following a colossal impact. A Mars-sized world we nicknamed Theia slammed and merged with the primordial Earth, throwing material into space. Some fell back onto the planet, while some spread out and formed the Moon. New analysis is providing novel insights into Theia and where it came from. It was a lot closer than expected.

https://www.iflscience.com/theia-th...led-closer-to-the-sun-than-earth-is-now-81640
Related paper:

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado0623
 
On the Kuiper Belt
https://phys.org/news/2025-11-potentially-distinct-kuiper-belt-clustering.htmlNow, a new preprint paper on arXiv describes a newly identified region that appears to be completely distinct from other parts of the Kuiper belt—but some uncertainty remains.

For the moment, the inner belt's existence as a separate entity is still unclear. However, new data from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory is coming soon and should provide more clarification. This, as well as other surveys, can clarify the nature of these structures and more about their origins.

To the study authors, however, the inner belt is still significant. They say, "There are two alternative explanations that we cannot distinguish between: either the kernel is significantly larger than previously thought, or there is an additional distinct structure in the cold classical Kuiper belt. In either case, the inner kernel, as described here, is the additional component."
 
V101 SPACE has a video out concerning what is below Neptune's cloud:


Neptune is one of the most mysterious worlds in the Solar System.Beneath its blue clouds lies an interior so extreme, so alien, and so poorly understood that even today, more than 35 years after Voyager 2 flew past, it continues to defy our expectations.​
In this documentary, we explore what’s really happening inside Neptune using the latest science from Voyager 2, Hubble, ground-based observatories, and the incredible clarity of the James Webb Space Telescope. Prepare for a journey into one of the most extreme and least explored environments in the Solar System!​
This video is human-made. No AI narration. Real research, real storytelling, and the same V101 style you’ve supported for years.
Timestamps:
00:00 – Inside Neptune, Nothing Is As We Imagined
01:30 – The Discovery of Neptune
02:26 – Voyager 2’s Fleeting Visit
04:46 – Diatom Watch Advert
06:39 – Beneath the Clouds
07:29 – Neptune’s Hot Ice Ocean
08:51 – The Diamond Layer
10:14 – The Core
11:43 – Why Neptune Still Mystifies Us
 
Astrum has put out a new video concerning a recent NASA discovery about Charon:


Join us as we journey to the solar system's frozen edge to explore Pluto’s mysterious companion, Charon. Forming half of the solar system’s most intriguing binary, Charon’s dark surface bears the scars of a violent past, and a bizarre red stain on its pole. Join us to explore everything we know about Charon, the moon that helped to redefine what it means to be a planet.​
▀▀▀▀▀▀
0:00 Pluto’s Shadow
1:18 Accidental Discovery
5:15 The Pluto-Charon System
8:42 The Kiss and Capture Theory
13:48 Charon’s Surface
16:31 Cryovolcanoes on Charon
18:50 Mordor Macula: Charon’s Red Spot
21:52 What Charon Has Taught Us

▀▀▀▀▀▀
References:
“Charon: Pluto’s Largest Moon”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/charonoverview
“The Accidental Discovery of Charon”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/charondiscovery
“The Dynamics of Pluto’s Satellites”, via iop.org https://astrumspace.info/plutosatellites
“The Pluto-Charon System (NASA Lithograph)”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/plutocharon
“The ‘Kiss-and-Capture’ Origin of Pluto’s Moon Charon”, via nature.com https://astrumspace.info/kisscapture
“Cracks in Charon Could Indicate an Extinct Underground Ocean”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/charoncracks
“Charon’s Surface Geology”, via usra.edu https://astrumspace.info/charongeology
“Differentiation and Cryovolcanism in the Pluto–Charon System”, via usra.edu https://astrumspace.info/charoncryovolchttps://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbVNRZk1fNFRxSS01dmJVS1ZyWFk3QTJCU0p0Z3xBQ3Jtc0tuZ1ByR2ZRUDJhdzQ4QldSSWJzUUVHRVkyeEEtSUEtMmRLQXNLR2RpdjFYRjd1dGJvc1QyanJyNE1NbkRvRDJ6azNYZWZyc1hqN2QtcktrWGdtU0gwVjlDN1VWZGxqOHFpMmd1QW55UmxJVzdKMUw5VQ&q=https://astrumspace.info/charoncryovolc&v=FTx2O7Zm4Jc
“The Origin of Mordor Macula on Charon”, via ui.adsabs.harvard.edu https://astrumspace.info/mordormacula
“Source of Volatiles on Charon”, via nature.com https://astrumspace.info/charonvolatiles


▀▀▀▀▀▀
Credits:
Writers: Jess Jordan, Alex McColgan
Video Editor: Nick Shishkin
Researcher: Shourya Shrivastava
Script Editor: Damaris McColgan
Thumbnail Designer: Peter Sheppard
Publishing Lead: Georgina Brenner
Production Manager: Raquel Taylor
Edit Producer: Poppy Pinnock
Head of Astrum: Jess Jordan
Creator of Astrum: Alex McColgan


With special thanks to:NASA/ESO/ESA
#Astrum #Space #Charon
 
Endings and beginnings: ACT releases its final data, shaping the future of cosmology

Three papers published in JCAP presenting the sixth and final data release of the Atacama Cosmology Telescope offer a new map of the “infant” Universe, confirm the “Hubble tension,” and rule out a set of extended cosmological models.



ACT’s data clarify several key points: the measurement of the Hubble constant (the number that indicates the current rate of cosmic expansion — the Universe’s “speedometer”) obtained from observations at very large cosmological distances is confirmed, and it remains markedly different from the value derived from the nearby Universe. This is both a problem and a remarkable discovery: it confirms the so-called “Hubble tension,” which challenges the model we use to describe the cosmos.

ACT’s observations also rule out many of the so-called extended models — theoretical alternatives to the standard cosmological model. That’s another “problem,” since it narrows the range of possibilities, but it also represents a new, cleaner starting point: time to stop pursuing these models and look elsewhere.

Last but not least, ACT provides new polarization maps of the cosmic microwave background — the Universe’s “fossil light” — which complement Planck’s temperature maps, but with much higher resolution. “When we compare them, it’s a bit like cleaning your glasses,” says Erminia Calabrese, cosmologist at Cardiff University, ACT collaboration member and coordinator of one of the three papers.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106637
 
A red-dwarf has been discovered to be a flare-star greatly reducing the possibility of it having habitable planets, from Anton Petrov:


0:00 How we looked for life out there
1:10 First ever CME from another star
2:00 Red dwarfs and why they matter
2:50 CMEs
4:20 New study finds direct evidence of a red dwarf CME
6:35 What this shows us
7:55 Additional observations of stellar flares
9:20 How this affects search for alien life
10:35 Conclusions
 
View: https://twitter.com/NASAMars/status/1993397406168399995


NASA Orbiter Shines New Light on Long-Running Martian Mystery [Nov 25]

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has revisited and raised new questions about a mysterious feature buried beneath thousands of feet of ice at the Red Planet’s south pole. In a recent study, researchers conclude from data obtained using an innovative radar technique that an area on Mars suspected of being an underground lake is more likely to be a layer of rock and dust.
 
A red-dwarf has been discovered to be a flare-star greatly reducing the possibility of it having habitable planets, from Anton Petrov:

Huge respect for Anton Petrov and his scrupulousness. Still, I've seen so many swings of the pendulum towards and away from the probability of habitability of planets orbiting red dwarfs that I'm going to be a little cautious about drawing any conclusion - and I see that his discussion is more nuanced than the title suggests. We are so tantalisingly close to comprehensive observations and characterisations of the weather about stars that I really, really, really look forward to news based on further observations.

Kyplanet's running a series on habitability of planets around M types too.

Interesting times!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1r86HRUVdA&t=1s


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA--f_N40W8


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrGdIVIjl9w
 
I had always thought that life on a planet around a red dwarf star would be impossible Michel Van since Red Dwarfs are highly active and any life that tried to form on planets around one would be snuffed out before they got advanced enough.
 
this another explication for Fermin Paradox on Red Dwarf

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tnoVS4i-tw

Red Storm rising;):D.

Why is this star so weird? Maybe because it ate one of its own planets

Related paper:

https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.25680

Sounds like it got a bit of indigestion swallowing a Hot Jupiter;):D.

On another note here's an Astrum video concerning Alpha Orionis's strange behaviour:


This Supercut dives into the enigma of Betelgeuse, our red giant neighbour star on the brink of supernova. But will this spectacular death happen in our lifetime? And should we be worried here on Earth? Beyond the impending explosion, we uncover the exciting new discovery of Betelgeuse’s companion, affectionately dubbed "Betelbuddy." See how this partner star could be the key to understanding Betelgeuse’s strange, erratic activity.​
To those returning and new to the channel: This video is a supercut of our previous videos about Betelgeuse, along with new and updated science content. We’ve edited this into a new seamless video, remastered in 4K resolution, and re-recorded the older voiceover to match the quality of the recent episodes.​
▀▀▀▀▀▀
0:00 What You Need to Know About Betelgeuse
2:54 Will Betelgeuse Explode?
7:57 How Supernovae Happen
12:44 Could It Destroy Earth?
17:15 How Long Left?
20:47 Betelgeuse’s Buddy
24:39 The Problem With Betelgeuse’s Rotation
30:01 Cannibal Stars
▀▀▀▀▀▀
References:
Betelgeuse: A Review”, via academic.oup.com https://astrumspace.info/betelgeusere...
“What Is Betelgeuse? Inside the Strange, Volatile Star”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/insidebetelg...
“Supernovae: Types I and II”, via cfa.harvard.edu https://astrumspace.info/supernovatypes “The Great Dimming of Betelgeuse”, via eso.org https://astrumspace.info/greatdimming
“Betelgeuse Companion Discovered”, via noirlab.edu https://astrumspace.info/betelbuddy
“Direct Imaging of the ‘Betel-Buddy’: A Companion to Betelgeuse”, via iop.org https://astrumspace.info/betelbuddyimage
“Hubble Sees Red Supergiant Star Betelgeuse Slowly Recovering After Blowing Its Top”, via nasa.gov https://astrumspace.info/betelgeusere...
“Is Betelgeuse Really Rotating?”, via iop.org https://astrumspace.info/betelgeusero...
“Convective Outbursts, Mode Switching, and Mass Ejection in Betelgeuse”, via iop.org https://astrumspace.info/betelgeuseou...
“Betelgeuse Pulsation and Impending Explosion”, via arxiv.org https://astrumspace.info/betelgeusepu...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...mspace.info/betelgeusepulsation&v=SbCHSYJfLu8
▀▀▀▀▀▀
Credits:
Writer: Jon McColgan
Video Editor: Nathália Huzian
Researcher: Shourya Shrivastava
Script Editor: Damaris McColgan
Thumbnail Designer: Peter Sheppard
Publishing Lead: Georgina Brenner
Production Manager: Raquel Taylor
Edit Producer: Poppy Pinnock
Head of Astrum: Jess Jordan
Creator of Astrum: Alex McColgan
With special thanks to:
NASA/ESO/ESA
#Astrum #Space #Betelgeuse
 
Do we live in the rarest solar-system in the universe? From PBS Space Time:


There are lots of reasons to search for planets around other stars—exoplanets. A big one is to find other places in the universe that might harbor life. We only know of one such planet so far: Earth. And so we get particularly excited when we find Earth-mass planets at the right distance from their star to sustain liquid water—also critical for life as we know it. We’ve found lots of those “habitable” worlds. But we also don’t know what factors are really critical to the initial development of life. Maybe star type? We get even more excited if that Earth-mass at the right distance from a Sun-type star. We’ve found a few of those too, and we can infer that there are lots more.​
 
Do we live in the rarest solar-system in the universe?
in Comparison to the other discover Exosolar Planet system
the Solar-system is quite unusual
No Super-Earths, no gas-giant close to the Sun, missing dust disk at edge of solar-system

However this could change with better equipment to scann for more Exoplanets system.
 
The Milky Way galaxy may be moving faster than astronomers thought, from Anton Petrov:


0:00 New radio mystery in the universe
0:55 Cosmic Microwave Background dipole
4:00 Radio dipole in comparison
6:20 Strange observations based on several surveys
8:40 Implications and what this means
9:30 Explanations
10:40 Conclusions
 
Hubble Captures Puzzling Galaxy

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy that’s hard to categorize. The galaxy in question is NGC 2775, which lies 67 million light-years away in the constellation Cancer (the Crab). NGC 2775 sports a smooth, featureless center that is devoid of gas, resembling an elliptical galaxy. It also has a dusty ring with patchy star clusters, like a spiral galaxy. Which is it: spiral or elliptical — or neither?

https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/hubble-captures-puzzling-galaxy/
 
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO-HbWAERnE

0:00 Dark matter discoveries!
0:35 Here's what we think dark matter is, the story of WIMPs
3:20 Using gamma rays to find them
4:05 Fermi bubbles
5:25 Galactic halo and dark matter
6:00 New interesting research - dark matter emissions?
8:00 Why we have to be careful
9:15 Different from previous gamma ray mysteries
10:05 Conclusions and other experiments

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQwzJ9PWjL0&pp=ygULZGFyayBtYXR0ZXI%3D



Please let it be this neutral particle with mass of Electron...
...It would match Burhard Heim cosmology Models
 
in Comparison to the other discover Exosolar Planet system
the Solar-system is quite unusual
No Super-Earths, no gas-giant close to the Sun, missing dust disk at edge of solar-system

However this could change with better equipment to scann for more Exoplanets system.
In my opinion the biggest difference is the absence of a hot Jupiter, perhaps in the past a giant planet migrated inward before falling into the sun, but by an extraordinary chance it crossed the earth's orbit in a place quite far from the planet without doing damage.
Perhaps on his way to destruction he took with him the missing super-Earth.
 
After nearly 100 years, scientists may have detected dark matter

“We detected gamma rays with a photon energy of 20 gigaelectronvolts (or 20 billion electronvolts, an extremely large amount of energy) extending in a halolike structure toward the center of the Milky Way galaxy. The gamma-ray emission component closely matches the shape expected from the dark matter halo,” said Totani.

The observed energy spectrum, or range of gamma-ray emission intensities, matches the emission predicted from the annihilation of hypothetical WIMPs, with a mass approximately 500 times that of a proton. The frequency of WIMP annihilation estimated from the measured gamma-ray intensity also falls within the range of theoretical predictions.

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1106867
 
Recent observations from three new supernovae that break current models, from Anton Petrov:


0:00 Strange supernova discoveries
1:40 What we thought about supernovae before
3:10 Collapse of a star in 2024 and what we learned
5:45 Type 1A surprise - double detonations
8:02 Distant supernova that was naked
11:05 Conclusions and what it all means
 
Scott Manley has put out a video about a new digital telescope he's been trialing and the subject was Andromeda:


I got offered a Vaonis Vespera II digital telescope back in August, and finally I get all the stuff together to make a video about how well it works. This particular telescope is the X edition which has a transparent case, for people who like to look at the inner workings of their digital devices. People who have fond memories of the iMac in the last millennium.​
In general the manufacturer has a website where you can look at their whole rangevaonis.pxf.io/e1VX7Z
 
A dying satellite could use its final moments to photograph the infamous asteroid Apophis in 2029

An Australian company wants to join efforts to study a rare space event, conducting its own flyby of the asteroid Apophis when it makes its close approach to Earth in 2029.

Sydney-based HEO Robotics, a provider of commercial satellite-to-satellite imagery, wants to add to the international missions already planning to get up close to the 1,115-foot-wide (340 meters) asteroid Apophis as it zooms by Earth in April 2029 by buying a satellite near the end of its life up in geostationary orbit and use its remaining fuel.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/ast...tograph-the-infamous-asteroid-apophis-in-2029
 
Just had a thought Flyaway, Apophis is the originator of the Geminid meteor shower that will soon be ready to observe on the nights of the 13/14 of December if you are interested in observing the shower.
 
Scientists discover 53 powerful quasars shooting out jets up to 50 times wider than our Milky Way

Astronomers have discovered 53 new supermassive black hole-powered quasars that are blasting out jets of matter at near light-speed that stretch out for up to 7.2 million light-years, around 50 times the width of the Milky Way.

https://www.space.com/astronomy/bla...-jets-up-to-50-times-wider-than-our-milky-way
Related paper:

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4365/ae0b52
 

Similar threads

Back
Top Bottom