Universe Today
Supervillains Take Note. Here's a New Way to Destroy a Star
Another Key Amino Acid Found in Space: Tryptophan
Astronomers continue to find more and more of the building blocks of life out in space. This time, researchers have announced the discovery of the amino acid tryptophan. They used data from the Spitzer Space Telescope when it observed the Perseus Molecular Complex in the IC348 star system located about 1,000 light-years from Earth. Tryptophan is one of the 20 essential amino acids used in protein formation by life on Earth. It produces a rich spectral signature in infrared, so it was the ideal target for Spitzer and will make an excellent follow-on objective for JWST.
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The Clouds of Venus Could Support Life
Extending Earth's Internet to Mars With Orbital Data Servers
More spacecraft is due to fly to Mars and will send their data home. Human explorers will want to access research documents and communicate the findings to Earth. This will require extending Earth's internet to Mars. A new study suggests that Mars will eventually require its constellation of satellites, provide local computing at Mars, and supply as much information as possible locally.
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Early Black Holes Were Bigger Than We Thought
There Could Be Captured Planets in the Oort Cloud
The early Solar System was a turbulent and chaotic place with icy material hurled far from the Sun, becoming the Oort Cloud. Larger objects and planets were probably hurled into the Oort Cloud too, and some might have been kicked out of the Solar System entirely. If a similar situation happened in other star systems, planets could lurk out in the Oort Cloud.
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Mind-Blowing Animation Shows What the World Would Look Like If You Could See Carbon Dioxide Emissions
The Earth's Rotational Pole has Shifted from All the Groundwater We've Pumped Out
Nancy Grace Roman Could Detect Supermassive Dark Stars
Dark stars are hypothetical objects that might have been present in the early Universe before the first stars and even modern supermassive black holes formed. A new study suggests that the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Telescope could detect them when it comes online.
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A Brown Dwarf is Getting Hit With So Much Radiation it's Hotter Than the Sun
Astronomers have found a brown dwarf companion to a white dwarf star with a day-side temperature of around 8,000 kelvin and a night-side of 6,000 kelvin lower.
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BepiColumbo Makes its Third Flyby of Mercury, Seeing the Planet's Night Side
Bringing the Gift of Hope to Ukrainian Kids through Astronomy
Through education, virtual tours, and outreach programs, Earthlings Hub is inspiring Ukrainians orphans and refugees to reach for the stars!
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The Most Intense Lightning Ever Seen Came From Last Year's Tonga Volcano Eruption
Parker Solar Probe Makes a Surprising Discovery About the Source of the Geminid Meteor Shower
NASA's Parker Solar Probe happened to follow a trajectory that brought it close to a cloud of gas and dust that surrounds the Sun. The spacecraft gathered evidence that indicates the Geminids were formed by a sudden, powerful event, like a collision between asteroids.
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A New Mission Will Grab Dead Satellites and Push Them Into the Atmosphere to Burn Up
Astronomers Find a White Dwarf Pulsar
JWST Glimpses the Cosmic Dawn of the Universe
Thanks to the JWST, galaxies that existed during the Cosmic Dawn have been observed for the first time!
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The Suspense is Killing Us. The Next Planet in the TRAPPIST System Gets the JWST Treatment
An Unfortunate Planet is Undergoing "Extreme Evaporation," Melting Under the Extreme Heat From its Star
Astronomers have known something strange is happening at the star FU Ori for decades. The star brightened dramatically about 85 years ago, releasing a flare that's a trillion times brighter than anything the Sun can generate, and it hasn't dimmed back down the way everyone was expecting.
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Can We Predict if a System Will Have Giant Planets?
The Evidence is Building that Dark Matter is Made of Axions
Astronomers Have Never Detected Merging Supermassive Black Holes. That Might Be About to Change
A new study suggests that pulsars could act as natural gravitational wave sensors, setting limits on supermassive black hole mergers or even detecting them.
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Even Though They're Bigger, Generation 2 Starlinks are Fainter than Gen 1
Astronomers See the Same Supernova Four Times Thanks to a Gravitational Lens
Thanks to a well-placed gravitational lens, a team of astronomers was able to observe a supernova four times!
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The Best Particle Collider in the World? The Sun
We Could See the Glint off Giant Cities on Alien Worlds
JWST is Powerful Enough to See a Variety of Biosignatures in Exoplanets
According to a new study, JWST is powerful enough to detect the chemicals in the atmospheres of various terrestrial planets and could give a hint if there's life there.
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The Hidden Benefits of Large Science Projects
This Hot Jupiter is Leaving a Swirling Tail of Helium in its Wake
Earth Might Have Formed in Just a Few Million Years
Pulsars Could Help Map the Black Hole at the Center of the Milky Way
The BlackHoleCam project, part of the Event Horizon Telescope consortium, will use the powerful EHT array to search for pulsars near Sagittarius A*
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A Planet So Hot Its Atmosphere Contains the Raw Material for Rocks
How Science Fiction Sparked Our Flights to the Final Frontier
Did Life Need Plate Tectonics to Emerge?
Startup PLD Space to Launch Europe's First Reusable Rocket
PLD Space could launch its suborbital Miura-1 rocket this month.
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More Evidence of Massive First Generation Stars
A Day on Earth Used to Only Be 19 Hours
A new study has revealed that for 1 billions years, a day on Earth lasted for about 19 hours.
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An Element Critical for (Earth) Life is Spewing out of Enceladus
A White Dwarf is Starting to Crystallize into Diamond
Curiosity Takes One Final Postcard Image of a Picturesque Valley Before Moving on to its Next Destination
Without Ozone, the Earth Might Get a Lot Colder
Astronauts Will Be Tracking Dust Into the Lunar Gateway. Is This a Problem?
A NASA-supported study examines how lunar regolith could impact the Gateway and other aspects of NASA's Artemis Program.
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China is Trying to Stop its Boosters From Randomly Crashing Into Villages
China has developed a new parachute system that they hope will help prevent uncontrolled reentries and crashes.
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Astronomers Have Figured Out Clever Tricks to Reduce the Impact of Satellite Trails
The Tarantula Nebula Shouldn't Be Forming Stars. What's Going On?
ULA Test Fires its New Vulcan Rocket
The United Launch Alliance took a major step with the first successful test firing of the Vulcan first stage.
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Two English Companies are Cooperating to Bring a Novel Antenna Architecture To Space
These are the Fastest Stars in the Galaxy
Thierry Legault's Stunning Views of the Space Station (with spacewalking astronauts) Crossing in Front of Sunspots
The Sun Reaches Solar Maximum in 2032. A new NASA Flagship Mission Could Give Us a Perfect View
