Tag: Solar system
12 Results
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How Milky Way differs from other galaxies
Our galaxy, which is home to Earth and its solar system, might not be as “typical” as previously thought, and therefore Milky Way-based models to understand other galaxies of the universe could be misleading, new research suggests. “We use the Milky Way and its surroundings to study absolutely everything,” said Marla Geha of Yale University...
September 22, 2017 -
Astronomers find methanol around Saturn moon Enceladus
Using a ground-based telescope, astronomers have detected large quantities of methanol around Saturn moon Enceladus – a finding that may have implications in the search for alien life. Enceladus's plumes are thought to originate in water escaping from a subsurface ocean through cracks in the moon's icy surface. Eventually these plumes feed into Saturn's second-outermost...
July 5, 2017 -
Awe-inspiring worlds
Scientists recently discovered the hottest planet ever found — with a surface temperature greater than some stars. As the hunt for planets outside our own solar system continues, we have discovered many other worlds with extreme features. And the ongoing exploration of our own solar system has revealed some pretty weird contenders, too. Here are...
July 4, 2017 -
Jupiter is the oldest planet in solar system
Jupiter – the largest planet in our solar system – is also the oldest, say scientists who found that the gas giant formed within four million years after the formation of the Sun. Knowing the age of Jupiter is key for understanding how the solar system evolved towards its present-day architecture. Although models predict that...
June 14, 2017 -
What will be NASA’s next big solar system mission?
A new mission to Saturn's moons Titan or Enceladus to find signs of life beyond Earth cannot be ruled out as NASA says it is reviewing 12 proposals for future unmanned solar system mission to be launched in the mid-2020s. The proposed missions of discovery — submitted under NASA's New Frontiers programme – will undergo...
May 6, 2017 -
Nearby planetary system is similar to our own: Study
A nearby planetary system star could be a good model of our early solar system as it has an architecture remarkably similar to that of our own, astronomers have confirmed. Located 10.5 light-years away in the southern hemisphere of the constellation Eridanus, the star Epsilon Eridani, eps Eri for short, is the closest planetary system...
May 4, 2017 -
Meet Enceladus
Enceladus is, to many, just an icy snowball floating around in space. But it’s just become a lot more important — it’s perhaps the greatest hope for life in our own solar system. The small moon of Saturn, which has a 502km diameter, has been revealed to have hydrothermal processes going on underneath its crust....
April 18, 2017 -
Earth-like planetary waves discovered around Sun
The same kind of large-scale planetary waves that meander through the atmosphere high above Earth's surface may also exist on the Sun, new research has found. Just as the large-scale waves that form on Earth, known as Rossby waves, influence local weather patterns, the waves discovered on the Sun may be intimately tied to solar...
March 28, 2017 -
Mars had water in recent past
Researchers have discovered a patch of land in an ancient valley near Mars' equator that appears to have been flooded by water in the not-too-distant past. The scientists believe that the findings, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, offer a prime target to begin searching for past life forms on the Red Planet. "On...
February 15, 2017 -
Rare meteorites challenge solar system’s history
After analysing minerals from 43 rare meteorites that landed on Earth 470 million years ago, a team of scientists proposes to revise the current understanding of the history and development of the solar system. There was a giant collision in outer space 460 million years ago. Something hit an asteroid and broke it apart, sending...
January 24, 2017 -
Don’t miss Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
Scientists have released incredible new images of Jupiter megastorm from the data sent by its Juno probe that reveal a crescent Jupiter and the iconic Great Red Spot. Below the Great Red Spot is visible a reddish long-lived storm known as Oval BA. It also has a series of storms shaped like white ovals, known...
January 16, 2017 -
‘Great valley’ found on Mercury indicates shrinking of planet
Scientists have discovered a “great valley” in the southern hemisphere of Mercury, providing more evidence that the small planet closest to the sun is shrinking. Scientists used images from NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft to create a high-resolution topographic map that revealed the broad valley — more than 1,000 kilometres long — extending into the Rembrandt basin,...
November 17, 2016