The Firefly Sparkle was previously imaged by Hubble Space Telescope and Keck Observatory, but was followed-up using the power of both gravitational lensing and multi-wavelength data from JWST’s CAnadian NIRISS Unbiased Cluster Survey (CANUCS). The role of the lens was played by the massive galaxy cluster called MACS J1423.8 + 2,404, which lies between us and the Firefly Sparkle.
“Without the benefit of this gravitational lens, we would not be able to resolve this galaxy,” said Kartheik Iyer, a co-lead author of the paper, in a press release. “We knew to expect it based on current physics, but it’s surprising that we actually saw it.”
In the team’s paper, published in Nature on Dec. 11, they created a model to “undo” the visual distortions of the lensing. It turns out that the Firefly Sparkle’s original form appears like a stretched raindrop; its stars have not yet settled into either the central bulge or a thin disk. In other words, the galaxy is still very much in the process of forming.
His evidence, presented on January 1, 1925, changed how we see our place in the universe.
Astronomers admit: we were wrong—100 billion habitable earth-like planets in our galaxy alone.
Estimates by astronomers indicate that there could be more than 100 BILLION Earth-like worlds in the Milky Way that could be home to life. Think that’s a big number? According to astronomers, there are roughly 500 billion galaxies in the known universe, which means there are around-1 (5×1022) habitable planets. That’s of course if there’s just ONE universe.
SCMP stated this latest achievement of 100Gbps transmission rate is said to be equivalent to transmitting ten full-length movies within a “single second.”
This development in satellite-to-ground laser communication will significantly enhance China’s space capabilities. It will pave the way for improved satellite infrastructure, including navigation, 6G internet, and remote sensing.
Researchers have designed a flexible material that could pave the way for the development of adaptable space structures.
A year of discovery awaits, with missions poised to reveal new insights about our home planet, solar system, galaxy, and beyond.
Dust storms on Mars could one day pose dangers to human astronauts, damaging equipment and burying solar panels. New research gets closer to predicting when extreme weather might erupt on the Red Planet.
Today’s weather report on Mars: Windy with a chance of catastrophic dust storms blotting out the sky.
In a new study, planetary scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have begun to unravel the factors that kick off major dust storms on Mars — weather events that sometimes engulf the entire planet in swirling grit. The team discovered that relatively warm and sunny days may help to trigger them.