This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com’s Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
In May 2020, some unusual rocks containing distinctive greenish crystals were found in the Erg Chech sand sea, a dune-filled region of the Sahara Desert in southern Algeria.
Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, features a surprisingly strong magnetic field for its size. Tidal effects from Jupiter continually stretch and squeeze the moon, keeping its core warm and driving the magnetic field. But the exact geological processes occurring within the core are not fully understood. Now, a new experimental study has put one of the leading models of core dynamics to the test: the formation of crystalized ‘iron snow’
The iron snow theory is like a geological ‘weather model’ for a planetary core: it describes how iron cools and crystalizes near the upper edge of the core (where it meets the mantle), then falls inwards and melts back into the liquid centre of the planet.
Ganymede’s core, in other words, is a molten metal snowglobe, shaken and stirred by Jupiter’s gravity.
Unveil the proximity in Hubble’s cosmic snapshot showcasing the challenges of interpreting cosmic distances in two-dimensional space.
Explore the Hubble Space Telescope’s cosmic portrait, revealing proximities between galaxies and challenging perceptions of cosmic distances.
The first Indian solar observatory has successfully reached its intended orbit, the country’s Space Research Organisation announced Saturday, as India seeks to cement its status as an emerging space superpower.
The Aditya-L1 spacecraft safely arrived at Lagrange Point L1, the position in space with unobstructed views of the sun located about 1.5 million kilometers (almost a million miles) from Earth, paving the way for scientists to enhance their study of the Sun-Earth System.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the “extraordinary feat” in a post on X on Saturday, adding that this “is a testament to the relentless dedication of our scientists in realizing among the most complex and intricate space missions.”
From the Moon’s south pole to an ice-covered ocean world, several exciting space missions are slated for launch in 2024.
Test images showcase how XRISM will explore the universe’s evolution and the structure of spacetime.
It’s their final frontier.
After an eight-month delay, a rocket will finally release into deep space the remains of 330 people from all walks of life — including George Washington and Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.
Texas-based company Celestis Inc.’s inaugural Enterprise Flight is scheduled to launch at 2:18 a.m. Monday from Cape Canaveral in Florida, marking the first time human remains will be released on the moon and beyond by a commercial company.
A groundbreaking study by Chalmers University scientists reveals unprecedented molecular details in two early-universe galaxies, advancing our understanding of their star-formation activities.
Two galaxies in the early universe, which contain extremely productive star factories, have been studied by a team of scientists led by Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. Using powerful telescopes to split the galaxies’ light into individual colors, the scientists were amazed to discover light from many different molecules – more than ever before at such distances. Studies like this could revolutionize our understanding of the lives of the most active galaxies when the universe was young, the researchers believe.
Unveiling the nature of early galaxies.
LST-1’s discovery of the distant quasar OP 313 at high energies marks a milestone in astronomy, highlighting the telescope’s advanced capabilities in exploring the farthest reaches of the universe.
On December 15, the Large-Sized Telescope (LST) Collaboration announced through an Astronomer’s Telegram (ATel) the detection of the source OP 313 at very high energies with the LST-1. Although OP 313 was known at lower energies, it had never been detected above 100 GeV, making this the LST-1’s first scientific discovery. With these results, OP 313 becomes the most distant Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) ever detected by a Cherenkov telescope, further showcasing the LST prototype’s exceptional performance while it is being commissioned on the CTAO-North site on the island of La Palma, Spain.
The Nature and Observation of OP 313.
