Exoplanets in debris disks
Debris disks around main-sequence stars are tenuous belts of dust thought to be produced when asteroids or other planetesimals collide and fragment. They are common: more than about a quarter of all main-sequence stars have debris disks and, since th.....»»
What can early Earth teach us about the search for life?
Earth is the only life-supporting planet we know of, so it's tempting to use it as a standard in the search for life elsewhere. But the modern Earth can't serve as a basis for evaluating exoplanets and their potential to support life. Earth's atmosph.....»»
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, debris of Halley"s comet, peaks this weekend. Here"s how to see it
The Eta Aquarid meteor shower, remnants of Halley's comet, peaks this weekend. And with just a waning crescent moon in the sky, it should be visible......»»
Lahar detection system upgraded for Mount Rainier
In the shadow of Washington State's Mount Rainier, about 90,000 people live in the path of a potential large lahar—a destructive, fluid and fast-moving debris flow associated with volcanic slopes......»»
Japanese satellite chases down space junk
A satellite from Japanese company Astroscale has taken an up-close image of a piece of space debris it has been chasing down......»»
Fluidic telescope (FLUTE): Enabling the next generation of large space observatories
The future of space-based UV/optical/IR astronomy requires ever larger telescopes. The highest priority astrophysics targets, including Earth-like exoplanets, first generation stars, and early galaxies, are all extremely faint, which presents an ongo.....»»
Japanese aerospace company captures an actual picture of space debris
Space debris is a growing problem, so companies are working on ways to mitigate it. A new satellite called ADRAS-J was built and launched to demonstrate how a spacecraft could rendezvous with a piece of space junk, paving the path for future removal......»»
China’s space station was hit by space junk
China's space agency says it has successfully repaired damage to its space station after it was struck by space debris......»»
Scientists map soil RNA to fungal genomes to understand forest ecosystems
If a tree falls in the forest—whether or not anyone registers the sound—one thing is for sure: there are lots of fungi around. Within a forest's soil, hundreds of species decompose debris, mobilize nutrients from that decay, and deliver those nut.....»»
Black hole "traffic jams" discovered in galactic centers by astronomers
An international study, led by researchers from Monash University, has revealed crucial insights into black hole dynamics within massive disks at the centers of galaxies......»»
Will we know if TRAPPIST-1e has life?
The search for extrasolar planets is currently undergoing a seismic shift. With the deployment of the Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), scientists discovered thousands of exoplanets, most of which were detec.....»»
Indonesia on alert for more eruptions at remote volcano
Indonesian authorities were on alert Friday for more eruptions from a remote island volcano that forced thousands to evacuate this week, as nearby residents began clearing debris after molten rocks rained down on their villages......»»
Hydrogen recombination found to be most plausible explanation for high levels of energy in stellar superflares
Although their primary purpose is to look for exoplanets, observatories like the Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have supplied a vast amount of data on stellar flares, detected with high-precision photometr.....»»
Exoplanets true to size: New model calculations shows impact of star"s brightness and magnetic activity
In the constellation Virgo, 700 light years away from Earth, the planet WASP-39b orbits the star WASP-39. The gas giant, which takes little more than four days to complete one orbit, is one of the best-studied exoplanets. Shortly after its commission.....»»
Earthquakes may not be primary driver of glacial lake outburst floods
Glacial lakes form when meltwater is trapped behind a dam, usually glacial ice, bedrock or a type of moraine (terminal types being an unconsolidated pile of debris at the maximum extent of the glacier). When a dam fails, the resulting sudden release.....»»
5.25-inch floppy disks expected to help run San Francisco trains until 2030
"We have a technical debt that stretches back many decades." Enlarge (credit: Getty) The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which runs the city's Muni Metro light rail, claims to be the first US agen.....»»
Scientists solve a long-standing mystery surrounding the moon"s "lopsided" geology
About 4.5 billion years ago, a small planet smashed into the young Earth, flinging molten rock into space. Slowly, the debris coalesced, cooled and solidified, forming our moon. This scenario of how the Earth's moon came to be is the one largely agre.....»»
NASA collects "space debris" that crashed into Florida man"s home
NASA said Tuesday it was analyzing an object that crashed from the sky into a Florida man's home—which could well be a piece of debris jettisoned from the International Space Station......»»
Meteorites: Why study them? What can they teach us about finding life beyond Earth?
Universe Today has explored the importance of studying impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, and cosmochemistry, and how this myriad of intricately linked sci.....»»
The search for the perfect coronagraph to find Earth 2.0
Studying exoplanets is made more difficult by the light from the host star. Coronagraphs are devices that block out the star light and both JWST and Nancy Grace Roman Telescope are equipped with them. Current coronagraphs are not quite capable of see.....»»
Largest ice shelf in Antarctica lurches forward once or twice each day
In Antarctica, heavy glaciers are always on the move. Conveyor belts of ice, known as ice streams, are the corridors of faster flow that carry most of the vast glaciers' ice and sediment debris out toward the ocean......»»