faint

‘Traffic jams’ around Uranus could solve mystery of faint radiation belts

by
A purple sphere surrounded by alternating white and blue bands and an oter white band against a black background

Scientists may have solved a long-standing mystery surrounding the ice giant Uranus and its faint radiation belts. It’s possible that the belts’ faintness is related to the planet’s oddly tilted and lopsided magnetic field, which could be causing “traffic jams” for particles racing across the world. The mystery dates back to Voyager 2’s visit to … Read more

NASA telescope sees ‘cosmic fireworks’ and faint echoes from the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole

by
An burnt orange background with one large dark square and three smaller dark squares all containing blue glows

Astronomers have spotted bursts and echoes coming from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way, Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). These ‘cosmic fireworks’ and X-ray echoes could help scientists better understand the dark and silent cosmic titan that our Milky Way orbits. The team of researchers from Michigan State University made the … Read more