Astronomy

Fomalhaut is one of the brightest stars in the night sky and has been observed in great detail for decades. Some research suggests it hosts exoplanets, while other research counters that. The latest observations of the star's disk with ALMA favour the existence of a planet.

Circumstellar discs are believed to be key components in planetary formation. However, we have very little actual evidence of planets growing in the “rings” that surround young stars. So planet formation theorists were ecstatic to learn that two new papers in Astrophysical Journal Letters describe a planet that is actively forming in the gap it most likely created in the ring system of a young, Sun-like star.

After the formation of the Solar System, it took a maximum of three million years for primordial Earth's chemical composition to settle. At the time, there was hardly any water, carbon compounds, or other ingredients necessary for life to emerge. Only a planetary collision that came later would have brought water to Earth, according to a new study by researchers from the Institute of Geological Sciences at the University of Bern.

A new development study from the Southwestern Research Institute outlines a possible mission that could rendezvous with and explore the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS.

This sparkling scene of star birth was captured by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope. What appears to be a craggy, starlit mountaintop kissed by wispy clouds is actually a cosmic dust-scape being eaten away by the blistering winds and radiation of nearby, massive, infant stars.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope captured newborn stars forming in clouds of dust and gas (colored golden and orange in this image) in a star-forming region called Pismis 24.

"Sometimes it's the extreme objects that help us understand what's happening in the average ones."

Astronomers have struggled to explain why a long and thin cloud forms above Mars’s Arsia Mons volcano each year, until now

Astronomers have struggled to explain why a long and thin cloud forms above Mars’s Arsia Mons volcano each year, until now

These celestial wonders can tell us a lot about the state of the atmosphere at home on Earth as well as on other planets.

Ancient remains from a cave in Serbia show that Neanderthals were hunting mountain goats 300,000 years ago, adding to evidence of their ability to adapt to different environments

Ancient remains from a cave in Serbia show that Neanderthals were hunting mountain goats 300,000 years ago, adding to evidence of their ability to adapt to different environments

Phases of ice that exist naturally only on frozen moons could be detected using infrared spectroscopy, according to new laboratory experiments.

The Perseverance has found compounds associated with life on Earth. But whether they indicate life on Mars awaits sample return.

The post Best Evidence Yet for Past Life on Mars? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Scientists are beginning to take clear sides on whether or not to use human-made interventions to preserve polar ice, such as pumping up seawater or launching aerosols into the atmosphere to cool the planet’s surface

The fourth satellite for the Copernicus Sentinel-1 mission, Sentinel-1D, has arrived at Félix Eboué airport, the main airport in French Guiana. From there the spacecraft, safely stored in its protective casing, will be transported to launch preparation facilities at the European Spaceport in Kourou.

Researchers tested 12 “magic mushroom” edibles. None contained psilocybin, but most contained undisclosed ingredients, including synthetic drugs whose safety hasn’t been tested in humans

How a determined socialite, inspired by true crime, helped professionalize the field of murder investigations

The beams hint at the true scale of the massive star that spawned them.

A hidden world of quantum metrologists ensure that everyday devices perform safely and correctly, but their work is never done