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Space And Astronomy

All articles tagged with #space and astronomy

China delays Chang'e-7 lunar mission to ensure absolute success
space-and-astronomy20 hours ago

China delays Chang'e-7 lunar mission to ensure absolute success

China announced the postponement of the Chang’e-7 lunar mission, saying it did not meet launch conditions for this year’s window. The mission, planned to launch from the Wenchang Space Launch Site on Hainan, aimed to explore permanently shadowed lunar craters, search for water ice, and conduct environmental and resource surveys as part of China’s lunar program. The decision emphasizes prudence to ensure absolute success, with no new launch date disclosed yet.

via Yahoo|
#change-7#china-manned-space-agency#launch-conditions
Dense mega-Earth GJ 523b challenges planetary norms with thin atmosphere
space-and-astronomy5 days ago

Dense mega-Earth GJ 523b challenges planetary norms with thin atmosphere

Astronomers have identified GJ 523b, a dense 'mega-Earth' about 2.5 times Earth in size and around 23 times as massive, with a surprisingly thin atmosphere. Discovered by NASA’s TESS and examined with the WIYN telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope, the planet’s high density and lack of a thick gaseous envelope defy simple formation models, leading researchers to speculate that extreme heat or a past planetary collision stripped away much of its atmosphere and to push for a clearer definition of the Mega-Earth category.

via Yahoo|
#atmosphere-loss#exoplanets#gj-523b
Webb spots solar-system-sized dot likely a black hole star from the dawn of the universe
space-and-astronomy5 days ago

Webb spots solar-system-sized dot likely a black hole star from the dawn of the universe

The James Webb Space Telescope identified MoM-BH*-1, a solar-system-sized, ruby-red dot seen about 660 million years after the Big Bang, proposed as a new object class: a black hole star—a dense shell of gas around a massive black hole. If confirmed, it would be the strongest evidence yet for this type of object and could help explain the enigmatic “little red dots” JWST has found. The object may host up to ~100,000 solar masses, with its Balmer-break spectrum indicating a dust-free, hydrogen/helium gas cocoon rather than ordinary starlight; further observations and modeling are needed to verify this interpretation.

via Yahoo|
#black-hole-star#early-universe#james-webb-space-telescope
Triple black holes in a distant galaxy reveal rapid early-universe growth
space-and-astronomy7 days ago

Triple black holes in a distant galaxy reveal rapid early-universe growth

Astronomers using the JWST have identified three active black holes in the distant galaxy J0148-4214, about 12.5 billion light-years away. Two lie at the core (80 million and 600,000 solar masses) and are 620 light-years apart, while a third, ~2 million solar masses, sits ~5,500 light-years away and may merge with the pair or escape. The system supports rapid black-hole growth in the early universe via mergers and foreshadows future low-frequency gravitational-wave detections by space-based observatories like LISA.

via Yahoo|
#black-holes#galaxy-mergers#gravitational-waves
Magnetar Lights Up Space-Time: First Clear Proof of Vacuum Birefringence
space-and-astronomy9 days ago

Magnetar Lights Up Space-Time: First Clear Proof of Vacuum Birefringence

Observations of a highly magnetic magnetar (1E 1547-5408) with NASA’s IXPE show X-ray polarization nearly three times higher than typical neutron-star emission and aligned with the star’s magnetic field, providing the strongest evidence yet that vacuum birefringence occurs—empty space acting like a prism under extreme magnetic fields. This long-predicted quantum effect, rooted in Heisenberg and Euler’s work from 1936, tests quantum electrodynamics in nature’s most extreme laboratories and motivates future missions (e.g., GoSOX) to confirm the finding.

via Yahoo|
#ixpe#magnetar#polarization
Webb Uncovers a Black Hole Star: The Cosmos’ New Object Class
space-and-astronomy10 days ago

Webb Uncovers a Black Hole Star: The Cosmos’ New Object Class

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, scientists have identified MoM-BH*-1—a black hole star about 100,000 solar masses formed less than 700 million years after the Big Bang. Its center is a black hole that relentlessly accretes matter, emitting about 100 billion times more energy than a typical star, while a dense gas shell makes it appear star-sized. The finding suggests other so-called 'Little Red Dots' could be black hole stars, potentially reshaping our understanding of early galaxies and black hole growth.

via Yahoo|
#astronomy#black-holes#early-universe
Pluto’s atmosphere begins to freeze out as it drifts farther from the Sun
space-and-astronomy14 days ago

Pluto’s atmosphere begins to freeze out as it drifts farther from the Sun

Astronomers report Pluto’s nitrogen-rich atmosphere is starting to freeze out as it moves away from the Sun, with atmospheric pressure dropping about 16% between mid-2021 and 2023. Pluto’s surface runs at roughly -382°F while the upper atmosphere sits around -333°F, conditions that favor frost formation as the air cools. Observations of ten stellar occultations from 2017–2023 show haze in the lower atmosphere settling toward lower latitudes as pressure falls. The findings, led by Amanda Sickafoose, suggest the atmosphere will not be fully frozen by aphelion (2114) but should rebuild somewhat as Pluto travels back toward the Sun. The study was published July 31 in the Planetary Science Journal.

via Yahoo|
#atmosphere#frost#nitrogen
JWST imagery hints the 'little red dots' are distant galactic cores, not new objects
space-and-astronomy15 days ago

JWST imagery hints the 'little red dots' are distant galactic cores, not new objects

New JWST imagery suggests the enigmatic 'little red dots' seen in deep-field images are likely ordinary distant galaxies whose bright centers outshine the rest, rather than a new class of object. Researchers used the nearby spiral galaxy Saguaro (about 3.3 billion years after the Big Bang) to model how such galaxies would look at earlier epochs, showing that LRDs could be early-universe galaxies with active nuclei and offering clues about how galaxies and their central black holes grew over cosmic time.

via Yahoo|
#black-holes#galaxy-evolution#james-webb-space-telescope
Danuri Captures SpaceX Moon Impact, Sparking Debris Responsibility Debate
space-and-astronomy17 days ago

Danuri Captures SpaceX Moon Impact, Sparking Debris Responsibility Debate

South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter photographed the Moon before and after a defunct SpaceX Falcon 9 upper stage slammed into the lunar surface at about 5,400 mph, leaving a fresh dark scar near Einstein crater. Danuri’s eight imaging sessions provide data on impact dynamics and ejecta, with NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter likely to image the site again. The event raises questions about who is responsible for deep-space debris and the lack of end-of-life disposal standards beyond Earth orbit.

via Yahoo|
#danuri#lro#lunarimpact
Global telescope network captures early shock-breakout of a colossal stellar explosion
space-and-astronomy19 days ago

Global telescope network captures early shock-breakout of a colossal stellar explosion

Astronomers worldwide recorded the first moments of a 500‑million‑light‑year‑distant Type Ic broad‑lined supernova from a Wolf–Rayet progenitor, catching the faint X-ray shock breakout and mapping the star’s pre‑explosion surroundings; the event showed jets but no observed gamma‑ray burst, suggesting a possible choking of the jet, with Rubin Observatory and other facilities continuing long‑term follow‑up observations.

via Yahoo|
#ic-bl#rubin-observatory#shock-breakout
Cosmic Acceleration May Be an Illusion, Cosmology Faces a Fresh Challenge
space-and-astronomy21 days ago

Cosmic Acceleration May Be an Illusion, Cosmology Faces a Fresh Challenge

New analysis of Type Ia supernovae data, with progenitor-age corrections from the Pantheon+ catalog, suggests the universe’s expansion may be mildly anisotropic and not accelerating uniformly in all directions. If younger supernova progenitors are fainter after standardization, distant observations could mimic acceleration, meaning the apparent cosmic acceleration could be a local, directional effect tied to our motion through the cosmos. This challenges the isotropy assumed in ΛCDM and raises doubts about dark energy's role, while also intersecting with the ongoing Hubble tension between local and early-universe expansion rates.

via Yahoo|
#anisotropy#dark-energy#hubble-tension
Juno uncovers buried heat beneath Io's volcanic crust
space-and-astronomy23 days ago

Juno uncovers buried heat beneath Io's volcanic crust

NASA’s Juno spacecraft used its Microwave Radiometer to measure heat beneath Io’s surface for the first time, finding temperatures rise sharply within a few feet of the crust (more than 40°F). The findings suggest a thin, porous surface layer and heat moving through Io’s crust that could result from conduction or cooling lava flows, offering new insights into tidal heating that powers Io’s volcanism and potentially informing heat processes on other worlds with buried oceans; future high-resolution observations could distinguish between conduction and lava-driven heating.

via Yahoo|
#io#io-subsurface-temperature#juno-spacecraft
Twin Meteor Showers Light Up the Sky Tonight: How to Catch Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids
space-and-astronomy26 days ago

Twin Meteor Showers Light Up the Sky Tonight: How to Catch Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids

Two meteor showers—the Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids—are expected to peak tonight into the early morning hours, with the Delta Aquariids producing about 25 meteors per hour and the Alpha Capricornids around 5. A full Moon may wash out fainter meteors, but bright fireballs could still be visible. No special gear is needed; view from dark, low-light skies away from cities and preferably after midnight. The Delta Aquariids run through Aug. 23 and the Alpha Capricornids through Aug. 15, according to AMS/NASA.

via Yahoo|
#alpha-capricornids#delta-aquariids#meteor-showers
NASA’s Swift Rescue Dives Into Crisis as Space Tug Loses Control
space-and-astronomy27 days ago

NASA’s Swift Rescue Dives Into Crisis as Space Tug Loses Control

NASA’s risky plan to rescue its aging Swift gamma-ray observatory with the LINK space tug is unraveling after LINK begins tumbling, with preliminary findings showing two of its three reaction wheels are inoperable and its cold‑gas thruster system degraded. Ground teams can still communicate with Swift, but engineers must halt LINK’s spin before reassessing next steps; the mission cost was about $30 million, and time is running out as Swift could re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in the coming months.

via Yahoo|
#attitude-control#link-tug#nasa