Spring, summer, fall and winter – the seasons on Earth change every few months, around the same time every year. It’s easy to take this cycle for granted here on Earth, but not every planet has a regular change in seasons. So why does Earth have regular seasons when other planets don’t? I’m an astrophysicist who studies the movement of planets and the causes of seasons. Throughout my research, I’ve found that Earth’s regular pattern of seasons is unique. The rotational axis that Earth spins on, along the North and South poles, isn’t…
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Are they exomoons or not? Scientists debate existence of 1st moons seen beyond our solar system
Astronomers always knew spotting moons around planets outside the solar system would be no mean feat — but a debate currently raging in planetary science circles shows just how tough detecting these so-called exomoons is going to be. The story begins in 2018, when astronomers including David Kipping, an assistant professor of astronomy at Columbia University, believed they’d made their first detection of an exomoon. The subject was found around exoplanet Kepler-1625b, a Jupiter-like world located around 8,000 light years from Earth. It was initially spotted with the Kepler Space…
Read MoreNASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor in Small Exoplanet’s Atmosphere
5 min read NASA’s Hubble Finds Water Vapor in Small Exoplanet’s Atmosphere This is an artist’s concept of the exoplanet GJ 9827d, the smallest exoplanet where water vapor has been detected in the atmosphere. The planet could be an example of potential planets with water-rich atmospheres elsewhere in our galaxy. With only about twice Earth’s diameter, the planet orbits the red dwarf star GJ 9827. Two inner planets in the system are on the left. The background stars are plotted as they would be seen to the unaided eye looking…
Read MoreThis huge exoplanet’s comet-like tail is 350,000 miles long and scientists are thrilled
A comet-like planet beyond our solar system is losing a lot more atmosphere in its vast tail than previously thought, intriguing astronomers and sparking new questions about how planets evolve with their parent stars. The exoplanet WASP-69b, a hot, puffy gas giant 160 light-years from Earth that circles its host star in a speedy 3.9 days, first rose to fame in 2018 when astronomers found a possible comet-like tail of gas leaking from the planet’s atmosphere. That tail, which was thought to be just a tiny trail of helium particles,…
Read MoreNASA Features New Discoveries at American Astronomical Society Meeting
5 min read NASA Features New Discoveries at American Astronomical Society Meeting A cluster of young stars – about one to two million years old – located about 20,000 light years from Earth. X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/Sejong Univ./Hur et al; Optical: NASA/STScI Experts will discuss new research from NASA missions at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS), on topics ranging from planets outside our solar system to fleeting, high-energy explosions in the universe. The meeting will take place Jan. 7-11 at the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center…
Read More12 out-of-this-world exoplanet discoveries in 2023
This year saw planetary scientists add a number of exciting new worlds to our growing 5,000+ catalog of exoplanets. Among them are planets like we have never seen before. Here is a look back at some of the standout exoplanet discoveries of 2023. 1. JWST Identifies Heavy Elements in Distant Gas Giant’s Atmosphere The James Webb Space Telescope found that exoplanet Smertrios has an atmosphere that defies expectations. (Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech) Earlier in the year, observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) confirmed the presence of heavy elements…
Read MoreConstruction on NASA Mission to Map 450 Million Galaxies Is Under Way
6 min read Construction on NASA Mission to Map 450 Million Galaxies Is Under Way Sara Susca, deputy payload manager and payload systems engineer for NASA’s SPHEREx mission, looks up at one of the spacecraft’s photon shields. These concentric cones protect the telescope from light and heat from the Sun and the Earth, which can overwhelm the telescope’s detectors. NASA/JPL-Caltech SHPEREx Photon Shield Fabrication at Applied Aerospace Structures Corp. in Stockton CA Requester: Kaitlyn Soares Photographer: Gregory M. Waigand Date: 2023-07-12 Photolab order: 107469-11.02.03 AACS Key elements are coming together…
Read MoreNASA’s Roman Mission Gears Up for a Torrent of Future Data
NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team is exploring ways to support community efforts that will prepare for the deluge of data the mission will return. Recently selected infrastructure teams will serve a vital role in the preliminary work by creating simulations, scouting the skies with other telescopes, calibrating Roman’s components, and much more. Their work will complement additional efforts by other teams and individuals around the world, who will join forces to maximize Roman’s scientific potential. The goal is to ensure that, when the mission launches by May 2027,…
Read MoreDiscovery Alert: The Planet that Shouldn’t Be There
3 min read Discovery Alert: The Planet that Shouldn’t Be There Artist’s rendering of planet 8 Ursae Minoris b – also known as “Halla” – amid the field of debris after a violent merger of two stars. The planet might have survived the merger, but also might be an entirely new planet formed from the debris. W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko By Pat Brennan NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration Program The discovery: A large planet is somehow orbiting a star that should have destroyed it. Key facts: Planet 8 Ursae Minoris b orbits a…
Read MoreWhen Planets Collect Comets
What kind of planets are likely to ensnare comets coming in from the icy outer reaches of a planetary system? The post When Planets Collect Comets appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
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