Earth"s Wobble Wreaks Havoc on Astronomers--And Astrologers, Too
Our planet’s precession is scarcely noticeable during anyone’s lifetime, but across history, it has had enormous effects.....»»
Astronomers observe a strong superflare from giant star
Using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) and various ground-based telescopes, an international team of astronomers have performed observations of a strong X-ray superflare which occurred in 2022 on a giant star known as HD 251108......»»
"Killer electrons": Lightning storms play cosmic pinball with space weather
When lightning strikes, the electrons come pouring down. In a new study, researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder, led by an undergraduate student, have discovered a novel connection between weather on Earth and space weather. The team utili.....»»
Saturday Citations: All that sparkles is plastic; woke tree diversity; the gravitational basin in which we reside
This week, astronomers considered whether dark energy varies over cosmic timescales. Via neutron analysis, physicists revealed that some Early Iron Age swords were altered recently by swindlers in order to be more historically exciting. And a profess.....»»
Europa Clipper mission to investigate potential habitability of Jupiter"s moon
A NASA spacecraft is ready to set sail for Jupiter and its moon Europa, one of the best bets for finding life beyond Earth......»»
How did the building blocks of life arrive on Earth? Zinc fingerprints in meteorites offer clues
Researchers have used the chemical fingerprints of zinc contained in meteorites to determine the origin of volatile elements on Earth. The results suggest that without 'unmelted' asteroids, there may not have been enough of these compounds on Earth f.....»»
What"s behind the northern lights that dazzled the sky farther south than normal
Another in a series of unusually strong solar storms hitting Earth produced stunning skies full of pinks, purples, greens and blues farther south than normal, including into parts of Germany, the United Kingdom, New England and New York City......»»
"Inside-out" galaxy growth observed in the early universe
Astronomers have used the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to observe the 'inside-out' growth of a galaxy in the early universe, only 700 million years after the Big Bang......»»
Asteroid mining: A potential trillion-dollar industry
Earth's newest celestial neighbor has finally arrived. Astronomers using a powerful telescope in Sutherland, South Africa, first detected the 33-foot-long asteroid in August, reporting their discovery in Research Notes of the American Astronomical So.....»»
Astronomers find Webb data conflict with reionization models
Reionization is a critical period when the first stars and galaxies changed the physical structure of their surroundings, and eventually the entire universe. Established theories state that this epoch ended around 1 billion years after the Big Bang......»»
How did magma oceans evolve on early Earth and Mars? Iron chemistry and primordial atmospheres offer clues
Before Earth became the blue planet, it was engulfed by a very different kind of ocean: a vast, deep magma ocean reaching down hundreds or perhaps even thousands of kilometers......»»
Catastrophically warm predictions are more plausible than previously thought, say climate scientists
What will the future climate be like? Scientists around the world are studying climate change, putting together models of the Earth's system and large observational datasets in the hopes of understanding—and predicting over the next 100 years—the.....»»
Scientists recreate sound of Earth"s magnetic flip 41,000 years ago
Approximately 41,000 years ago, Earth's magnetic field briefly reversed during what is known as the Laschamp event. During this time, Earth's magnetic field weakened significantly—dropping to a minimum of 5% of its current strength—which allowed.....»»
Northern lights may be visible in much of upper US on Thursday, Friday
Still haven't caught a glimpse of those shimmery northern lights? Minnesotans have a good chance to snag one of those popular aurora borealis photos at the end of this week thanks to a "severe" geomagnetic storm expected to reach Earth on Thursday......»»
US forecasts severe solar storm starting Thursday
A massive ball of plasma and accompanying magnetic field ejected from the sun is expected to strike Earth on Thursday morning, potentially triggering auroras as far south as Alabama, according to US forecasters......»»
How to watch Crew-8 depart the space station on Sunday
Three American astronauts and a Russian cosmonaut are preparing to depart the International Space Station about 250 miles above Earth......»»
Jupiter"s Great Red Spot shows unexpected size changes
Astronomers have observed Jupiter's legendary Great Red Spot (GRS), an anticyclone large enough to swallow Earth, for at least 150 years. But there are always new surprises—especially when NASA's Hubble Space Telescope takes a close-up look at it......»»
NASA terminal transmits first laser communications uplink to space
NASA's LCOT (Low-Cost Optical Terminal), a ground station made of modified commercial hardware, has transmitted its first laser communications uplink to the TBIRD (TeraByte Infrared Delivery), a tissue box-sized payload formerly in low Earth orbit......»»
Severe solar storm could stress power grids even more as US deals with major back-to-back hurricanes
A severe solar storm is headed to Earth that could stress power grids even more as the U.S. deals with major back-to-back hurricanes, space weather forecasters said Wednesday......»»
Astronomers race to capture image of exoplanet near star
Planet AF Lep b is a world of firsts. In 2023, it was the lowest-mass planet outside our solar system to be directly observed and have its mass measured using astrometry. This is a technique that charts the subtle movements of a host star over many y.....»»
Team discovers three new magnetic and helium-enriched hot subdwarf stars
An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of three new helium-enriched hot subdwarf stars with strong magnetic fields. The finding, made with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT), is detailed in a research paper published Oct......»»