First interstellar comet may be the most pristine ever found
New observations with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) indicate that the rogue comet 2I/Borisov, which is only the second and most recently detected interstellar visitor to our Solar System, is one of the most pris.....»»
Volunteer divers guard Oman"s "unique" coral reefs
On a sailing boat anchored off Oman's pristine Daymaniyat Islands, volunteer divers pull on wetsuits, check their scuba tanks and then take turns plunging into the clear turquoise water......»»
A Peruvian farmer is trying to hold energy giant RWE responsible for climate change—the inside story
On a crisp, sunny day high in the Peruvian Andes, two German judges gaze across a mountain lake to the towering white glaciers in the distance. Dark spots are visible on the pristine ice and, in quiet moments, the cold wind carries the sounds of crea.....»»
Astronomers find "tilted" planets even in pristine solar systems
Scientists have long puzzled over why all of the planets in Earth's solar system have slightly slanted orbits around the sun. But a new, Yale-led study suggests this phenomenon may not be so unusual after all. Even in "pristine" solar systems, planet.....»»
The universe can"t hide behind the Zone of Avoidance any longer
Our view of the cosmos is always limited by the fact we are located within a galaxy filled with interstellar gas and dust. This is most dramatically seen in the central region of the Milky Way, which is filled with so much dust that it is sometimes r.....»»
Testing of citizen scientist discovery suggests it is on the boundary between comet and asteroid
A team of space scientists, astronomers and astrophysicists affiliated with multiple institutions across the U.S., working with a colleague from Italy, has determined that a celestial object spotted by citizen scientists back in 2016 is neither a com.....»»
Some of the moon"s craters are from interstellar impacts. Can we tell which?
By discovering two interstellar objects (ISOs), we know that asteroids and comets from other star systems pass through the solar system from time to time. By inference, some of these must have crashed into the moon, creating impact craters. If we cou.....»»
How to make asteroid landings safer
Landing safely on an asteroid is no mean feat. Despite several recent successes, there have also been notable failures—most famously, the Philae lander to 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Admittedly, that was an attempt to land on a comet rather than an.....»»
Daily Telescope: Snapshot of a brilliant green comet before it left forever
"My goal was to highlight the comet's journey." Enlarge / A view of Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) taken earlier this year. (credit: Maarten Butter) Welcome to the Daily Telescope. There is a little too much darkness in this.....»»
Simulating space to explore the great mystery of interstellar chemistry
The universe is more than 13 billion years old and space is often depicted as a vast, empty vacuum. Other than planets and stars, there's nothing there, right? Actually, space is littered with complex, carbon-based molecules. However, the range of mo.....»»
NASA"s Voyager team focuses on software patch, thrusters
Engineers for NASA's Voyager mission are taking steps to help make sure both spacecraft, launched in 1977, continue to explore interstellar space for years to come......»»
Comet Encke and the Halloween Fireballs of 2023
October and November are always great months to watch for meteors, and 2023 is no exception. This year provides a special reason to be vigilant, as the source of the November Taurid Fireballs Comet 2P Encke reaches perihelion for 2023 on October 22nd.....»»
Hubble"s multi-wavelength view of recently released Webb image
Patches of bright pink and wisps of dark red paint the foreground of this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image. NGC 5068 is a barred spiral galaxy with thousands of star-forming regions and large quantities of interstellar dust. First discovered by.....»»
Annular distribution of SiC2 in circumstellar envelopes of carbon-rich asymptotic giant branch stars
The circumstellar envelopes (CSE) of asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars contain a large number of molecules, which account for about one-third of all molecules discovered in interstellar space......»»
Magnetic fusion plasma engines could carry us across the solar system and into interstellar space
Missions to the moon, missions to Mars, robotic explorers to the outer solar system, a mission to the nearest star, and maybe even a spacecraft to catch up to interstellar objects passing through our system. If you think this sounds like a descriptio.....»»
Foe review: One of 2023’s best sci-fi movies that will break your heart
Interstellar meets Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in Foe, one of the most striking and original sci-fi movies of the year......»»
Astronomers discover first step toward planet formation
Solving the mystery of how planets like Earth were formed is an important question for understanding the origin of life. Planets are thought to form when interstellar dust and gas collect in a protoplanetary disk surrounding a protostar, but it has b.....»»
A prehistoric cosmic airburst preceded the advent of agriculture in the Levant
Agriculture in Syria started with a bang 12,800 years ago as a fragmented comet slammed into the Earth's atmosphere. The explosion and subsequent environmental changes forced hunter-gatherers in the prehistoric settlement of Abu Hureyra to adopt agri.....»»
Study suggests large mound structures on Kuiper belt object Arrokoth may have common origin
A new study led by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Planetary Scientist and Associate Vice President Dr. Alan Stern posits that the large, approximately 5-kilometer-long mounds that dominate the appearance of the larger lobe of the pristine Kuiper.....»»
“Comet” could be Google’s next foldable Pixel phone
Google could be working on another foldable phone whose codename was recently spotted during an APK teardown. The post “Comet” could be Google’s next foldable Pixel phone appeared first on Phandroid. It wasn’t too long ago that Goo.....»»
Watching paint dry, to understand and control the patterns it leaves behind
A coffee spill leaves behind a dark stain around the puddle's edge when it dries. But as drops of paint dry, some look like "fried eggs," with "yolks" of color surrounded by pristine white halos, whereas others appear uniform. To understand this vari.....»»