Skip to main content

Posts

How a Meteorite Helps Explain Mercury's Chemical Makeup

Mercury is one of the four rocky worlds of the Solar System, yet its chemistry is very different from Earth, Venus, and Mars. Missions to the planet show that it has an iron-poor, but sulfur- and magnesium-rich crust. Furthermore, it's known to planetary scientists as the most reduced planet in the Solar system. It means that the chemical makeup is dominated by sulfides, carbides, and silicides -- as opposed to oxides like we see here on Earth. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/vUQX3Vf via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more
Recent posts

Binary Stars Form Lots Of Exoplanets, But Many Of Them Are Ejected As Rogue Planets

Binary stars are common, but for a long time astronomers have thought that exoplanets would have trouble forming around them. In recent years, powerful telescopes have detected about 50 of these planets. Now, new simulations show that their formation isn't actually rare, it's just that they tend to be on wide orbits, with few opportunities to observe transits. Also, many of them are ejected and become rogue planets. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/UNFvanq via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

ESA’s Proba 3 is Unlocking Secrets of the Solar Wind

It has been a dream of astronomers and solar scientists for ages. A new mission gives solar researchers a powerful new tool in their arsenal: on-demand, total solar eclipses. Launched in 2024, The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission has proven the feasibility of a free-flying, space-based coronagraph. Now, first science results from the mission are giving us a view of the origin of space weather. The results were recently published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/jcd3E9s via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Canada Proposes POET Mission to Hunt Earth-Sized Planets

Exoplanet science and the search for life beyond Earth continue to advance at break-neck speeds, with the number of confirmed exoplanets by NASA rapidly approaching 6,300, with 223 of those exoplanets being designated as terrestrial (rocky) exoplanets. With the promise of discovering an increasing number of Earth-sized exoplanets increasing every day, new telescopes from across the world have the opportunity to contribute to this incredible field. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/ydmNwMu via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Designing In Situ Power Stations for Future Mars Missions

You’re in the lab analyzing Martian regolith samples within your cozy Mars habitat serving on fifth human mission to Mars. The power within the habitat has been flowing flawlessly thanks to the MARS-MES (Mars Atmospheric Resource & Multimodal Energy System), including the general habitat lighting, science lab, sleeping quarters, exercise equipment, the virtual reality headsets the crew use for rest & relaxation, oxygen and fuel generation, and water. All this from converting the Martian atmosphere into workable electricity. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/HPxRe8G via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

Our Galaxy Has a Hot Side and Now We Know Why

Our Galaxy's halo of hot gas is measurably warmer on one side than the other and a team of scientists have found the culprit. The gravitational pull of the Large Magellanic Cloud is drawing the Milky Way slowly southward, compressing the gas in its path and heating it up, much like a piston in an engine. The discovery solves a puzzle that has intrigued astronomers since the temperature difference was first detected in 2024. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/LRlpGOd via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more

The Ancient Art That Could Transform Space Communication

Researchers at the Institute of Science Tokyo have developed an origami inspired foldable antenna for CubeSat satellites that weighs just 64 grams yet in orbit, it deploys to two and a half times its stowed size. The antenna folds away neatly for launch and deploys automatically in space, achieving high gain communications performance from a package small enough to fit in your pocket and could one day support missions as far away as the Moon. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/bPxqk05 via IFTTT
Post a Comment
Read more