Atmospheric gravity waves play a crucial role in driving latitudinal air currents on the Red Planet, particularly at high altitudes, according to a new study by University of Tokyo planetary researchers.
This image from the Emirates Mars…
Category: 2. Space
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Two privately-owned spacecraft make contact from the moon
This year’s hot destination is the moon. Two landers built by private companies just touched down on the moon within a week of each other. One landed softly and safely — a first for any private spacecraft — while the other did…
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From Circular to Elliptical: How Planet Size Affects Orbit Shape
How does a planet’s size influence its orbit around its parent star? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hopes to address as a team of researchers…
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How’s the weather on Mars?
A new study by researchers including those at the University of Tokyo revealed that atmospheric gravity waves play a crucial role in driving latitudinal air currents on Mars, particularly at high altitudes. The findings, based on long-term…
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Juno reveals dozens of lava lakes on Jupiter’s moon Io
Jupiter’s moon Io, the most volcanically active body in the solar system, is littered with hundreds of erupting volcanoes. High-resolution images now reveal several dozen lava lakes, researchers report in the February Journal of…
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The chances of anything coming from Mars
Within the next decade, space agencies plan to bring samples of rock from Mars to Earth for study. Of concern is the possibility these samples contain life, which could have unforeseen consequences. Therefore, researchers in this field strive to…
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Small and large planets have significantly different upbringings
The shape of a planet’s orbit is one of its fundamental properties, along with its size and distance from its host star. Earth has a nearly circular orbit, but some planets outside our solar system, called exoplanets, have very elliptical orbits….
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Astronomer finds gas giant exoplanets formed earlier than previously thought
A fresh look at past data reveals that exoplanets with masses similar to Jupiter formed much sooner than previously thought, according to new research.
The Ohio State University study’s results provide new information about the timing of…
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Researchers quantify the way rivers bend, opening up the possibility for identifying origins of channels on other planets
Whether it’s rivers cutting through earth, lava melting through rock, or water slicing through ice, channels all twist and bend in a seemingly similar back-and-forth manner. But a new study led by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin…
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Ultra-hot nova observed erupting: Surprising chemical signature
Using the Gemini South telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, partly funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and operated by NSF NOIRLab, and the Magellan Baade Telescope, astronomers have for the first time observed…
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