Big planets don"t necessarily mean big moons
Does the size of an exomoon help determine if life could form on an exoplanet it's orbiting? This is something a February 2022 study published in Nature Communications hoped to address as a team of researchers investigated the potential for large exo.....»»
Unraveling water mysteries beyond Earth: Ground-penetrating radar will seek bodies of water on Jupiter
Finding water on distant planets and moons in our solar system is a challenge, especially when the instrument is thousands of kilometers away from the surface, but scientists presenting at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly describe how.....»»
Saturn"s ocean moon Enceladus could support life—researchers are working out how to detect extraterrestrial cells there
Saturn has 146 confirmed moons—more than any other planet in the solar system—but one called Enceladus stands out. It appears to have the ingredients for life......»»
The beginnings of modern science shaped how philosophers saw alien life—and how we understand it today
Speculation about extraterrestrials is not all that new. There was a vibrant debate in 17th-century Europe about the existence of life on other planets......»»
Astrophysicists solve mystery of heart-shaped feature on the surface of Pluto
The mystery of how Pluto got a giant heart-shaped feature on its surface has finally been solved by an international team of astrophysicists led by the University of Bern and members of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS. Th.....»»
NASA unveils probe bound for Jupiter"s possibly life-sustaining moon
US space scientists on Thursday unveiled the interplanetary probe NASA plans to send to one of Jupiter's icy moons as part of humanity's hunt for extra-terrestrial life......»»
Study shedding new light on Earth"s global carbon cycle could help assess liveability of other planets
Research has uncovered important new insights into the evolution of oxygen, carbon, and other vital elements over the entire history of Earth—and it could help assess which other planets can develop life, ranging from plants to animals and humans......»»
Eclipses aren"t just visual spectacles, they are at the heart of scientific efforts to understand distant planets
The total solar eclipse across North America on April 8, 2024, is a stunning and memorable event for everyone in its path. However, eclipses are not just valued for their visual impact, they are at the heart of cutting-edge science......»»
The hidden role of the Milky Way in ancient Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptians were known for their religious beliefs and astronomical knowledge of the sun, moon, and planets, but up until now, it has been unclear what role the Milky Way played in Egyptian religion and culture......»»
A Popular Alien-Hunting Technique Is Increasingly in Doubt
Recent controversies bode ill for the effort to detect life on other planets by analyzing the gases in their atmospheres......»»
If life exists on Jupiter"s moon Europa, scientists might soon be able to detect it
Europa is one of the largest of more than 90 moons in orbit around the planet Jupiter. It is also one of the best places to look for alien life......»»
Why there may be oceans inside dwarf planets beyond Pluto—and what this means for the likely abundance of life
Earth was long thought to be the only planet in our solar system with an ocean, but it is beginning to look as though there are underground oceans inside even the most surprising icy bodies......»»
Where are all these rogue planets coming from?
There's a population of planets that drifts through space untethered to any stars. They're called rogue planets or free-floating planets (FFPs.) Some FFPs form as loners, never having enjoyed the company of a star. But most are ejected from solar sys.....»»
Daily Telescope: A flying telescope gets photobombed by some planets
It's a bird... It's a plane... It's a telescope. Enlarge / The SOFIA telescope. (credit: Chris Johnson) Welcome to the Daily Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this world and not enough light, a littl.....»»
Stellar murder: When stars destroy and eat their own planets
Our sun is both our best friend and our worst enemy. On the one hand, we owe our very existence to our star. Earth and the other planets in the solar system formed out of the same cloud of gas and dust as the sun......»»
Mapping the best route for a spacecraft traveling beyond the sun"s sphere of influence
The heliosphere—made of solar wind, solar transients, and the interplanetary magnetic field—acts as our solar system's personal shield, protecting the planets from galactic cosmic rays. These extremely energetic particles accelerated outwards fro.....»»
Schools in the path of April"s total solar eclipse prepare for a natural teaching moment
Seventh-grade student Henry Cohen bounced side to side in time to the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun" playing in teacher Nancy Morris' classroom, swinging his arms open and closed across the planets pictured on his T-shirt......»»
In a distant stellar system, the JWST sees the end of planet formation
Every time a star forms, it represents an explosion of possibilities. Not for the star itself; its fate is governed by its mass. The possibilities it signifies are in the planets that form around it. Will some be rocky? Will they be in the habitable.....»»
Astronomers conduct first search for forming planets with James Webb Space Telescope
Planets form in disks of dust and gas called protoplanetary disks that whirl around a central protostar during its final assembly. Although several dozens of such disks have been imaged, just two planets have been caught in the act of forming so far......»»
Apple"s big WWDC 2024 announcement may be an AI App Store
Apple's AI strategy may not necessarily be to only offer the best AI apps it can produce, but instead deliver an enhanced AI App Store that may debut at WWDC.Apple AIApple, like many other tech companies, is hard at work introducing AI elements to it.....»»
Signs of life detectable in single ice grain emitted from extraterrestrial moons, experimental setup shows
The ice-encrusted oceans of some of the moons orbiting Saturn and Jupiter are leading candidates in the search for extraterrestrial life. A new lab-based study led by the University of Washington in Seattle and the Freie Universität Berlin shows tha.....»»