Uranian moon Ariel’s surface features point to a past ocean over 100 miles deep

Growing evidence suggests that a subsurface ocean lurks beneath the icy surface of Uranus’ moon Ariel, but new research, published in Icarus, characterizes the possible evolution of this ocean, and found that it may have once been over 100 miles (170 kilometers) deep. For perspective, the Pacific Ocean averages 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) deep.

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The asteroid belt’s slow disappearing act

The asteroid belt is found orbiting between Mars and Jupiter and is a vast collection of rocks that is thought to be a planet that never formed. When our solar system formed 4.6 billion years ago, the material in this region should have coalesced into a planet; however, Jupiter’s gravitational influence prevented this from happening, […]

New instrument at SOAR achieves first light with observations of remarkable binary star system

The SOAR Telescope, located on Cerro Pachón in Chile, has received a major upgrade with the installation of the SOAR Telescope Echelle Spectrograph (STELES). The long-awaited instrument achieved first light in August with observations of the binary star system Eta Carinae, along with 13 other targets. SOAR is part of U.S. National Science Foundation Cerro […]

Astronomers determine new origins of double-peaked emission lines in galactic centers

A research team from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (SHAO) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has uncovered the origins of double-peaked narrow emission-line characteristics in galactic centers.

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Modeling quark star merger ejecta: Study reveals three possible outcomes

A recent Physical Review Letters study presents a new model for quark star merger ejecta that could resolve whether these cosmic collisions generate ordinary matter or something different.

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Clues from the deep sea that an exploding star sent debris to the Earth 10 million years ago

Scientists trying to work out whether a star exploded and the resulting debris crashed into Earth 10 million years ago may be one step closer to solving the mystery. They discovered an unusual amount of Beryllium-10 (10Be) at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, which may be explained by a supernova, an exploding star.

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Scientists discover first evidence of lava tubes on Venus

Venus is often called Earth’s “sister planet” because of their similarities in size, mass, and composition. Both are rocky worlds that formed about the same time in the inner solar system; however, despite these similarities, Venus evolved into a world vastly different from Earth, with surface temperatures around 465°C, crushing atmospheric pressure 90 times greater […]

Space dust is spongier than we thought, say scientists

Cosmic dust—the tiny particles that help form stars, planets and the chemical building blocks of life—might be much spongier and fluffier than long assumed, according to an international group of scientists.

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Geomagnetic disturbances caused by sun may influence occurrence of heart attacks, especially among women

An article published in the journal Communications Medicine points to a correlation between disturbances in Earth’s magnetic field resulting from solar storms and an increase in the frequency of heart attacks, especially among women.

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Image: Lake Balkhash viewed from the International Space Station

Golden sunglint highlights Lake Balkhash in this May 31, 2016, photo taken from the International Space Station. The large lake in Kazakhstan is one of the largest lakes in Asia and is the 15th largest lake in the world.

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Moonbound Artemis II astronauts give Orion capsule a name

The four astronauts set to climb aboard the first Orion spacecraft to fly humans have already given it a name.

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Two Neptune-sized exoplanets discovered around a young sun-like star

Using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have discovered two new exoplanets around a young sun-like star known as TOI-6109. The newfound alien worlds are slightly larger than Neptune and orbit their host in less than 10 days. The finding was presented in a paper published September 18 on the arXiv pre-print server.

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Icy planetesimal with high nitrogen and water content discovered in white dwarf’s atmosphere

University of Warwick astronomers have uncovered the chemical fingerprint of a frozen, water-rich planetary fragment being consumed by a white dwarf star outside our solar system.

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JWST searches for stars in a glowing gas cloud

Star formation is a fundamental physical process in our universe. Stars light up the cosmos, and give rise to planets, some of which may support life. While humans have no doubt wondered about stars since prehistoric times, new technological tools like the Milky Way have taken our natural curiosity to a whole new level. Now […]

Rogue planet SIMP-0136 displays strong auroral activity similar to Northern Lights

Strong Northern Lights-like activity is the standout feature of today’s weather report, which is coming at you from a strange, extrasolar world, instead of a standard TV studio. That is thanks to astronomers from Trinity College Dublin, who used the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope to take a close look at the weather of a […]