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Astronomers Discover Youngest Exoplanet Elias 2-24b, Challenging Planet Formation Models

Astronomers Discover Youngest Exoplanet Elias 2-24b, Challenging Planet Formation Models

Astronomers have identified Elias 2-24b, the youngest exoplanet ever discovered, orbiting a young orange dwarf star approximately 453 light-years from Earth. This Jupiter-sized 'newborn' planet is estimated to be less than a million years old and is still embedded within its natal disk of gas and dust. The discovery was made by a team led by Andrea Bernardi, a doctoral candidate at the Universidad Diego Portales in Chile, who analyzed archival data from the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. The findings confirm earlier observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope, which hinted at a celestial body within a gap in the debris disk around the star Elias 2-24. Coronagraph technology, which blocks starlight to enable direct observation of orbiting planets, was crucial in confirming the exoplanet's presence within this gap, where planets are expected to form by carving out material.

NASA says new Roman telescope's lifespan could more than double, to 22 years

NASA says new Roman telescope's lifespan could more than double, to 22 years

By Will Dunham WASHINGTON, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Even before the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has reached its planned orbital position, NASA says its newest flagship observatory's potential operational lifespan may reach 22 years — more than double the length previously announced.

Hubble Space Telescope Discovers New Decagon Wave Pattern in Saturn's Southern Atmosphere

Hubble Space Telescope Discovers New Decagon Wave Pattern in Saturn's Southern Atmosphere

Astronomers utilizing images from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope (HST) have identified a previously unobserved 10-sided wave pattern, or decagon, in Saturn's southern atmosphere. This discovery, detailed in a recent study published in Science Advances, was made through data collected as part of Hubble’s Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) program, which annually images outer planets to study their atmospheric compositions and evolution. The research also incorporated observations from ground-based telescopes, including the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain. Unlike Saturn's well-known northern hexagonal atmospheric structure, which remains largely fixed, the newly found southern decagon exhibits an eastward migration and oscillates every 32 days, suggesting it behaves more like a meandering wave across multiple atmospheric layers. This feature was not observed by NASA’s Cassini spacecraft during its mission from 2004 to 2017, indicating it is a recent development.

NASA spacecraft discovers a huge new crater on the moon

NASA spacecraft discovers a huge new crater on the moon

Scientists have discovered a crater on the moon that's bigger than the Roman Colosseum, the result of a powerful impact two years ago

Starship is due to fly again from Texas as SpaceX eyes major milestone

Starship is due to fly again from Texas as SpaceX eyes major milestone

The primary objective of SpaceX's next Starship flight is for the world's largest rocket to reach orbit for the first time in three years of tests.

Hubble Space Telescope's Orbit Decaying, Faces Uncontrolled Reentry Risk

Hubble Space Telescope's Orbit Decaying, Faces Uncontrolled Reentry Risk

The Hubble Space Telescope's orbit is steadily decaying due to atmospheric drag, raising concerns about an uncontrolled reentry into Earth's atmosphere. Unlike many modern spacecraft, Hubble was not designed with station-keeping thrusters or the ability to steer itself for a controlled deorbit. The drag on the telescope, which is roughly the size of a school bus, is influenced by solar activity; increased solar extreme ultraviolet and 10.7 cm radio flux cause the thermosphere to swell, increasing density at Hubble's altitude and accelerating its descent. While the telescope has undergone reboosts in the past by Space Shuttles, the last such mission was in 2002. NASA has not approved further reboosts, despite proposals such as one involving a Crew Dragon. The current rate of decay suggests an uncontrolled reentry could occur within the next decade if no action is taken. The website 'Hubble Reentry Tracker' monitors the telescope's altitude daily, providing real-time data on its orbital decay.

NASA's LRO Discovers 'Once-in-a-Century' Moon Crater, Reveals Surface Changes

NASA's LRO Discovers 'Once-in-a-Century' Moon Crater, Reveals Surface Changes

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) has identified the largest newly formed crater ever found in the solar system on the Moon’s eastern edge. Named McGetchin crater after pioneering lunar scientist Tom McGetchin, it formed between April 11 and May 22, 2024, when a comet or asteroid, estimated to be the size of a three- to six-story building, impacted the lunar surface. The crater measures 728 feet wide and 141 feet deep. Robert Wagner, an image-processing specialist with Intuitive Machines working with LROC data, discovered the crater during a routine data-quality check by comparing before and after images of the Moon. Scientists estimate that an impact of this magnitude occurs on the Moon approximately once a century or even less frequently. Further observations using LRO’s thermal instrument, Diviner, revealed a 4-mile-wide area around the crater that is about 16 degrees Fahrenheit cooler at night than its surroundings. This cooling effect is attributed to the impact fluffing up the regolith, makin...

Starship has yet to reach orbit. SpaceX hopes that's about to change.

Starship has yet to reach orbit. SpaceX hopes that's about to change.

SpaceX's Starship rocket has not reached orbit in more than three years of flight tests. That could be about to change in September.

Astronomers Discover 50 New 'Ghost' Dwarf Galaxies, Advancing Dark Matter Understanding

Astronomers Discover 50 New 'Ghost' Dwarf Galaxies, Advancing Dark Matter Understanding

Astronomers have identified nearly 50 previously undiscovered 'ghost' dwarf galaxies, located up to 100 million light-years away. This discovery was made through a meticulous visual inspection of images from the Very Large Telescope's (VLT) VST SMASH survey, rather than relying solely on algorithms. The team, led by Crescenzo Tortora of the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), masked light from foreground stars to reveal these faint galaxies. Of the 47 dwarf galaxies observed, only four had been previously known. These newly found dwarf galaxies exhibit various shapes, including spheroidals, ellipticals, irregulars, and some with internal structures suggesting they are dwarf spirals. Their masses range from one million to one billion times the mass of the sun. This finding is significant for addressing long-standing puzzles in cosmology, such as the 'missing satellite galaxies' problem, where the number of dwarf satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way is fewer than predicted by the standar...

NASA Launches Public 'Adopt-a-Pixel' Campaign for Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

NASA Launches Public 'Adopt-a-Pixel' Campaign for Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

NASA has initiated a public engagement campaign, 'Adopt-a-Pixel,' for the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. This initiative invites astronomy enthusiasts and the general public to symbolically 'adopt' pixels from the telescope's Wide Field Instrument (WFI) camera array. Participants can select or be assigned a specific coordinate within the 300-megapixel camera, receiving a digital certificate that details the technical specifications of their chosen pixel, its sensor identification, and explanatory notes on the cosmic phenomena it might capture. The campaign aims to connect the public with the technical intricacies of the mission, which is designed for large-scale panoramic surveys, covering a field of view 100 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope while maintaining comparable spatial resolution.

NASA's Roman Space Telescope Exceeds Fuel Projections, Doubling Potential Mission Lifetime

NASA's Roman Space Telescope Exceeds Fuel Projections, Doubling Potential Mission Lifetime

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is projected to have its operational lifetime more than doubled, from an initial 10 years to at least 22 years, due to significant fuel savings. This extended lifespan is attributed to several factors: the exceptional accuracy of its first mid-course correction maneuver, which used less than 10% of the budgeted fuel; additional fuel loaded prior to launch because the spacecraft was lighter than initially projected; and anticipated further savings from its upcoming second mid-course correction and orbital insertion. The first burn, executed on August 31, was over 99% accurate and consumed only about 40 pounds (18 kilograms) of fuel, far less than the 441 pounds (200 kilograms) allocated. The spacecraft's actual launch weight of 17,760 pounds (8,056 kilograms) was significantly below the conservative maximum weight of 21,605 pounds (9,800 kilograms) used for fuel budgeting, allowing for propellant tanks to be filled beyond the 10-year requirement. These efficiencies m...

James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Mysterious Changes in Chariklo's Rings

James Webb Space Telescope Reveals Mysterious Changes in Chariklo's Rings

New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) indicate mysterious changes in the rings surrounding Chariklo, a 'centaur' object located between Saturn and Uranus. Chariklo, approximately 400 miles in diameter, is a unique celestial body exhibiting characteristics of both asteroids and comets. Its rings were first discovered in 2013, marking it as the first small solar system body known to possess such a feature. Subsequent ground-based observations were made in 2014 and 2017. However, a JWST study published on September 9 in the journal Science Advances, based on 2022 observations, revealed significant differences over the past decade. Specifically, the inner ring of Chariklo shows a significantly higher opacity, while the outer ring exhibits lower opacity, a finding that challenges previous understandings of these ring systems.