New results from the James Webb Space Telescope challenge prevailing models of the early universe.
Category: space – Page 359
James Webb Space Telescope Detects Asteroid the Size of Rome’s Colosseum
The object belongs to the poorly known sub-kilometer category of asteroids in the main belt. An asteroid roughly the size of Rome’s Colosseum — between 300 to 650 feet (100 to 200 meters) in length — has been detected by an international team of European astronomers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. They used data from the calibration of the MIRI instrument, in which the team serendipitously detected an interloping asteroid. The object is likely the smallest observed to date by Webb and may be an example of an object measuring under 1 kilometer in length within the main asteroid belt, located between Mars and Jupiter. More observations are needed to better characterize this object’s nature and properties. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, N. Bartmann (ESA/Webb), Martin Kornmesser (ESA), Serge Brunier (ESO), Nick Risinger Photopic Sky Survey)
ESA’s New Juice Mission Might Finally Uncover Jupiter’s Hidden Secrets
Three of the four Galilean moons around Jupiter might have oceans beneath their ice.
The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) mission is set to launch in April 2023.
NASA Mars Rover Finds Metallic Object That Smashed Down on Surface
NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover has stumbled across yet another fascinating discovery while exploring the planet’s barren surface.
This time, it appears to be an iron-nickel meteorite dubbed Cacao, which measures roughly a foot across and can be seen in an ultra-high resolution image, stitched together from 19 individual photos taken by the rover on January 28.
The mysterious object’s lovely silver metallic hue stands out like a sore thumb in the surrounding, rust-colored landscape, a sulfate-bearing region of the Red Planet’s Mount Sharp.
