Moon-forming disk discovered around distant planet

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Using Earth's most powerful array of radio telescopes, astronomers have made the first observations of a circumplanetary disk of gas and dust like the one that is believed to have birthed the moons of Jupiter.
via Science Daily
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Hubble uncovers black hole that shouldn't exist

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As if black holes weren't mysterious enough, astronomers have found an unexpected thin disk of material furiously whirling around a supermassive black hole at the heart of the magnificent spiral galaxy NGC 3147, located 130 million light-years away.
via Science Daily
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Alternating currents cause Jupiter's aurora

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An international research team has measured the system of currents that generates Jupiter's aurora. The scientists found out that sulphur dioxide gas from the gas giant's Moon Io is the cause of the system of currents.
via Science Daily
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Pair of supermassive black holes discovered on a collision course

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Astronomers have spotted a pair of supermassive black holes on a collision course in a galaxy 2.5 billion light-years away. Coincidentally, the pair will begin producing gravitational waves in roughly 2.5 billion years, the researchers estimate. The duo can be used to estimate how many supermassive black hole pairs are detectable in the nearby, present-day universe and when the historic first detection of the background 'hum' of their gravitational waves will be made.
via Science Daily
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Holes in the Universe sharpen cosmic measurements

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Regions of the Universe containing very few or no galaxies -- known as voids -- can help measure cosmic expansion with much greater precision than before, according to new research.
via Science Daily
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New terahertz sensors work at room temperature, unlike current technology

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Researchers have developed an ultra-sensitive light-detecting system that could enable astronomers to view galaxies, stars and planetary systems in superb detail.
via Science Daily
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Exactly how fast is the universe expanding?

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The collision of two neutron stars (GW170817) flung out an extraordinary fireball of material and energy that is allowing a a team of astrophysicists to calculate a more precise value for the Hubble constant, the speed of the universe's expansion. Previous estimates put the value between 66 and 90 km/s/Mpc, which this team refined to between 65.3 and 75.6 km/s/Mpc.
via Science Daily
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New high-definition satellite radar can detect bridges at risk of collapse from space

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An early warning system to identify at-risk structures using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) has been developed. The system could be applied to infrastructure projects including roads, railways and building developments at lower cost and greater accuracy than existing techniques.
via Science Daily
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Interstellar iron isn't missing, it's just hiding in plain sight

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Cosmochemists have found that interstellar iron and carbon form a kind of linked molecule that cloaks the iron -- and helps stabilize large carbon molecules.
via Science Daily
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New method may resolve difficulty in measuring universe's expansion

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Radio telescope observations have made it possible for astronomers to use mergers of neutron-star pairs as a valuable new tool for measuring the Universe's expansion.
via Science Daily
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Supercomputer shows 'Chameleon Theory' could change how we think about gravity

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Supercomputer simulations of galaxies have shown that Einstein's theory of General Relativity might not be the only way to explain how gravity works or how galaxies form.
via Science Daily
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'Titans in a jar' could answer key questions ahead of NASA's space exploration

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Researchers from Southern Methodist University (SMU) could help determine if Saturn's icy moon -- Titan -- has ever been home to life long before NASA completes an exploratory visit to its surface by a drone helicopter.
via Science Daily
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Deep-CEE: The AI deep learning tool helping astronomers explore deep space

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Galaxy clusters are some of the most massive structures in the cosmos, but despite being millions of lightyears across, they can still be hard to spot. Researchers have turned to artificial intelligence for assistance in finding galaxy clusters, developing 'Deep-CEE' (Deep Learning for Galaxy Cluster Extraction and Evaluation), a novel deep learning technique to speed up the process of finding them.
via Science Daily
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Collision course: Amateur astronomers play a part in efforts to keep space safe

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Heavy traffic is commonplace on Earth but now congestion is becoming an increasing problem in space. With over 22,000 artificial satellites in orbit it is essential to keep track of their positions in order to avoid unexpected collisions. Amateur astronomers have been helping the Ministry of Defence explore what is possible using high-end consumer equipment to track objects in space.
via Science Daily
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Citizen scientists discover cyclical pattern of complexity in solar storms

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Citizen scientists have discovered that solar storms become more complex as the sun's 11-year activity cycle reaches its maximum -- a finding which could help forecasters predict which space weather events could have potentially devastating consequences for modern technologies at Earth.
via Science Daily
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Scientists weigh the balance of matter in galaxy clusters

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A method of weighing the quantities of matter in galaxy clusters - the largest objects in our universe - has shown a balance between the amounts of hot gas, stars and other materials.
via Science Daily
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Atmosphere of midsize planet revealed by Hubble, Spitzer

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Two NASA space telescopes have identified the detailed chemical 'fingerprint' of a planet between the sizes of Earth and Neptune. No planets like this can be found in our own solar system, but they are common around other stars.
via Science Daily
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Fast radio burst pinpointed to distant galaxy

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In a rare feat, astronomers have pinpointed the place of origin of a fast radio burst, with a surprising outcome.
via Science Daily
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Methane vanishing on Mars

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Wind-driven erosion of minerals on Mars may be the reason why methane disappears so rapidly on the red planet. Saltation causes electrical charges, that can oxidize minerals and ionize gases like methane, making the ionized methane bond to the minerals. That is the explanation proposed by an interdisciplinary research group, based on laboratory experiments in a Mars-like environment.
via Science Daily
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Earliest example of merging galaxies

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Researchers have observed signals of oxygen, carbon, and dust from a galaxy in the early Universe 13 billion years ago. This is the earliest galaxy where this useful combination of three signals has been detected. By comparing the different signals, the team determined that the galaxy is actually two galaxies merging together, making it the earliest example of merging galaxies yet discovered.
via Science Daily
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'Oumuamua is not an alien spacecraft

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Early reports of the interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua's odd characteristics led some to speculate that the object could be an alien spacecraft, sent from a distant civilization to examine our star system. But a new analysis by an international team of 14 astronomers strongly suggests that 'Oumuamua has a purely natural origin.
via Science Daily
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Spiraling filaments feed young galaxies

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The Keck Cosmic Web Imager's improved sensitivity and resolution are giving astronomers a better look at galaxy mechanics.
via Science Daily
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Team studies binaries to make heads or tails of planet formation

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A team studied the orientation of distant solar system bodies to bolster the 'streaming instability' theory of planet formation.
via Science Daily
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Hubble finds tiny 'electric soccer balls' in space, helps solve interstellar mystery

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Scientists have confirmed the presence of electrically-charged molecules in space shaped like soccer balls, shedding light on the mysterious contents of the interstellar medium (ISM) -- the gas and dust that fills interstellar space.
via Science Daily
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Space station mold survives high doses of ionizing radiation

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The International Space Station, like all human habitats in space, has a nagging mold problem. Astronauts on the ISS spend hours every week cleaning the inside of the station's walls to prevent mold from becoming a health problem. New research finds mold spores may also survive on the outside walls of spacecraft.
via Science Daily
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NASA's TESS mission finds its smallest planet yet

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NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has discovered a world between the sizes of Mars and Earth orbiting a bright, cool, nearby star. The planet, called L 98-59b, marks the tiniest discovered by TESS to date.
via Science Daily
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Frozen sperm retains its viability in outer space conditions

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Those who see the 'colonization' of space as an answer to the Earth's ever threatened resources will be reassured to learn that human sperm retains its complete viability within the different gravitational conditions found in outer space.
via Science Daily
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Cosmic cat and mouse: Astronomers capture and tag a fleeting radio burst

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Gemini Observatory provides critical observations that confirm the distance to a mysterious, very short-lived, radio outburst from a galaxy several billions of light years away.
via Science Daily
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Thunderbolt of lightning, gamma rays exciting

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Scientists discover a connection between lightning strikes and two kinds of gamma-ray phenomena in thunderclouds. The research suggests that in certain conditions, weak gamma-ray glows from thunderclouds may precede lightning bolts and their accompanying gamma-ray flashes.
via Science Daily
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ALMA pinpoints the formation site of planet around nearest young star

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Researchers found a small dust concentration in the disk around TW Hydrae, the nearest young star. It is highly possible that a planet is growing or about to be formed in this concentration. This is the first time that the exact place where cold materials are forming the seed of a planet has been pinpointed in the disk around a young star.
via Science Daily
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Cyanide compounds discovered in meteorites may hold clues to the origin of life

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Compounds containing iron, cyanide, and carbon monoxide discovered in carbon-rich meteorites by scientists may have helped power life on early Earth.
via Science Daily
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Astronomy bot speeds up search for Jupiter's twins

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Astronomers have a new tool in their search for extraterrestrial life -- a sophisticated bot that helps identify stars hosting planets similar to Jupiter and Saturn.
via Science Daily
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'Bathtub rings' around Titan's lakes might be made of alien crystals

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The frigid lakeshores of Saturn's moon Titan might be encrusted with strange, unearthly minerals, according to new research.
via Science Daily
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Astronomers see 'warm' glow of Uranus's rings

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Two telescopes have measured the faint heat from the main, or epsilon ring, of Uranus, enabling astronomers for the first time to determine its temperature: a cool 77 Kelvin. Earlier images of the rings came from reflected light only. The observations also show that the rings lack dust, which is common in the rings of other planets, and are composed of centimeter-sized particles and larger.
via Science Daily
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Northern lights' 'social networking' reveals true scale of magnetic storms

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Magnetic disturbances caused by phenomena like the northern lights can be tracked by a 'social network' of ground-based instruments, according to a new study.
via Science Daily
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Astronomers uncover first polarized radio signals from gamma-ray burst

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An international team of astronomers has captured the first-ever polarized radio waves from a distant cosmic explosion.
via Science Daily
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Astronomers make first detection of polarized radio waves in Gamma Ray Burst jets

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Astronomers detect polarized radio waves from a gamma-ray burst for the first time. Polarization signature reveals magnetic fields in explosions to be much more patchy and tangled than first thought. Combining the observations with data from X-ray and visible light telescopes is helping unravel the mysteries of the universe's most powerful explosions.
via Science Daily
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Cool halo gas caught spinning like galactic disks

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Astronomers have discovered cool halo gas spinning in the same direction as galactic disks in typical star-forming galaxies. Their findings suggest that the whirling gas halo will eventually spiral in towards the galactic disk where it can fuel star formation.
via Science Daily
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Meteors help Martian clouds form

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Researchers think they've solved the long-standing mystery of how Mars got all of its clouds.
via Science Daily
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Sun's history found buried in Moon's crust

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The Sun's rotation rate in its first billion years is unknown. Yet, this spin rate affected solar eruptions, influencing the evolution of life. Scientists think they've figured it out by using the Moon as critical evidence.
via Science Daily
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NASA's Cassini reveals New Sculpting in Saturn Rings

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As NASA's Cassini dove close to Saturn in its final year, the spacecraft provided intricate detail on the workings of Saturn's complex rings, new analysis shows.
via Science Daily
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Researchers learned how to better combat muscle loss during space flights

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A new study has further documented how muscles are affected by reduced gravity conditions during space flight missions and uncovered how exercise and hormone treatments can be tailored to minimize muscle loss for individual space travelers.
via Science Daily
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NASA's Fermi mission reveals its highest-energy gamma-ray bursts

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For 10 years, NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has scanned the sky for gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the universe's most luminous explosions. A new catalog of the highest-energy blasts provides scientists with fresh insights into how they work.
via Science Daily
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Earth's heavy metals result of supernova explosion, research reveals

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New research suggests most of Earth's heavy metals were spewed from a largely overlooked kind of star explosion called a collapsar.
via Science Daily
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Astrophysicist announces her discovery that could rewrite story of how galaxies die

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A breakthrough finding overturns assumptions about the maturation of galaxies and may represent a phase of every galaxy's life cycle that was unknown until now.
via Science Daily
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Table salt compound spotted on Europa

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Researchers have discovered that the yellow color visible on portions of the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa is actually sodium chloride.
via Science Daily
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Jupiter-like exoplanets found in sweet spot in most planetary systems

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A survey of 300 stars in search of exoplanets finds that massive, Jupiter-like gas giants are found just about where Jupiter is in our own solar system.
via Science Daily
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Rare 'superflares' could one day threaten Earth

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New research shows that the sun could experience a massive burst of energy called a superflare sometime in the next several thousand years.
via Science Daily
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Crash with Antlia 2 gave the Milky Way the ripples in its outer disc, new evidence shows

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The newly-discovered dark dwarf galaxy Antlia 2's collision with the Milky Way may be responsible for our galaxy's characteristic ripples in its outer disc, according to a new study.
via Science Daily
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Gemini Planet Imager analyzes 300 stars

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Analysis from halfway through the Gemini Planet Imager's planetary survey hints that our solar system may have rare qualities which could possibly be related to the habitability of Earth.
via Science Daily
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