Even though it currently has temperatures approaching 800 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and nearly -300 degrees at night, a new study suggests there is a small chance that the planet Mercury could have supported life. The research, published in the journal Scientific Reports, notes the planet’s surface is not caused by the result of quakes, […]
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Satellite images and artificial intelligence used in search for Vietnam War-era unexploded bombs
Researchers at Ohio State University are using satellite images and sophisticated artificial intelligence technology to search for unexploded bombs from the Vietnam War. The technology already has been used to survey Vietnam War-era bomb craters in Cambodia. “The new method increased true bomb crater detection by more than 160 percent over standard methods,” researchers explain in […]
Jupiter’s mysterious Great Red Spot is shrinking, but not how you’d expect
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot (GRS) has fascinated researchers for nearly 200 years, having been continuously observed since 1830. A new study suggests that the clouds are shrinking, but not in ways researchers might expect. The study, published in Nature Physics, suggests that the storm is still as thick as it was 40 years ago, when NASA’s Voyager […]
5 interesting facts about the moon
The moon has been the Earth’s companion in the Solar System for almost five billion years. It is the only place beyond Earth where humans have set foot. The brightest and largest object in our night sky, the moon makes Earth a more livable planet by moderating our home planet’s wobble on its axis, leading to a […]
Planet 9 discovery gets closer as astronomers discover 139 ‘minor planets’ past Neptune
Astronomers are getting closer to discovering the elusive and mysterious Planet Nine after 139 “minor planets” were discovered past Neptune’s orbit. These objects, ones “that were not previously published,” are not officially planets or comets, but rather space objects that orbit the Sun. In total, the discovery is five percent of the trans-Neptunian object (TNO) population, […]
‘Iron rain’ discovered on distant planet, scientists reveal
An international team of astronomers has discovered an exoplanet where it “rains iron.” In a statement, Spain’s Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) explained that exoplanet WASP-76b has days when its temperatures exceed 2,400 degrees Celsius (4,352 degrees Fahrenheit), which is hot enough to evaporate metals. “Its nights, with strong winds, cool down […]
Student finds 17 new exoplanets, including one that’s almost the size of Earth
An astronomy student from the University of British Columbia has discovered 17 new exoplanets, including one that is roughly the same size as Earth. Michelle Kunimoto, a Ph.D. candidate at the university, discovered the planets using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, according to research published in The Astronomical Journal. One planet, KIC-7340288 b, is “small enough to […]
How the solar system formed
Two of the most mysterious planets in our solar system are Uranus and Neptune. These planets are also known as ice giants, due to their intermediate-mass and size which suggests an ice-rich composition. Only one spacecraft has made the trip to the two farthest planets — Voyager 2, which flew past them in 1986 and 1989, respectively. A new […]
Recently discovered exoplanet is ‘potentially habitable,’ experts say
A recently discovered exoplanet is “potentially habitable,” according to a newly published study. Known as K2-18b, the planet is 124 light-years from Earth and is in the “habitable zone” around its star, a sign that “it’s possible for the planet to host liquid water at habitable conditions beneath its hydrogen-rich atmosphere,” according to a statement […]
Massive Neptune-sized exoplanet is 90 light-years from Earth
The presence of an enormous Neptune-sized exoplanet 90 light-years from Earth has been confirmed after it was first spotted in 2019. The study, published in The Astronomical Journal, confirms the existence of G 9–40b. The researchers used the Habitable-zone Planet Finder (HPF) in Texas to confirm the planet’s presence, which was first spotted in 2019 by the […]
