Space: Structures and Features
Published

Why haven't we discovered co-orbital exoplanets? Could tides offer a possible answer?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

So far, we haven't discovered any exoplanets with co-orbital objects. A new study suggests tides could be causing oscillations that remove co-orbitals before we can find them.

Mathematics: General Space: Structures and Features
Published

AI reveals unsuspected math underlying search for exoplanets      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The astronomers' goal: find an artificial intelligence algorithm to interpret microlensing events captured by the upcoming Roman Space Telescope and speed detection of exoplanets around other stars. They achieved that, but the AI told them something unexpected and deep: the theory used to infer stellar and exoplanetary masses and orbits from observations was incomplete. Digging into the mathematics, they uncovered a theory that explains all types of microlensing events and possible ambiguities in interpreting them.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers find hidden trove of massive black holes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers have found a previously overlooked treasure trove of massive black holes in dwarf galaxies. The newly discovered black holes offer a glimpse into the life story of the supermassive black hole at the center of our own Milky Way galaxy.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Ghostly 'mirror world' might be cause of cosmic controversy      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research suggests an unseen 'mirror world' of particles that interacts with our world only via gravity that might be the key to solving a major puzzle in cosmology today -- the Hubble constant problem. The Hubble constant is the rate of expansion of the universe today. Predictions for this rate are significantly slower than the rate found by our most precise local measurements. This discrepancy is one that many cosmologists have been trying to solve by changing our current cosmological model.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Physicists explain how type of aurora on Mars is formed      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have learned how a type of aurora on Mars is formed. The physicists report discrete aurora form through the interaction of the solar wind and the crust at Mars' southern hemisphere.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Astronauts may one day drink water from ancient moon volcanoes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

If any humans had been alive 2 to 4 billion years ago, they may have looked up and seen a sliver of frost on the moon's surface. Some of that ice may still be hiding in craters on the lunar surface today.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Mars' emitted energy and seasonal energy imbalance      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Seasonal imbalance between the solar energy absorbed and released by the planet Mars could be a cause of the Red Planet's dust storms, according to new research. Understanding how the system works on Mars could help scientists predict how climate change could affect Earth.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Extraterrestrial stone brings first supernova clues to Earth      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The extraterrestrial Hypatia stone found in Egypt could be the first tangible evidence on Earth of a supernova type Ia explosion. These rare supernovas are some of the most energetic events in the universe. If the hypothesis is correct, Hypatia would be a 'forensic' clue of an epic cosmic story started sometime in the early formation of our solar system.

Space: The Solar System
Published

New study indicates limited water circulation late in the history of Mars      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A research team has investigated a meteorite from Mars using neutron and X-ray tomography. The technology, which will probably be used when NASA examines samples from the Red Planet in 2030, showed that the meteorite had limited exposure to water, thus making life at that specific time and place unlikely.

Space: Exploration Space: The Solar System
Published

A first: Scientists grow plants in soil from the Moon      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have, for the first time, grown plants in soil from the Moon. They used soil collected during the Apollo 11, 12 and 17 missions. In their experiment, the researchers wanted to know if plants would grow in lunar soil and, if so, how the plants would respond to the unfamiliar environment, even down to the level of gene expression.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

In a pair of merging supermassive black holes, a new method for measuring the void      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have devised a potentially easier way of gazing into the abyss. Their imaging technique could allow astronomers to study black holes smaller than M87's, a monster with a mass of 6.5 billion suns, harbored in galaxies more distant than M87, which at 55 million light-years away, is still relatively close to our own Milky Way.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Research breakthrough means warp speed 'Unruh effect' can finally be tested in lab settings      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A major hurdle for work at the forefront of fundamental physics is the inability to test cutting-edge theories in a laboratory setting. But a recent discovery opens the door for scientists to see ideas in action that were previously only understood in theory or represented in science fiction.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Hyperfast white dwarf stars provide clues for understanding supernovae      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Scientists have used computer modeling to show how a hypothesized type of supernova would evolve on the scale of thousands of years, giving researchers a way to look for examples of supernovae of this model, known as 'D6.'

Space: The Solar System
Published

Lunar soil has the potential to generate oxygen and fuel      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Soil on the moon contains active compounds that can convert carbon dioxide into oxygen and fuels, scientists report. They are now exploring whether lunar resources can be used to facilitate human exploration on the moon or beyond.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Astronomers discover a rare 'black widow' binary, with the shortest orbit yet      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers discovered a 'black widow binary' -- a rapidly spinning neutron star circling and slowly consuming a smaller companion star. Named ZTF J1406+1222, the pair has the shortest orbital period yet identified, and is unique in that it appears to host a third star that orbits around the two inner stars every 10,000 years.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Experiments measure freezing point of extraterrestrial oceans to aid search for life      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A planetary scientist worked with engineers to measure the physical limits for a liquid when salty water is at very high pressure. The results suggest where to look for extraterrestrial life in the ice-covered oceans of Jupiter's moon Europa and Saturn's moon Titan.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Younger exoplanets are better candidates when looking for other Earths      (via sciencedaily.com) 

As the scientific community searches for worlds orbiting nearby stars that could potentially harbor life, new research suggests that younger rocky exoplanets are more likely to support temperate, Earth-like climates.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Search reveals eight new sources of black hole echoes      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Astronomers discovered eight new echoing black hole binaries in our galaxy, enabling them to piece together a general picture of how a black hole evolves during an outburst. The findings will help scientists trace a black hole's evolution as it feeds on stellar material.

Space: Structures and Features
Published

Spinning stars shed new light on strange signal coming from galactic center      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have found an alternative explanation for a mysterious gamma-ray signal coming from the center of the galaxy, which was long claimed as a signature of dark matter.

Space: The Solar System
Published

Earth's atmosphere may be source of some lunar water      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Hydrogen and oxygen ions escaping from Earth's upper atmosphere and combining on the moon could be one of the sources of the known lunar water and ice, according to new research.