The joint observation is a first for Hubble and Webb, and it proves the space telescopes are allies, not rivals.
Category: space – Page 420
Hubble detects protective shield defending a pair of dwarf galaxies
For billions of years, the Milky Way’s largest satellite galaxies—the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds—have followed a perilous journey. Orbiting one another as they are pulled in toward our home galaxy, they have begun to unravel, leaving behind trails of gaseous debris. And yet—to the puzzlement of astronomers—these dwarf galaxies remain intact, with ongoing vigorous star formation.
“A lot of people were struggling to explain how these streams of material could be there,” said Dhanesh Krishnarao, assistant professor at Colorado College. “If this gas was removed from these galaxies, how are they still forming stars?”
With the help of data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and a retired satellite called the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE), a team of astronomers led by Krishnarao has finally found the answer: the Magellanic system is surrounded by a corona, a protective shield of hot supercharged gas. This cocoons the two galaxies, preventing their gas supplies from being siphoned off by the Milky Way, and therefore allowing them to continue forming new stars.
NASA’s DART spacecraft successfully crashed itself into an asteroid
This is NASA’s first major step to keeping us safe from killer asteroids.
Life on Earth can help determine if there is life on other planets
A new theory disputes a widely accepted claim about the existence of life on other planets.
The equivalence of life on Earth may hold the key to determining life existence on other planets according to a recent study published by Cambridge University Press.
Scientists have often questioned if the existence of life on Earth can tell us about abiogenesis, or the origin of life from inorganic substances, on other planets. Therefore the new insights may provide a fresh boost of understanding in the field.
China’s Mars Zhurong rover probes underneath the potential site of an ancient ocean
The country’s space agency aims to send humans to the red planet before NASA.
Back in May 2020, China landed its first rover, called Mars Zhurong, on the red planet. The Zhurong mission is expected to explore the planet for a total of roughly 90 sols (92 Earth days). During that time, it will use equipment, including a magnetic field detector, cameras, spectrometers, and a weather station to collect valuable data for scientists on Earth.
Now, as per a press statement, a new radar image from the Zhurong Mars rover sheds new light on the surface structures of the Utopia Planitia basin, the largest recognized impact basin on Mars with an estimated diameter of 2,050 miles (3,300 km). China National Space Administration.
Scientists say we should prioritize a human mission to Venus before Mars
Mars isn’t going anywhere.
Seeing as Venus has a hellish surface temperature, hot enough to melt lead, you wouldn’t think scientists would be clamoring to send humans to the fiery planet. Then there’s the crushing atmospheric pressure.
Still, as per a report by The Guardian, a group of space experts is campaigning to shift the focus away from human exploration of Mars and towards first sending a crewed mission to our nearest neighbor, Venus.
The case for a crewed Venus flyby.
Buradaki/iStock.
NASA’s DART spacecraft crashes into an asteroid in the world’s first planetary defense test
In the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) made history as it successfully slammed into an asteroid target on Monday. The first ‘attempt’ to move an asteroid in space, the probe tested a way to protect our planet from future hazards and potential impacts.
