Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. CNN — What’s big, with a fluffy, cotton candy-like composition? It turns out to be a planet. An international coalition of astronomers recently discovered an unusual planet called WASP-193b, which is about 50% larger than … Read more
K. Ivanov An extremely low-density planet called WASP-193b is larger than Jupiter, but weighs only a fraction of its mass. Sign up for CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Explore the universe with news about fascinating discoveries, scientific developments and more. CNN — What’s big, with a fluffy, cotton candy-like composition? It turns out to be … Read more
Then NASA Juno spacecraft came closest Jupiter‘s moon Europe in September 2022, it captured evidence not only of briny layers of water connected to the world’s deep subsurface ocean, but also of potential scars formed by towering plumes of water vapor – and it captured that evidence on camera The majority of the Juno mission’s … Read more
Small seems really nice from an evolutionary perspective. The largest dinosaurs, pterosaurs and mammals may look impressive, but these giants are vastly outnumbered by microscopic bacteria and single-celled algae and fungi. Small organisms are also ancient and incredibly resilient. The first evidence of single-celled organisms dates from about 3.8 billion years ago, shortly after the … Read more
16 SpaceX is gearing up for Flight 4. The start of full-stack testing on Thursday resulted in a partial propellant load, which will be followed by a full Wet Dress Rerhasal in the coming days. In addition to preparing for the next flight, SpaceX is making progress on its future ambitions, with a second tower … Read more
The BepiColombo spacecraft, operated by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), could feel the heat even before it reaches its destination: Mercury. Thanks to a malfunction, the spacecraft’s thrusters are no longer operating at full power. The team has yet to determine how this will affect upcoming maneuvers, such … Read more
An artist’s rendering of the BepiColombo mission, a joint ESA/JAXA project, which will take two spacecraft to the harsh environment of Mercury. ESA This week, the European Space Agency posted a somewhat ominous note about its BepiColombo spacecraft, which consists of two orbiters headed to Mercury. The online press release mentioned a “glitch” with the … Read more
Resume: Researchers have identified the specific brain circuits in fruit flies responsible for color vision. These neurons in the optic lobe respond selectively to different hues, including those perceived by humans as violet and ultraviolet. This groundbreaking discovery provides insight into how brains transform raw sensory signals into meaningful perceptions and could help us better … Read more
Astronomers have taken advantage of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to detect the furthest pair of colliding black holes in the known universe. The cosmic monsters – each estimated to be around 50 million suns in size – were discovered more than 13 billion light-years away, at a time just 740 million years after … Read more
On September 29, 2022, NASA’s Juno spacecraft made its closest flyby of Europa, coming within 355 kilometers of the frozen surface of Jupiter’s moon. The close-up view of Europa revealed incredible details of the moon’s chaotic terrain, suggesting the icy crust is not where it once was. The images also showed a newly discovered feature … Read more