Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
The origins of organic molecules-key components of life-remain an open question in astronomy and planetary science. Ice in interstellar environments plays a crucial role in this puzzle, as atoms and molecules accumulate on microscopic dust particles in the frigid, dense regions of space, forming interstellar ices. This process mirrors how snow forms in Earth's clouds. A team of astronomers

Tucson AZ (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
With a sun more than 4.5 billion years old, our solar system is considered "middle-aged," and the pictures of what it might have looked like in its infancy are lost to time. Taking advantage of a sophisticated adaptive optics instrument, a team of astronomers at the University of Arizona made observations that reveal unprecedented details of planets when they are very young. The instrument

Tucson AZ (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
If there were such a thing as a photo album of the universe, it might include snapshots of pancake-like disks of gas and dust, swirling around newly formed stars across the Milky Way. Known as planet-forming disks, they are believed to be a short-lived feature around most, if not all, young stars, providing the raw materials for planets to form. Most of these planetary nurseries are short-

Tokyo (AFP) Mar 5, 2025
Resembling a squat, wide fridge, the world's most accurate clock went on sale for $3.3 million in Japan on Wednesday. The "Aether clock OC 020" is so precise that it would take 10 billion years for it to deviate by one second, according to its Kyoto-based manufacturer Shimadzu Corp. Known as a "strontium optical lattice clock", it is 100 times more accurate than caesium atomic clocks, th

Sydney, Australia (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
Researchers from UNSW Sydney have identified a possible new exoplanet-an extrasolar planet-through an approach called transit timing variation (TTV). This technique enabled them to detect subtle shifts in the orbital timing of a known planet, hinting at the presence of another planetary body. Published in The Astrophysical Journal, the study, led by Scientia Senior Lecturer Ben Montet and

London, UK (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
A groundbreaking study published in Physical Review D by Professor Ginestra Bianconi of Queen Mary University of London introduces a revolutionary approach to understanding gravity through quantum relative entropy. This innovative framework seeks to bridge the gap between quantum mechanics and Einstein's general relativity-two fundamental but historically incompatible theories in physics.

Paris, France (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
Hungarian scientists have uncovered distinctive bacterial communities in thermal waters, offering key insights into the processes behind stromatolite development, some of Earth's most ancient rock formations. Their findings not only provide a deeper understanding of the planet's geological past but also shed light on modern extreme environments where similar processes still occur. A resear

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
A team of astronomers analyzing data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii has likely discovered a rare three-body system in the Kuiper Belt. If confirmed, this would mark only the second such system found in the distant region of icy bodies beyond Neptune, suggesting that similar formations may be more common than previously thought. The 148780 Altjir

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
NASA and the Italian Space Agency made history on March 3, when the Lunar GNSS Receiver Experiment (LuGRE) became the first technology demonstration to acquire and track Earth-based navigation signals on the Moon's surface

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 05, 2025
NASA's mission operations team at Caltech's IPAC remains committed to restoring communication with the Lunar Trailblazer satellite, which recently lost signal. Preliminary telemetry data prior to the loss of contact, combined with ground-based radar observations from March 2, suggest that Lunar Trailblazer is in a low-power state and spinning slowly. Mission controllers are actively monito