Astronomy and Planetary Science Thread

NASA Roman’s Planet Imager Has Powered On

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team has successfully activated the mission’s Coronagraph Instrument, which will block starlight to view planets and dusty disks around nearby stars. Now the instrument will undergo a monthslong series of calibrations and tests prior to beginning full science operations.

The coronagraph power-on began at 7:27 a.m. EDT and completed at 8:22 a.m. on Sept. 1.

The Roman Coronagraph is a system of optics, masks, self-flexing mirrors, and sensors designed to demonstrate the most advanced technologies ever flown in space for directly imaging planets around other stars. It will block the glare from stars and make it possible for scientists to see the faint reflected light from planets in orbit around them.
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NASA Roman Space Telescope’s Antenna, ‘Visor’ Deployed

Roman’s antenna and visor-like sunshade have successfully deployed.

Roman will downlink the highest data volume of any NASA astrophysics mission so far via its high-gain antenna, which measures 5.6 feet wide yet only weighs 24 pounds. It’s made of a carbon composite material that weighs very little but will still withstand the spacecraft’s wide temperature fluctuations. Its large size will help Roman send radio signals across a million miles of intervening space to Earth.
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Some exciting discoveries about Earth's core, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about new discoveries from inside Earth
Links:
https://jsedi.episciences.org/en/arti...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev....org/en/articles/17268/download&v=H0nZmCIJi6o
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.c...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ey.com/doi/10.1029/2026JB033798&v=H0nZmCIJi6o
https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/et...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...usly-race-inside-the-earth.html&v=H0nZmCIJi6o
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2405.11810
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ttps://arxiv.org/pdf/2405.11810&v=H0nZmCIJi6o

Previous videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHDyryrh_TU
• New Evidence of Activity and Changes Insid...

• Evidence That Planet Theia Formed Massive ...

• Massive Blobs Inside Earth May Be Responsi... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e_c0QcL6vE

#earth #core #structurehttps://www.youtube.com/hashtag/structure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0nZmCIJi6o
0:00 Inner Earth discoveries
1:10 Strange motion inside the outer core
3:15 Nuclear tests as Earth scanners
4:20 Changing waves and a chunk inside
6:00 Solid inner core contains something else
9:05 Water mystery
10:00 LLSVPs affect the magnetosphere
12:00 Implications and conclusions
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Astronomers Detect a 10-Sided Structure in Saturn's Atmosphere

Lurking around the planet's south pole, astronomers led by Agustín Sánchez-Lavega of the University of the Basque Country in Spain have spotted another giant polygon – and this one has ten sides.

"This discovery suggests that the hexagon is not as extraordinary as previously thought and that, in fact, the conditions in Saturn's atmosphere are such that polygonal waves can form in both hemispheres surrounding the polar regions," Sánchez-Lavega told ScienceAlert.
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A video from Kyplanet concerning the oldest planets in the universe:


You've proably heard of some of the oldest planets in the Universe, like Methuselah. But most of the oldest known exoplanets are gas giants. So, what are some of the oldest rocky planets like?
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LZ sees surprising result in search for dark matter

The LUX-ZEPLIN experiment observed a particle interaction that could be interpreted as a signal from WIMPs, a dark matter candidate — but researchers will need more data to confirm.
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…

Key takeaways:

Dark matter is the mysterious substance that accounts for the vast majority of matter in our universe.
LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) is a world-leading dark matter detector and specializes in searching for WIMPs, or weakly interacting massive particles.
A new LZ study found one particle interaction that is difficult to explain with known background processes and could potentially have been caused by a WIMP.
LZ continues to run to see if additional data strengthens or weakens the hint of a dark matter interaction.
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Anton Petrov has uploaded a video about the NGRST's upcoming contributions and how it will change everything:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the newly launched Nancy Grace Roman telescope
Links:
https://science.nasa.gov/missions/rom...
https://science.nasa.gov/roman-and-webb/https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...cience.nasa.gov/roman-and-webb/&v=58x8FebkTSA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58x8FebkTSA
0:00 NASA Launched a new observatory - Roman telescope
0:50 This was supposed to be a spy satellite
2:10 Success story
3:50 Why this telescope is so important
5:40 Exoplanet search
6:35 How is it different from JWST?
8:10 Working with Webb
8:55 Unique missions
10:20 Exciting discoveries
12:10 Why it's exciting for everyone
13:10 Who is Nancy Grace Roman though?

#nancygraceroman #romantelescope #nancygraceromantelescope
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The history of the Earth in ten minutes, from Gingko Traces:


This is the history of the Earth in 10 minutes, from its origins in the Hadean, the evolution of first life, formation of continents, the Cambrian Explosion, the Great Dying, reign of the dinosaurs, and the rise of mammals.
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Earth's moon could have formed in just 5 hours after giant impact

One day in history about 4.5 billion years ago was a dramatic one for Earth, potentially giving our planet an instant moon and an almighty headache all in one go.
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The SETI Institute And ETH Zurich Join Forces To Search For The Origin Of Life

The question of how life originated and whether it exists elsewhere in the universe has fascinated humanity for centuries. Now, ETH Zurich and the SETI Institute in California are joining forces to seek answers. The two institutions have agreed on a strategic partnership and signed a corresponding agreement.

At the heart of the collaboration is a new assistant professorship, to be called ‘Earth and Planetary Evolution’, which will be based in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences at ETH Zurich. The professorship will play a key role at ETH’s Centre for Origin and Prevalence of Life (COPL).
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Rescue satellite gets close to NASA’s doomed telescope, even if it can’t save it

A private spacecraft that was supposed to provide a lifeline to NASA’s Swift Observatory managed to get close to the sinking telescope and even snap photos two weeks after the rescue was abandoned.

But the three-armed robotic salvager had to turn away because it was low on fuel, according to Katalyst Space Technologies, which attempted the daring operation.

“We got so close, but so far,” Katalyst CEO Ghonhee Lee told The Associated Press this week.

Katalyst’s Link spacecraft got within 15 kilometers (9 miles) of Swift on Tuesday, using its sensors to gather data on the doomed telescope for NASA. The rescue effort had already been called off in August because of Link’s own troubles in orbit, but the company wanted the practice for future satellite-servicing missions.

Link went into an uncontrollable spin soon after rocketing to Swift’s rescue in July. Flight controllers managed to slow the tumble and stabilize the spacecraft, using up precious fuel. In the end, there was not enough fuel remaining to boost the aging Swift into a higher, longer-lasting orbit so it could continue observing the cosmos.

Lee blamed Link’s problems on the rush to get it flying. The mission was put together in just nine months, and engineers often had to use whatever was available instead of waiting for the preferred parts, he said.
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Asteroid 2026 RW1 impacts Earth over Indian Ocean about 7 hours after discovery, becomes 13th known asteroid detected before impact

Asteroid 2026 RW1 struck Earth over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia on September 6, just over 7 hours after it was discovered, becoming the 13th known asteroid detected before hitting Earth. This event added another real-world test of planetary defense systems designed to identify small incoming objects, rapidly refine their trajectories, and determine where and when they will enter the atmosphere.

ESA tracked the asteroid under the temporary identifier CERNQ52 using its Meerkat system and estimated its diameter at only 0.6–1.3 m (2–4.3 feet). Objects of this size are difficult to detect far in advance because they are intrinsically faint, often becoming observable only when they are already relatively close to Earth.

As new observations were added, ESA classified 2026 RW1 as a confirmed impactor and determined the median impact position near 13.77°S, 116.43°E, over the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia.
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A possible solution to the Faint Young Sun paradox has been found, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the faint young sun hypothesis and a potential resolution
Links:
https://www.annualreviews.org/content...
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...rticle/10.3847/2041-8213/ae5491&v=qllEOPxi_E8
#faintyoungsun #solarsystem #earth
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/earth
0:00 Earth history updates
1:30 Faint Young Sun paradox
3:40 Previous explanations
4:10 Superflares of G-type stars
5:15 An experiment with unusual results
6:50 Amino acid origin
7:35 Implications
8:05 How galactic travel affects Earth
11:28 Alien life implications
12:30 What's next?
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I wonder if either of the Magellanic Clouds have a super-massive blackhole at their core?
 
So the Gaia satellite has confirmed there's a Gian wave going through the Milky-Way galaxy, from Anton Petrov:


Hello and welcome! My name is Anton and in this video, we will talk about the Radcliffe wave updates and several similar structures
Links:
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.14883v3https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ps://arxiv.org/pdf/2507.14883v3&v=x5_9Ex62A-4
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2608.10884
https://arxiv.org/pdf/2402.12596
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ttps://arxiv.org/pdf/2402.12596&v=x5_9Ex62A-4
Previous video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzWFJqcwSVQ&pp=0gcJCR0AztywvtLA
• Giant Wave Structure Inside Our Galaxy Is ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzWFJqcwSVQ&pp=0gcJCR0AztywvtLA
#radcliffe #milkyway #galaxy
https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/galaxy
0:00 Milky Way updates - the galaxy is oscillating
1:10 Galactic collisions with Antlia 2
2:50 These ripples are everywhere
3:40 Studies confirm several new waves
5:40 Radcliffe wave comparison
6:30 Type of waves
7:42 What this does to stars and gas
8:20 Waves in all parts of the galaxy
9:40 Implications and conclusions
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A NOVA/PBS documentary on Rain Bombs:


A deadly—and growing—global weather phenomenon mystifies scientists.

Official website: https://to.pbs.org/4tLMu4q | #novapbs

An invisible, unpredictable atmospheric force is wreaking havoc across the globe, sinking superyachts and bringing down planes. Follow scientists as they race to understand these catastrophic weather events, exploring how they form, what causes their devastating impacts, and how we might someday learn to predict them. From high-tech simulations and drone expeditions into thunderclouds to possible links with climate change, join investigators on the cutting edge of research to discover what's truly behind these terrifying "rain bombs" and how we can protect ourselves from their growing power.​
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...1KX0pL&q=https://bit.ly/48UnsrD&v=oH_pVgW5fEw
Chapters
00:00 Introduction
05:22 What is a Rain Bomb?
12:25 How Does Hail Form?
19:24 Downbursts and Cold Pools
25:46 Accidents Caused by Downbursts
33:48 What is a Derecho?
39:46 Storm Chasing Rain Bombs
43:54 Protection Against Downbursts
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