NASA’s Europa Clipper, shown in this illustration updated in December 2020, will fly around Jupiter on an elliptical path, diving close to its moon Europa on each flyby to collect data. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech NASA‘S Europe The Clipper mission aims to solve problems with transistor radiation as it prepares to launch an expedition to Jupiter to … Read more
A micrograph of a dark Bennu particle, about a millimeter long, with a crust of bright phosphate. A smaller fragment that has broken off is visible on the right. Credit: From Lauretta & Connolly et al. (2024) Meteoritics and planetary sciencedoi:10.1111/maps.14227 Analysis of a sample from the asteroid Bennu has revealed essential components of life … Read more
This image is a mosaic of visible light and infrared views of the same frame from the Pillars of Creation visualization. The three-dimensional model of the pillars created for the visualization sequence is displayed alternately in the Hubble Space Telescope version (visible light) and the Webb Space Telescope version (infrared light). Credits: Greg Bacon (STScI), … Read more
In this image of the Serpens Nebula taken with the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) on NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers found a group of aligned protostellar outflows within one small region (the upper left corner). In the Webb image, these jets are indicated by bright clumpy streaks that appear red, which are shock waves from … Read more
The upcoming Roman space telescope could reveal a new class of ‘feather-light’ black holes, challenging existing theories of black hole formation. If these Earth-sized black holes are found, they could have significant implications for our knowledge of the early universe and the nature of dark matter. Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center NASAby Nancy Grace … Read more
This artist’s concept shows the nova system HM Sagittae (HM Sge), where a white dwarf star is pulling material from its red giant companion. This forms a red-hot disk around the dwarf, which could unpredictably undergo a spontaneous thermonuclear explosion as the red giant’s hydrogen trap becomes denser and reaches a tipping point. These fireworks … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered a remarkable number of distant supernovae, providing new insights into the structure and expansion of the early universe. This includes the detection of Type Ia supernovae at unprecedented distances, contributing to our understanding of cosmic distances and the expansion of the universe. Credit: SciTechDaily.com NASA‘S James Webb Space … Read more
The warm gas giant WASP-107 b, known for its unusually low density and moderate temperature, may have an inflated atmosphere due to tidal heating that warms its interior more than previously thought. (Artist’s concept.) Credit: SciTechDaily.com A surprising depletion of methane suggests that tidal heating has puffed up the atmosphere of warm gas giant WASP-107 … Read more