INFORMATION

Something's wetting the surface of dwarf planet Pluto along the northern edge of Sputnik Planitia, and planetary scientists have found a good explanation for it. A recent study of new Horizons images taken during the 2015 flyby revealed evidence that liquid nitrogen is rising up through cracks in Sputnik Planitia. That's the giant heart-shaped glacial basin we see in all the Pluto images taken by the spacecraft. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/Vm5Kbsr via IFTTT

Astronomers have discovered another S star, the population of stars that orbits the Milky Way's SMBH. This one is the fastest of them all, and also comes closest to the SMBH. It will let astronomers test relativity, especially the Lense-Thirring effect. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/ZiaLWP4 via IFTTT

When the JWST peered into the ancient Universe, it found surprisingly massive galaxies. These galaxies were so massive they challenged our understanding of how quickly galaxies can assemble. But new research says that multitudes of low-mass stars are hiding in these galaxies, and they're actually even more massive than we thought. When will it end? from Universe Today https://ift.tt/dl7VQuz via IFTTT

A single pixel of light holds astonishing detail. How ocean glint, rotational mapping, and the vegetation red edge let us read a distant planet's oceans, continents, and even forests, all without ever resolving it as more than a point. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/EanDP1q via IFTTT

Nitrous oxide (otherwise known as laughing gas) is likely a key atmospheric component of life in the cosmos. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/cgUMb3W via IFTTT

Astronomers know that evolved AGB stars shed their outer layers, contributing to the makeup of the interstellar medium. But new JWST observations show this can happen even near a supermassive black hole, where powerful radiation could obliterate molecules. from Universe Today https://ift.tt/ZDEO05V via IFTTT