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Category: space – Page 28

Even light-speed signals can’t reach galaxies beyond 18 billion light-years due to space expanding too fast.

TL;DR

In an expanding Universe, galaxies beyond 18 billion light-years are unreachable, even if we send a light-speed signal today. The expansion of space, not objects themselves, causes these galaxies to appear as though they’re moving faster than light. As space expands, light is stretched, a process called redshift, making galaxies seem to accelerate away from us. This phenomenon doesn’t break the laws of relativity since space itself isn’t bound by the speed of light. The farther we look, the more we realize that many galaxies will remain beyond our reach forever.

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A new study by Rice University researchers Sho Shibata and Andre Izidoro presents a compelling new model for the formation of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes—planets that are 1 to 4 times the size of Earth and among the most common in our galaxy. Using advanced simulations, the researchers propose that these planets emerge from distinct rings of planetesimals, providing fresh insight into planetary evolution beyond our solar system. The findings were recently published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

For decades, scientists have debated how super-Earths and mini-Neptunes form. Traditional models have suggested that planetesimals—the tiny building blocks of planets—formed across wide regions of a young star’s disk. But Shibata and Izidoro suggest a different theory: These materials likely come together in narrow rings at specific locations in the disk, making planet formation more organized than previously believed.

“This paper is particularly significant as it models the formation of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes, which are believed to be the most common types of planets in the galaxy,” said Shibata, a postdoctoral fellow of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences. “One of our key findings is that the formation pathways of the solar system and exoplanetary systems may share fundamental similarities.”

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Astronomers have revealed new evidence that not just one, but four tiny planets are circling around Barnard’s Star, the second-nearest star system to Earth.

The four planets, each only about 20 to 30% the mass of Earth, are so close to their home star that they zip around the entire star in a matter of days. That probably means they are too hot to be habitable, but the find is a new benchmark for discovering smaller planets around .

The resulting paper is published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

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The race between Jupiter and Saturn for the most moons in the Solar System may have just finally come screeching to a halt.

A team of scientists has found a whopping 128 previously unknown moons hanging around Saturn, in a discovery officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union. This brings the planet’s total number of known moons to 274, leaving Jupiter, with its mere 95 moons, in the dust.

The first hint that there were more moons awaiting discovery came between 2019 and 2021, when 62 such objects were identified. Other small objects were also spotted at the time that couldn’t yet be designated.

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Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt is taking over as the CEO of Relativity Space, a 9-year-old rocket startup, a company spokesperson confirmed in a statement to TechCrunch. This is Schmidt’s first CEO job since he left Google nearly 15 years ago.

On Monday, Schmidt told employees of Relativity Space that he made a significant investment and had taken a controlling stake in the company, The New York Times first reported.

Schmidt is succeeding the startup’s co-founder, Tim Ellis, as chief executive. In a post on X, Ellis noted he will continue to support Relativity Space as a director on the company’s board.

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University of Arizona astronomers have learned more about a surprisingly mature galaxy that existed when the universe was just less than 300 million years old—just 2% of its current age.

Observed by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, the galaxy—designated JADES-GS-z14-0—is unexpectedly bright and chemically complex for an object from this primordial era, the researchers said. This provides a rare glimpse into the universe’s earliest chapter.

The findings, published in the journal Nature Astronomy, build upon the researchers’ previous discovery, reported in 2024, of JADES-GS-z14-0 as the most distant galaxy ever observed. While the initial discovery established the galaxy’s record-breaking distance and unexpected brightness, this new research delves deeper into its chemical composition and evolutionary state.

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Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have observed enigmatic rings in the planetary nebula NGC 1,514, visible in the mid-infrared band. Results of the new observations, published Feb. 28 on the arXiv pre-print server, shed more light on the properties and nature of these rings.

Planetary nebulae (PNe) are expanding shells of gas and dust that have been ejected from a star during the process of its evolution from a into a red giant or white dwarf. They are relatively rare, but are important for astronomers studying the chemical evolution of stars and galaxies.

NGC 1,514 (also known as Crystal Ball Nebula) is a large and complex elliptical planetary at a distance of about 1,500 light years away. It originated from a designated HD 281679. The bright, visible component of the system is a giant star of spectral type A0III, while the nebula-generating companion is now a hot, sub-luminous O-type star.

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