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An X-ray view of carbon: New measurement method promises spectacular insights into the interior of planets

At the heart of planets, extreme states are to be found: temperatures of thousands of degrees, pressures a million times greater than atmospheric pressure. They can therefore only be explored directly to a limited extent - which is why the expert community is trying to use sophisticated experiments to recreate equivalent extreme conditions.

Oct 5th, 2021

Extreme exoplanet even more exotic than originally thought

Considered an ultra-hot Jupiter - a place where iron gets vaporized, condenses on the night side and then falls from the sky like rain - the fiery, inferno-like WASP-76b exoplanet may be even more sizzling than scientists had realized.

Oct 5th, 2021

'Planet confusion' could slow Earth-like exoplanet exploration

When it comes to directly imaging Earth-like exoplanets orbiting faraway stars, seeing isn't always believing. A new study finds that next-generation telescopes used to see exoplanets could confuse Earth-like planets with other types of planets in the same solar system.

Sep 30th, 2021

Bombardment of planets in the early solar system

Studies of the asteroid Vesta provide new findings on the formation of Earth-like planets.

Sep 30th, 2021

Are pulsars the source of galactic cosmic rays?

A new project is investigating the role pulsars play in creating galactic, high-energy cosmic rays.

Sep 29th, 2021

This is what it looks like when a black hole snacks on a star

Astronomers documented a fatal encounter between an unlucky star and an intermediate-mass black hole.

Sep 28th, 2021

Hubble finds early, massive galaxies running on empty

When the universe was about 3 billion years old, just 20% of its current age, it experienced the most prolific period of star birth in its history. But when astronomers gazed toward cosmic objects in this period, they found something odd: six early, massive, 'dead' galaxies that had run out of the cold hydrogen gas needed to make stars.

Sep 22nd, 2021

How many satellites are orbiting Earth?

The idea that 'space is getting crowded' has been around for a few years now, but just how crowded is it? And how crowded is it going to get?

Sep 17th, 2021

Burning space mystery solved as researchers confirm origins of 'empty sky' gamma-rays

Star-forming galaxies are responsible for creating gamma-rays that until now had not been associated with a known origin. Gamma rays are one of the most energetic forms of light in the universe, and Aussie researchers say they have been able to pinpoint how they form.

Sep 16th, 2021

Scientists say it's possible we've detected dark energy

Dark energy, the mysterious force that causes the universe to accelerate, may have been responsible for unexpected results from the XENON1T experiment, deep below Italy's Apennine Mountains.

Sep 15th, 2021

ALMA reveals carbon-rich, organic birth environments of planets

Scientists connect the dots between where planets form and what they're made of.

Sep 15th, 2021

Affordable housing in outer space: Scientists develop cosmic concrete from space dust and astronaut blood

Transporting a single brick to Mars can cost more than a million dollars - making the future construction of a Martian colony seem prohibitively expensive. Scientists have now developed a way to potentially overcome this problem, by creating a concrete-like material made of extra-terrestrial dust along with the blood, sweat and tears of astronauts.