Space & Planetary Science

Credit: DESY, Science Communication Lab A team of scientists has detected the presence of a high-energy neutrino--a particularly elusive particle--in the wake of a star's destruction as it is consumed by a black hole. This…

Juno's UVS instrument makes relatively rare observation of common eventsCredit: SwRI SAN ANTONIO -- Feb. 22, 2021 -- From aboard the Juno spacecraft, a Southwest Research Institute-led instrument observing auroras serendipitously…

Credit: NASA, ESA and G. Bacon (STScI). Astronomers have long been looking into the vast universe in hopes of discovering alien civilisations. But for a planet to have life, liquid water must be present. The chances of that finding…

Credit: Felipe Pedreros Scientists of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (LPI RAS), the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) and the Institute for Nuclear Research of RAS…

Gaia survey provides location and motion of 1.3 million binary pairs within 3,000 light years of EarthCredit: Animation by Jackie Faherity, AMNH, based on data by Kareem El-Badry, UC Berkeley The latest star data from the Gaia…

Credit: © Tetyana Milojevic Early Mars is considered as an environment where life could possibly have existed. There was a time in the geological history of Mars when it could have been very similar to Earth and harbored life as we…

The latest observations from Insight-HXMT were published online in Nature Astronomy on Feb. 18. Insight-HXMT has discovered the very first X-ray burst associated with a fast radio burst (FRB) and has identified that it originated from…

Experiments in a chamber under Martian-like conditions in a University of Oregon lab suggest that small sparks may be triggered by friction under normal atmospheric conditions EUGENE, Ore. -- Feb. 19, 2021 -- Friction caused by dry Martian…

Weighing in at roughly 21 solar masses, the black hole in the X-ray binary system Cygnus X-1 is so massive that it challenges current stellar evolution models, a new study reveals. Ultimately, the mass of a black hole is determined by its…

Credit: Credit: International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. New observations of the first black hole ever detected have led astronomers to question what they know about the Universe's most mysterious objects. Published today in…

Credit: Kim Ratliff, Augusta University AUGUSTA, Ga. (Feb.18, 2021) - Extended time in space weakens astronauts' bones, so scientists are working to better understand how bone senses and responds to the usual forces placed upon it…

Credit: Peter Bucktrout, British Antarctic Survey Lakes underneath the Antarctic ice sheet could be more hospitable than previously thought, allowing them to host more microbial life. This is the finding of a new study that could…

Credit: RUDN University Gravity might play a bigger role in the formation of elementary particles than scientists used to believe. A team of physicists from RUDN University obtained some solutions of semi-classical models that describe…

In the search for planets capable of sustaining life, an international research team with members from ETH has taken a significant step forward. As the researchers reported recently in the journal Nature Communications, they found signs…

Credit: West Virginia University A West Virginia University astrophysicist is among this year's Sloan Fellows, scholars recognized as emerging leaders in science. Sarah Burke-Spolaor, an assistant professor of astronomy, is one…

Credit: The University of Hong Kong Both Earth and Mars currently have oxidising atmospheres, which is why iron-rich materials in daily life develop rust (a common name for iron oxide) during the oxidation reaction of iron and…

Researcher examining origins of cosmic rays awarded prestigious fellowshipCredit: Photos courtesy of Frank Schroeder Frank G. Schroeder, assistant professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Delaware, has received the…

The military is adding fuel to the momentum of physicists at The University of Toledo who are advancing new frontiers in thin-film, highly efficient, low-cost photovoltaic technology to ensure a clean energy futureCredit: The University of…

UMass Amherst researchers used remote sensing to quantify the previously underestimated erosion More than one-third of the Corn Belt in the Midwest - nearly 100 million acres - has completely lost its carbon-rich topsoil, according to…

New planetary system offers glimpse into how planets evolveCredit: Illustration courtesy of NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center HANOVER, N.H. - February 12, 2021 - A newly discovered planetary system will provide researchers with the…