The world's first ground-based observations of the bare nucleus of a comet nearing the end of its active life revealed that the nucleus has a diameter of 800 meters and is covered with large grains of phyllosilicate.
Apr 6th, 2021
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We are made of stardust, the saying goes, and a pair of studies finds that may be more true than we previously thought.
Apr 2nd, 2021
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Space scientists have found a new way to probe the internal structure of neutron stars, giving clues about the makeup of matter at an atomic level.
Apr 1st, 2021
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An enormous telescope complex in Tibet has captured the first evidence of ultrahigh-energy gamma rays spread across the Milky Way. The findings offer proof that undetected starry accelerators churn out cosmic rays, which have floated around our galaxy for millions of years.
Mar 31st, 2021
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Astronomers have detected X-rays from Uranus for the first time, using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This result may help scientists learn more about this enigmatic ice giant planet in our Solar System.
Mar 31st, 2021
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The Sun is the most important source of energy for sustaining life on Earth, but it gives us a lot more than just light and heat. It also gives us solar storms.
Mar 30th, 2021
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Interstellar comet 2I/Borisov is more pristine than any other comet observed in the Solar System. The characteristics of the dust surrounding 2I/Borisov are shown to differ from those found in Solar System comets.
Mar 30th, 2021
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A new black hole breaks the record - not for being the smallest or the biggest - but for being right in the middle. The recently discovered 'Goldilocks' black hole is part of a missing link between two populations of black holes: small black holes made from stars and supermassive giants in the nucleus of most galaxies.
Mar 29th, 2021
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Astronomers found a number of stellar eggs containing baby stars around the center of the Milky Way. Previous studies had suggested that the environment there is too harsh to form stars. These findings indicate that star formation is more resilient than researchers thought.
Mar 29th, 2021
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Water, protection, stable temperatures: When it comes to finding suitable areas for long-term lunar missions, the lava tubes on the moon are of great interest. In order to investigate their potential for future space exploration, teams of robots are meant to be enabled to enter these caves.
Mar 25th, 2021
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A new study resolves the not-quite-comet-like character of a strange visitor from beyond our solar system.
Mar 24th, 2021
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A new view of the region closest to the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) has shown important details of the magnetic fields close to the black hole and hints about how powerful jets of material can originate in that region.
Mar 24th, 2021
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The highest-energy cosmic rays come from subatomic interactions within star clusters, not supernovae.
Mar 23rd, 2021
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The surface of the moon is well mapped, but the same is not true for its subsurface. In preparation for future lunar missions, the European Space Agency (ESA) was looking for innovative ideas on how caves and lava tubes on the moon could be discovered, studied and measured.
Mar 23rd, 2021
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Researchers have been shedding light on the enigmatic 'spiders from Mars', providing the first physical evidence that these unique features on the planet's surface can be formed by the sublimation of CO2 ice.
Mar 22nd, 2021
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Discovery may offer clues to carbon's role in planet and star formation.
Mar 19th, 2021
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Researchers have channeled the universe's earliest light - a relic of the universe's formation known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB) - to solve a missing-matter mystery and learn new things about galaxy formation.
Mar 17th, 2021
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A pocket atlas of Mars has been published that uses geographic techniques developed for terrestrial maps to reveal a wealth of information about the surface of the Red Planet, as well as its climate and cloud cover.
Mar 17th, 2021
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