Science Daily


Astronomy news. New! Earth-like extrasolar planet found; double helix nebula; supermassive black holes, astronomy articles, astronomy pictures. Updated daily.
Updated: 24 min 2 sec ago
Innovative approaches advance search for ice on the moon
Scientists and space explorers have been on the hunt to determine where and how much ice is present on the Moon. Water ice would be an important resource at a future lunar base, as it could be used to support humans or be broken down to hydrogen and oxygen, key components of rocket fuel. Researchers are now using two innovative approaches to advance the search for ice on the Moon.
Astronomers discover a planet that's rapidly disintegrating, producing a comet-like tail
A planet 140 light-years from Earth is rapidly coming apart due to its close proximity to its star. The roasting planet is effectively evaporating away: It sheds an enormous amount of surface minerals as it whizzes around its star.
Did it rain or snow on ancient Mars? New study suggests it did
Geologists weigh in on a long-running debate about Mars: Billions of years ago, was the Red Planet warm and wet or cold and dry?
Turning down starlight to spot new exoplanets
Researchers have developed a new coronagraph that could make it possible to see distant exoplanets obscured by light from their parent stars.
Scientists probe the mystery of Titan's missing deltas
New research finds that despite large rivers and seas of liquid methane, Saturn's moon Titan seems mostly devoid of river deltas, raising new questions about the surface dynamics on this alien world.
Curiosity rover finds large carbon deposits on Mars
Research from NASA's Curiosity rover has found evidence of a carbon cycle on ancient Mars.
Strongest hints yet of biological activity outside the solar system
Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious.
Ever wonder why some meteor showers are so unpredictable?
Why do comets and their meteoroid streams weave in and out of Earth's orbit and their orbits disperse over time? Researchers show that this is not due to the random pull of the planets, but rather the kick they receive from a moving Sun.
'Big surprise': Astronomers find planet in perpendicular orbit around pair of stars
Astronomers have found a planet that orbits at an angle of 90 degrees around a rare pair of peculiar stars. This is the first time we have strong evidence for one of these 'polar planets' orbiting a stellar pair.
The most distant twin of the Milky Way ever observed
An international team has discovered the most distant spiral galaxy candidate known to date. This ultra-massive system existed just one billion years after the Big Bang and already shows a remarkably mature structure, with a central old bulge, a large star-forming disk, and well-defined spiral arms. The discovery was made using data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and offers important insights into how galaxies can form and evolve so rapidly in the early Universe.
'Cosmic radio' could find dark matter in 15 years
Scientists have designed a 'cosmic radio' detector which could discover dark matter in 15 years.
On Jupiter, it's mushballs all the way down
Observations of Jupiter show that ammonia is unevenly distributed in the upper atmosphere, against expectations of uniform mixing. Scientists found evidence for a complicated but apparently real process associated with fierce lightning storms: strong updrafts generate slushy, ice-coated hailstones of ammonia and water that eventually plunge into the planet and deplete areas of ammonia. This is part of the first 3D picture of the planet's atmosphere, which shows storms are primarily shallow.
Molten Martian core could explain red planet's magnetic quirks
First ever supercomputer simulations of Mars with a fully molten core could explain the Red Planet's unusual magnetic field. Billions of years ago, Mars had an active magnetic field. Mysteriously, its imprint is strongest in the southern hemisphere. Researchers found that Mars could have produced a one-sided magnetic field with a fully molten core, rather than the traditional, Earth-like solid inner core setup.
Mysterious atmosphere of 'Rosetta Stone' exoplanet
A new study modeled the chemistry of TOI-270 d, an exoplanet between Earth and Neptune in size, finding evidence that it could be a giant rocky planet shrouded in a thick, hot atmosphere. TOI-270 d is only 73 light years from Earth and could serve as a 'Rosetta Stone' for understanding an entire class of new planets.
Scientists may have solved a puzzling space rock mystery
Researchers may have answered one of space science's long-running questions -- and it could change our understanding of how life began. Carbon-rich asteroids are abundant in space yet make up less than 5 per cent of meteorites found on Earth.
From boring to bursting: Giant black hole awakens
Astronomers are investigating the longest and most energetic bursts of X-rays seen from a newly awakened black hole. Watching this strange behavior unfold in real time offers a unique opportunity to learn more about these powerful events and the mysterious behavior of massive black holes.
Our closest neighboring galaxy may be being torn apart
A team has revealed new insights into the motion of massive stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a small galaxy neighboring the Milky Way. Their findings suggest that the gravitational pull of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the SMC's larger companion, may be tearing the smaller one apart. This discovery reveals a new pattern in the motion of these stars that could transform our understanding of galaxy evolution and interactions.
'Hidden galaxies': Key to unlocking some of universe's secrets
Astronomers have peered back in time to find what looks like a population of 'hidden' galaxies that could hold the key to unlocking some of the universe's secrets. If their existence is confirmed it would 'effectively break current models of galaxy numbers and evolution'. The possible galaxies may also provide the missing piece of the puzzle for the energy generation in the universe in infrared light. That's because their combined light would be enough to top-up the energy budget of the universe to the maximum we observe, effectively accounting for all remaining energy emission at these long wavelengths.
Scientists discover how stellar-mass black holes emit powerful plasma jets
Scientists have discovered key conditions needed for a stellar black hole to create plasma jets. Their findings show that when superheated gas material experiences a rapid shrinkage towards the black hole, jet formation occurs.
Scientists source solar emissions with largest-ever concentration of rare helium isotope
The NASA/ESA Solar Orbiter recently recorded the highest-ever concentration of a rare helium isotope (3He) emitted from the Sun. A Southwest Research Institute-led team of scientists sought the source of this unusual occurrence to better understand the mechanisms that drive solar energetic particles (SEPs) that permeate our solar system. SEPs are high-energy, accelerated particles including protons, electrons and heavy ions associated with solar events like flares and coronal mass ejections.