Launched less than two months ago, ESA’s EarthCARE satellite has already returned images from two of its four instruments. Now, it has also delivered the first images from its multispectral imager, showcasing various types of clouds and cloud temperatures worldwide. This instrument is set to add valuable context to the data from EarthCARE’s other instruments.

ESA’s Hera mission for planetary defence involves not just one spacecraft but three: two shoebox-sized CubeSats will fly up to a few dozen kilometres away from their mothership around the Didymos binary asteroid system. Keeping this trio in communication to fulfil their own mission needs while also ensuring their safe separation is the task of a novel inter-satellite link radio technology, produced by a Portuguese company best known for terrestrial drone systems.

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 23, 2024
Researchers have identified a crucial link between supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and dark matter particles, shedding light on the "final parsec problem" in astrophysics. New calculations suggest that the merger of SMBH pairs into a single entity is facilitated by the previously underestimated behavior of dark matter particles. This discovery offers a potential solution to the "final par

London, UK (SPX) Jul 18, 2024
An international team of physicists, based at Trinity College Dublin, has formulated new theorems in quantum mechanics that define the "energy landscapes" of quantum particle collections. This work addresses long-standing questions, paving the way for more accurate computer simulations of materials, which could aid in developing new green technologies. The theorems, recently published in t

Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 23, 2024
An international team of researchers, including a chemist from Northwestern University, has discovered that metallic minerals on the deep-ocean floor can produce oxygen at depths of 13,000 feet. This finding challenges the traditional belief that only photosynthetic organisms, such as plants and algae, generate Earth's oxygen. The discovery suggests oxygen can also be produced at the seafl

London, UK (SPX) Jul 23, 2024
Planetary astronomers at Queen's University Belfast have delved into one of the Solar System's enduring enigmas: the unusual behavior of Chiron. Discovered in 1977 and initially classified as an asteroid, Chiron was the first recognized member of the Centaurs, a new class of Solar System objects. The Centaurs inhabit short-lived orbits between the asteroid belt and the Kuiper belt, a dista