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Category: space – Page 2

New Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting nearby star detected

Using the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), an international team of astronomers has detected a new exoplanet orbiting a nearby star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-2431 b, is comparable in size to Earth and has a very short orbital period. The finding was reported in a research paper published July 11 on the pre-print server arXiv.

NASA’s TESS monitors about 200,000 near Earth, looking for temporary drops in brightness caused by . Since its launch in April 2018, the satellite has identified more than 7,600 candidate exoplanets (TESS Objects of Interest, or TOI), of which 638 have been confirmed so far.

Now, a team of astronomers led by Kaya Han Taş of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, reports the confirmation of another TOI monitored by TESS. According to the paper, a transit signal has been detected in the light curve of TOI-2431—a star of spectral type KV7 located some 117 light years away. The planetary nature of this signal was confirmed by follow-up ground-based observations.

NASA Just Discovered Where These Mysterious Space X-Rays Really Come From

Astronomers have just solved a long-standing mystery about a rare, rapidly spinning neutron star known as PSR J1023+0038. Using NASA’s IXPE telescope and a fleet of observatories, scientists discovered that the system’s intense X-rays don’t come from its glowing accretion disk as previously belie

Self-powered solar panels remove dust using wind-generated electricity

A collaborative research team has successfully developed a self-powered pollution prevention technology that can remove pollutants from the surface of solar panels without external power. This technology uses a wind-powered rotational triboelectric nanogenerator to generate power and combines said power with electrodynamic screen (EDS) technology to move dust in the desired direction for removal.

The findings are published in the journal Nano Energy. The team was led by Professor Juhyuck Lee from the Department of Energy Science and Engineering, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology, along with Dr. Wanchul Seung at Global Technology Research, Samsung Electronics.

The dust that gathers on the surface of solar panels causes a significant reduction in power production efficiency. EDS technology, designed to address this problem, uses electric fields to remove dust from the surface, and it is noted for environments that are not easily accessible, such as deserts, mountains, and space, as it does not require cleaning equipment or personnel. Traditional EDS technology, however, requires and, consequently, external power, and it has the disadvantage of additional maintenance costs.

Immune cells turn into ‘mini-Hulks’ to push away tissue and make space when migrating

Immune responses rely on the efficient movement of immune cells within the complex and geometrically unpredictable three-dimensional tissues that make up our bodies.

Research by the Sixt group at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) unveils how immune cells use their cytoskeleton to exert forces on their surrounding environment to push their way through tissues.

The findings were published in Nature Immunology.

Cosmic sculptor: Astronomers spot young planet shaping spiral arms in dusty stellar disk

Astronomers may have caught a still-forming planet in action, carving out an intricate pattern in the gas and dust that surrounds its young host star. Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), they observed a planetary disk with prominent spiral arms, finding clear signs of a planet nestled in its inner regions. This is the first time astronomers have detected a planet candidate embedded inside a disk spiral.

“We will never witness the formation of Earth, but here, around a young star 440 light-years away, we may be watching a planet come into existence in real time,” says Francesco Maio, a doctoral researcher at the University of Florence, Italy, and lead author of this study, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

The potential planet-in-the-making was detected around the star HD 135344B, within a disk of gas and dust around it called a . The budding planet is estimated to be twice the size of Jupiter and as far from its host star as Neptune is from the sun. It has been observed shaping its surroundings within the protoplanetary disk as it grows into a fully formed planet.

Dawn of a New Solar System: Watch Planets Begin to Form 1300 Light-Years Away

In a cosmic first, scientists watched planet-forming materials begin to solidify around a newborn star, offering a peek into what our Solar System may have looked like at birth. It’s a stunning replay of planetary evolution, just 1300 light-years away.