Berlin, Germany (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
A new all-sky map by the eROSITA telescope reveals X-rays emitted by million-degree hot plasma in and around the Milky Way. Analysing this data, the team at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics found that the very hot, ionized gas shows a disk-like distribution similar to the stellar disk, possibly embedded in a much larger spherical halo. This discovery sheds light on the shape

Klosterneuburg, Austria (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
Supernovae-stellar explosions as bright as an entire galaxy-have fascinated us since time immemorial. Yet, there are more hydrogen-poor supernovae than astrophysicists can explain. Now, a new Assistant Professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) has played a pivotal role in identifying the missing precursor star population. The results, now published in Science, go back t

Toronto, Canada (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
Astronomers at the University of Toronto have discovered a population of massive stars that have been stripped of their hydrogen envelopes by their companions in binary systems. The findings, published in Science, shed light on the hot helium stars that are believed to be the origins of hydrogen-poor core-collapse supernovae and neutron star mergers. For over a decade, scientists have theo

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 15, 2023
Scientists have known that the giant plume of ice grains and water vapor spewing from Saturn's moon Enceladus is rich with organic compounds, some of which are important for life as we know it. Now, scientists analyzing data from NASA's Cassini mission are taking the evidence for habitability a step further: They've found strong confirmation of hydrogen cyanide, a molecule that is key to the ori

Knoxville TN (The Conversation) (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
For many years, scientists have predicted that many of the elements that are crucial ingredients for life, like sulfur and nitrogen, first came to Earth when asteroid-type objects carrying them crashed into our planet's surface. But new research published by our team in Science Advances suggests that many of these elements, called volatiles, may have existed in the Earth from the beginning

Pasadena CA (JPL) Dec 15, 2023
Earth planning date: Wednesday, December 13, 2023: With the colder months upon those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, some may be thinking about warmer times ahead, be it the return of spring, or a vacation to briefly thaw out from winter. The arrival of winter spells colder temperatures and fewer daylight hours, along with bouts of snow and ice for many. Slippery conditions make for mor

Washington DC (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
In our last post, we described how VIPER, NASA's first robotic Moon rover, is using artificial intelligence to create several options for the VIPER team to plan the rover's path during its mission to the lunar South Pole. Today, we'll share more about how AI also is used to help human operators drive VIPER and create highly accurate maps of the rover's mission area on the Moon. Like

Houston TX (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
Growing food aboard the International Space Station is one of the many research investigations ripe for long duration spaceflight missions to the Moon and Mars. NASA astronaut Frank Rubio recently shared the saucy story of two rogue tomatoes, which he had accidentally lost track of while harvesting for the eXposed Root On-Orbit Test System (XROOTS) experiment he conducted aboard the space

San Francisco FL (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
Planet Labs PBC (NYSE: PL), a trailblazer in daily Earth data and insights, has recently announced the integration of its Planetary Variables into Sentinel Hub. This integration marks a significant advancement in the field of Earth observation (EO), bolstering the capabilities of Sentinel Hub following Planet's acquisition of Sinergise in August 2023. Planetary Variables are a set of pre-p

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Dec 15, 2023
In a significant advancement for China's space technology, the successful launch of a Long March 2F carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China's vast Gobi Desert has marked a new chapter. This event is particularly noteworthy as it is believed to have placed the Shenlong (Divine Dragon) space plane into orbit. The Shenlong project, enveloped in mystery and t