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Category: space

Why Jupiter and Saturn Have Different Polar Vortices

“Our study shows that, depending on the interior properties and the softness of the bottom of the vortex, this will influence the kind of fluid pattern you observe at the surface,” said Dr. Wanying Kang.

What processes are responsible for shaping Jupiter and Saturn’s polar weather? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hopes to address as a team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) investigated how the polar vortex structures on Jupiter and Saturn could provide key insight into the interiors of both planets. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the complex processes on gas giant planets, which could serve as analogs for gas giant exoplanets.

For the study, the researchers used a series of computer models to simulate how the vortex patterns on Jupiter and Saturn are produced. The motivation for this study comes from several years of spacecraft images and observations that clearly show both planets exhibiting very different polar vortex patterns. Until now, researchers have been stumped regarding the processes responsible for two different patterns on each planet. In the end, the researchers discovered that the planet’s interior composition is responsible for the polar vortex patterns. For example, Jupiter’s interior is comprised of light materials, resulting in a large area of smaller vortices. In contrast, Saturn’s interior is comprised of denser materials, resulting in one large vortex.

A Double Helium Tail Wraps Around WASP-121b

“We were incredibly surprised to see how long the helium escape lasted,” said Dr. Romain Allart.

What effects can an exoplanet orbiting close to its star have on the former’s atmosphere? This is what a recent study published in Nature Communications hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated a unique atmospheric phenomenon of an ultra-hot Jupiter, the latter of which are exoplanets that orbit extremely close to their stars, and the intense heat causes their atmospheres to slowly strip away. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the formation and evolution of ultra-hot Jupiters and their solar systems, and where we could search for life beyond Earth.

For the study, the researchers analyzed data obtained by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-121b, which is located approximately 880 light-years from Earth and orbits its F-type star in only 1.3 days. For context, F-type stars are larger and hotter than our Sun—which is a G-type star—and the closest planet to our Sun—Mercury—orbits our Sun in 88 days. What makes WASP-121b intriguing is not only is its helium atmosphere is slowly being stripped away, also called atmospheric escape, but the data revealed that this has resulted in two helium tails wrapping around WASP-121b while circling approximately 60 percent of the exoplanet’s orbit.

Astronomers discover a companion cluster to Czernik 38

Astronomers from the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) in Cairo, Egypt, have investigated a young open cluster known as Czernik 38. As a result, they found a new open cluster, which turns out to be a companion to Czernik 38. The discovery was detailed in a paper published Jan. 14 on the arXiv pre-print server.

Open clusters (OCs), formed from the same giant molecular cloud, are groups of stars loosely gravitationally bound to each other. So far, more than 1,000 of them have been discovered in the Milky Way, and scientists are still looking for more, hoping to find a variety of these stellar groupings.

Velocity gradients prove key to explaining large-scale magnetic field structure

All celestial bodies—planets, suns, even entire galaxies—produce magnetic fields, affecting such cosmic processes as the solar wind, high-energy particle transport, and galaxy formation. Small-scale magnetic fields are generally turbulent and chaotic, yet large-scale fields are organized, a phenomenon that plasma astrophysicists have tried explaining for decades, unsuccessfully.

In a paper published January 21 in Nature, a team led by scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have run complex numerical simulations of plasma flows that, while leading to turbulence, also develop structured flows due to the formation of large-scale jets. From their simulations, the team has identified a new mechanism to describe the generation of magnetic fields that can be broadly applied, and has implications ranging from space weather to multimessenger astrophysics.

“Magnetic fields across the cosmos are large-scale and ordered, but our understanding of how these fields are generated is that they come from some kind of turbulent motion,” says the study’s lead author Bindesh Tripathi, a former UW–Madison physics graduate student and current postdoctoral researcher at Columbia University.

SPHEREx imaging reveals increased sublimation activity on 3I/ATLAS

The interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, was first discovered in July 2025, and made its closest approach to the sun (perihelion) in late October. New observations of 3I/ATLAS were taken in December from the SPHEREx observatory—a near-infrared space observatory used for spectrophotometry. The analysis of these observations was recently discussed by a team of scientists in a paper on arXiv, and reveals some dramatic differences from the data taken before 3I/ATLAS reached perihelion.

SPHEREx first analyzed spectrographic data from 3I/ATLAS in August, shortly after its discovery. At the time, the interstellar object was moving inward, getting closer to the sun, but still between Jupiter and Mars.

At this time, spectrographic analysis showed “barely detectable” H2O-gas, according to the study authors, along with a CO2 coma. The CO2 gas production was estimated in a prior study to be about 9.4 × 1026 molecules/sec, with upper limits for H2O and CO being much lower. Carbon-based organic compounds (collectively referred to as C-H), like methanol (CH3OH), formaldehyde (H2CO), methane (CH4), and ethane (C2H6) were not detectable at the time.

A century’s worth of data could help predict future solar cycle activity

Research conducted by an international team of astronomers from Southwest Research Institute, Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences in India and the Max Planck Institute in Germany could help predict upcoming solar cycle activity.

To enable these predictions, the team has devised a new way to look at historical data from the Kodaikanal Solar Observatory (KoSO), a field station of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) Bangalore, to reconstruct the sun’s polar magnetic behavior over more than 100 years.

“We needed to find the polar magnetic information hidden in the historical data,” said SwRI scientist Dr. Bibhuti Kumar Jha, second author of a paper about these findings. “To start, we cleaned up and calibrated early data to today’s standards and then correlated patterns with modern observations. I addressed anomalies like time zone slips and rotation errors to enable this kind of study.”

Tesla Robotaxis, AGI Myths, and the Real Economics of the Musk Economy

Elon Musk’s ventures, particularly Tesla’s robotaxis and advancements in AI, are poised to revolutionize the economy and society, with significant potential for growth, discovery, and profound implications for the future ##

## Questions to inspire discussion.

Robotaxi Economics & Business Model.

🚖 Q: What determines robotaxi success beyond achieving autonomy? A: Success depends on unit economics, fleet scalability, and supply elasticity during peak demand, not who reaches autonomy first, with the ability to integrate privately owned vehicles into a single economic system being critical.

💰 Q: What margin advantage does Tesla’s robotaxi model have over competitors? A: Tesla projects 35% margins by 2030, significantly higher than Uber’s 7.9% and Waymo’s break-even margins, enabling rapid revenue growth.

📈 Q: What revenue growth is expected for Tesla’s robotaxi business? A: Tesla expects 4.4-5x growth in robotaxi revenue over the next 5 years, potentially greater due to untapped use cases like long road trips.

Continue reading “Tesla Robotaxis, AGI Myths, and the Real Economics of the Musk Economy” | >

StarWhisper Telescope: an AI framework for automating end-to-end astronomical observations

Cunshi Wang and colleagues report StarWhisper Telescope system, an AI agent to control amateur telescope array to make astronomical observations of cosmic transients. The agent is a blueprint for control systems of future telescope arrays where AI-based autonomy will be critical.

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