If Europa has geysers, they"re very faint
In 2013, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted water vapor on Jupiter's moon Europa. The vapor was evidence of plumes similar to the ones on Saturn's moon Enceladus. That, and other compelling evidence, showed that the moon has an ocean. That led to spe.....»»
Jupiter"s moon Europa produces less oxygen than we thought—it may affect our chances of finding life there
Jupiter's icy moon Europa has long been thought of as one of the most habitable worlds in the Solar System. Now the Juno mission to Jupiter has directly sampled its atmosphere in detail for the first time. The results, published in Nature Astronomy,.....»»
NASA unveils design for message heading to Jupiter"s moon Europa
When it launches in October, the agency's Europa Clipper spacecraft will carry a richly layered dispatch that includes more than 2.6 million names submitted by the public......»»
"Baby quasars": James Webb Space Telescope spots little giants in the deep past
The James Webb Space Telescope has made one of the most unexpected findings within its first year of service: A high number of faint little red dots in the distant universe could change the way we understand the genesis of supermassive black holes......»»
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa may be light on oxygen, lowering habitability hopes
New research pours cold water on the likelihood of Europa being habitable, as it seems that the moon produces less oxygen than previously thought......»»
Image: Hubble captures Arp 295
One of the galaxies from a galactic group known as Arp 295 is visible in this new NASA Hubble Space Telescope image, along with part of the faint 250,000-light-year-long bridge of stars and gas that stretches between two of the galaxies. The galaxies.....»»
Researchers reveal faint features in galaxy NGC 5728 though JWST image techniques
Mason Leist is working remotely—127 million light-years from Earth—on images of a supermassive black hole in his office at the UTSA Department of Physics and Astronomy......»»
Astronomers detect new faint tidal disruption event
An international team of astronomers reports the detection of a new tidal disruption event (TDE) as part of All-Sky Automated Survey for SuperNovae (ASAS-SN). The newfound TDE, designated ASASSN-23bd, turns out to be the least luminous and the lowest.....»»
Scientists investigate how heat rises through Europa"s ocean
Europa, one of Jupiter's many moons, may be capable of supporting life because its icy surface likely obscures a deep, salty ocean. Europa's ocean is also in direct contact with its mantle rocks, and interactions between rock, water, and ice could pr.....»»
Study explores the properties of a faint tidal disruption event
Using a spectral synthesis code designed to simulate conditions in interstellar matter, astronomers have explored a faint tidal disruption event (TDE) designated iPTF16fnl. Results of the study, published Dec. 29 on the pre-print server arXiv, delive.....»»
Some icy exoplanets may have habitable oceans and geysers
A NASA study expands the search for life beyond our solar system by indicating that 17 exoplanets (worlds outside our solar system) could have oceans of liquid water, an essential ingredient for life, beneath icy shells. Water from these oceans could.....»»
Digging deeper to find life on ocean worlds
In February 2023, researchers from around the country gathered at a NASA-sponsored workshop to discuss the latest developments and a roadmap for a cryobot mission concept to drill through the icy crusts of Europa and Enceladus and search for life......»»
Q&A: Unveiling a new era of imaging—engineers lead breakthrough microscopy techniques
When microscopes struggle to pick up faint signals, it's like trying to spot subtle details in a painting or photograph without your glasses. For researchers, this makes it difficult to catch the small things happening in cells or other materials. In.....»»
Ghostlike dusty galaxy reappears in James Webb Space Telescope image
It first appeared as a glowing blob from ground-based telescopes and then vanished completely in images from the Hubble Space Telescope. Now, the ghostly object has reappeared as a faint, yet distinct galaxy in an image from the James Webb Space Tele.....»»
Could life exist in molecular clouds?
Our search for life beyond Earth is still in its infancy. We're focused on Mars and, to a lesser extent, ocean moons like Jupiter's Europa and Saturn's Enceladus. Should we extend our search to cover more unlikely places like molecular clouds?.....»»
Astronomers spot giant stream of stars between galaxies
To their surprise, an international team of researchers has discovered a giant and extremely faint stream of stars between galaxies. While streams are already known in our own galaxy and in nearby galaxies, this is the first time that a stream runnin.....»»
KiDS in the sky: New stellar system discovered by the Kilo-Degree Survey
Astronomers have discovered a new stellar system in the outskirts of the Milky Way as part of the Kilo-Degree Survey (KiDS). The newfound system, named Sextans II, is most likely an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy. The finding is reported in a paper publish.....»»
Blasts to clear World War II munitions could contaminate the ocean
World War II concluded decades ago, but live mines lurking on the ocean floor still pose threats, potentially spewing unexpected geysers or releasing contaminants into the water. Experts conduct controlled explosions to clear underwater munitions, bu.....»»
Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is telling us more about its alien ocean
JUNO has spotted salt deposits that may have percolated up from a sub-surface ocean. Enlarge (credit: USGS) With Europa and Enceladus getting most of the attention for their subsurface oceans and potential to host life,.....»»
Time is running out to add your name to NASA"s Europa Clipper
Six weeks remain for you to add your name to a microchip that will ride aboard the spacecraft as it explores Jupiter's moon Europa......»»
Magnetic shielding for particle detectors
Particle physicists who hunt for neutrinos, cosmic-rays and other charged particles rely on sophisticated instruments that detect very faint bursts of light given off when incident particles interact with a medium. The most common such instruments, c.....»»