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Category: space – Page 62

New evidence suggests Mars once had ‘vacation-style beaches’

Present-day Mars is a barren and inhospitable planet, but it may have once had sandy beaches and tranquil ocean vistas. According to findings published on February 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Red Planet may have remained a vacation-worthy destination for tens of millions of years—while also providing the proper conditions to support microbial life.

The evidence comes from data collected by China’s Zhurong Mars rover, which landed in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars in 2021. Unlike other rovers traversing the planet, Zhurong arrived with high-and low-frequency radar systems that allow it to conduct ground-penetrating scans of the Martian subsurface. After reviewing the rover’s data, an international team, including researchers at Penn State, believe that they have spotted layered structures with remarkable similarities to what can be found all over Earth.

“We’re finding places on Mars that used to look like ancient beaches and ancient river deltas,” Benjamin Cardenas, a Penn State assistant professor of geology and study co-author, said in an accompanying statement. “We found evidence for wind, waves, no shortage of sand—a proper, vacation-style beach.”

Material’s ‘incipient ferroelectricity’ could jumpstart fast, low-power electronics

Scientists at Penn State have harnessed a unique property called incipient ferroelectricity to create a new type of computer memory that could revolutionize how electronic devices work, such as using much less energy and operating in extreme environments like outer space.

They published their work, which focuses on multifunctional two-dimensional field-effect transistors (FETs), in Nature Communications. FETs are advanced electronic devices that use ultra-thin layers of materials to control , offering multiple functions like switching, sensing or memory in a compact form.

They are ferroelectric-like, meaning the direction of their electric conduction can be reversed when an external electric field is applied to the system. FETs are essential in computing, since the ferroelectric-like property allows them to shift signals.

Researchers confirm an exoplanet potentially capable of sustaining life

An international team has confirmed the discovery of a super-Earth orbiting in the habitable zone of a nearby sun-like star. The planet was originally detected two years ago by Oxford University scientist Dr. Michael Cretignier. This result, drawing on more than two decades of observations, opens a window to future studies of Earth-like exoplanets that may have conditions suitable for life.

The new planet, named HD 20,794D, has a mass six times that of Earth and orbits a star similar to our sun, located just 20 light years away. Its orbit places it within the habitable zone of the system, meaning it is at the right distance from its star to sustain liquid water on its surface, a key ingredient for life as we know it. The paper is published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Dr. Cretignier first identified a candidate exoplanet signal in 2022, while analyzing archived data recorded by the HARPS (High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher) spectrograph at the La Silla Observatory in Chile. This data analyzes the light absorbed and emitted by objects.

Latest Calculations Conclude Asteroid 2024 YR4 Now Poses No Significant Threat to Earth in 2032 and Beyond

NASA has significantly lowered the risk of near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4 as an impact threat to Earth for the foreseeable future. When first discovered, asteroid 2024 YR4 had a very small, but notable chance of impacting our planet in 2032. As observations of the asteroid continued to be submitted to the Minor Planet Center, experts at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s (JPL’s) Center for Near-Earth Object Studies were able to calculate more precise models of the asteroid’s trajectory and now have found there is no significant potential for this asteroid to impact our planet for the next century. The latest observations have further reduced the uncertainty of its future trajectory, and the range of possible locations the asteroid could be on Dec. 22, 2032, has moved farther away from the Earth.

There still remains a very small chance for asteroid 2024 YR4 to impact the Moon on Dec. 22, 2032. That probability is currently 1.7%.

NASA will continue to observe asteroid 2024 YR4 with observatories funded by its Planetary Defense Coordination Office, and NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will observe the asteroid in March to further gain insights about its size for scientific purposes.

BAE wins $230.6 million contract for space weather program

SAN FRANCISCO – BAE Systems won a $230.6 million NASA contract to deliver spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency’s Lagrange 1 Series space weather project.

Under the firm-fixed-price award, announced Feb. 21, BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems, formerly Ball Aerospace, will develop Lagrange 1 Series spacecraft, integrate instruments, and support flight and mission operations. Contract-related work, scheduled to begin this month, will be performed in Boulder, Colorado, through January 2034.

The Lagrange 1 Series, part of NOAA’s Space Weather Next program, is designed to provide continuity of coronal imagery and upstream solar wind measurements, with spacecraft expected to launch in 2029 and 2032. BAE Systems also is building the Space Weather Follow On Lagrange 1 mission set to fly no earlier than September on NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe.

Surprise Spiral Shape Revealed in The Darkness Surrounding The Solar System

The edge of the Solar System is a strange place, full of oddities we’ve only just begun to probe. But perhaps the oddest of all is the Oort Cloud, a vast field of icy debris extending out to 100,000 times the distance between Earth and the Sun.

We have a rough idea of the size and shape of this field, but the fine particulars elude our understanding. Now, a new computational study has revealed a surprising structure – a spiral generated by the tidal forces exerted by the Milky Way galaxy itself.

The finding, in press at The Astrophysical Journal, is currently available on preprint server arXiv.

Ancient Beaches Found on Mars Reveal The Red Planet Once Had Oceans

Mars – dusty, dry, and desert-clad – was once so rich in water it had not just lakes, but oceans, according to a new study.

Observations using ground-penetrating radar have revealed underground features consistent with beaches on the red planet, 4 billion years ago. It’s some of the best evidence to date that Mars was once so soggy as to host a northern sea.

The research team has named that sea Deuteronilus.

2025 Astronomical Wonders! February Sky Unveils New Technological Insights

February 2025 features Comet CK-25, observed with AI-driven telescopic networks for real-time imaging and analysis. A spectacular planetary alignment of Mercury, Venus, and Mars will be enhanced by augmented reality devices for interactive viewing. A partial lunar eclipse will occur on February 27th-28th, with an immersive experience via the Virtual Lunar Observation Platform (VLOP). Technological advancements highlight new methods of observing and interacting with space events, bridging Earth and the cosmos. February 2025 is set to mesmerize stargazers and tech enthusiasts alike, as the cosmos aligns with cutting-edge advancements in astronomical observation. This month isn’t just about celestial spectacles; it’s about witnessing how new technology is redefining our view of space from Earth.