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☆ Ancient DNA pulls back curtain on mysterious empire
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Analysis of ancient DNA recovered from human remains has illuminated the traits and ancestry of historic individuals — be it a mummified iceman, Chinese emperor or legendary composer. The origins of the empire and its people remained obscure until a landmark April 2022 study found they hailed from the Mongolian steppe. Carolyn Kaster/APNaturalists have spotted the first arrivals in this spring’s historic cicada dual emergence. Sign up here to receive in your inbox the next edition of Wonder Theory, brought to you by CNN Space and Science writers Ashley Strickland and Katie Hunt.

Persons: It’s, Loki, Gerald Eichstädt, Thomas Thomopoulos, ”, Scott Bolton, Bolton, George Mallory, Andrew Irvine, Mallory, Ruth, Carolyn Kaster, haven’t, you’re, —, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, of Archaeological Sciences, Eötvös Loránd University, Múzeum, NASA, Voyager, JPL, Caltech, Southwest Research Institute, Magdalene College , Cambridge, AP Naturalists, — Boeing, — Surgeons, Hubble, CNN Space, Science Locations: Rákóczifalva, Hungary, Central, Eastern Europe, Mount, United Kingdom, Macon , Georgia, South, Midwest

☆ NASA flyby reveals lava lake, ‘Steeple Mountain’ on Jupiter’s moon Io
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-23 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Close flybys of Io, one of Jupiter’s moons and the most volcanically active world in our solar system, have revealed a lava lake and a towering feature called “Steeple Mountain” on the moon’s alien surface. “We also got some great close-ups and other data on a 200-kilometer-long (127-mile-long) lava lake called Loki Patera. Juno detected the mountain with the help of the sun shining on Io’s surface, which created dramatic shadows that revealed a very sharp peak. NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSSAs an outdoors enthusiast, Bolton joked that Io’s Steeple Mountain should be one of the solar system’s skiing and snowboarding destinations. The mission team used Juno’s Microwave Radiometer instrument to create maps of Io’s surface, showing how incredibly smooth it is.

Persons: ”, Scott Bolton, “, Loki Patera, Gerald Eichstädt, Thomas Thomopoulos, ” Bolton, Bolton, Galileo Galilei, Hera Organizations: CNN, Southwest Research Institute, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Bolton, European Geophysical Union General Assembly, Juno, Science, “, Galileo Locations: Vienna, Chile

☆ Pluto’s heart was likely created by an ancient collision
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-18 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

A deep basin called Sputnik Planitia, which makes up the “left lobe” of the heart, is home to much of Pluto’s nitrogen ice. The New Horizons spacecraft took an image of Pluto's heart on July 14, 2015. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute/NASAThrough new research on Sputnik Planitia, an international team of scientists has determined that a cataclysmic event created the heart. The teardrop shape of Sputnik Planitia is a result of the frigidity of Pluto’s core, as well as the relatively low velocity of the impact itself, the team found. The researchers believe that the new theory regarding Pluto’s heart could shed more light on how the mysterious dwarf planet formed.

Persons: Clybe Tombaugh, Pluto, it’s, ”, Harry Ballantyne, Erik Asphaug, ” Asphaug, “ That’s, Sputnik Planitia, Martin Jutzi, Kelsi Singer, ” Singer Organizations: CNN, Regio, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research Institute, NASA, Sputnik, Pluto, University of Bern, University of Arizona’s, Laboratory, University of Bern’s Physics, Kelsi, Southwest Research, New Locations: United States, Switzerland, Boulder , Colorado

☆ The next total solar eclipse: When and where to expect it
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Monday’s total solar eclipse, one of the most highly anticipated events of 2024, has come and gone. But the next total solar eclipse won’t occur until August 12, 2026, said Amir Caspi, a principal scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colorado. The next total eclipse in the USThe US won’t catch a glimpse of a total solar eclipse again until March 30, 2033, and even then the Russia-centric path includes only Alaska, with totality lasting 2 minutes and 37 seconds. A partial solar eclipse will shine over most of the country during that celestial event. The next total solar eclipse with a coast-to-coast path spanning the Lower 48 states will occur on August 12, 2045.

Persons: it’s, Amir Caspi, Caspi Organizations: CNN, NASA, Southwest Research, New Zealand, Democratic Locations: Chile, Argentina, South America, Boulder , Colorado, Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia, Portugal, Europe, Africa, North America, Alaska, North Dakota, Montana, California , Nevada , Utah , Colorado , Kansas , Oklahoma , Arkansas , Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Australia, New, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, North, South Korea, Japan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Philippines

☆ Chasing the eclipse with sounding rockets and high-altitude planes
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

NASA will launch sounding rockets and WB-57 high-altitude planes to conduct research on aspects of the sun and Earth that‘s only possible during an eclipse. During the 2017 eclipse that crossed the US, NASA and other space agencies conducted observations using 11 different spacecraft and two high-altitude planes. Three sounding rockets will launch from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on April 8 to study the eclipse. During the 2023 annular eclipse, instruments on the rockets measured sharp, immediate changes in the ionosphere. The jets have custom noses that can carry specialized scientific instruments.

Persons: Bill Stafford, Albert Einstein’s, Einstein, Sir Arthur Eddington, Allison Stancil, Barjatya, ” Barjatya, Peter Layshock, Amir Caspi, Layshock, ” Caspi Organizations: CNN, NASA, International Space, Embry, Riddle Aeronautical University, WB, NASA Airborne Science, Johnson Space Center, Southwest Research Locations: Mexico, United States, Canada, Brazil, West Africa, Virginia, Daytona Beach , Florida, Houston, Boulder , Colorado

☆ Water molecules found on asteroids thought to be ‘completely dry’
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-16 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Water molecules have been detected on the surface of asteroids for the first time, proving that these remnants from the formation of our solar system aren’t just dried-up space rocks. Searching for water across the solar systemThe researchers attempted to look for water on two other asteroids using SOFIA, but the detection was too faint. Now, the team is using the James Webb Space Telescope to zero in on different asteroids and search for water signatures. “We really weren’t expecting to find water on these silicate-rich asteroids,” Arredondo said. I want to know if the carbon-rich asteroids have significantly more water than silicate-rich asteroids, or if they have similar amounts.”

Persons: Iris, Massalia, SOFIA, Anicia, Maggie McAdam, Arredondo, ” Arredondo, McAdam’s, James Webb, Webb, “, ” Webb, REx Organizations: CNN, Astronomy, Boeing, SOFIA, Science, Southwest Research Institute, NASA’s Ames Research Locations: SOFIA, San Antonio, Mountain View , California, Iris

☆ Saturn’s ‘Death Star’ moon is hiding an internal ocean, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Astronomers have uncovered additional evidence that one of Saturn’s smallest moons, Mimas, is hiding a global ocean beneath its icy surface. Discovered in 1789 by English astronomer William Herschel as a tiny dot near Saturn, Mimas was first imaged from space by the Voyager probes in 1980. Craters cover the surface of Mimas, but the largest one is 80 miles (about 130 kilometers) across and causes the moon to resemble the Death Star from the “Star Wars” films. But Saturn’s Enceladus appears younger because active geysers have contributed to resurfacing, or depositing of new, fresh material on that moon’s surface. “Mimas certainly demonstrates that moons with old surfaces can be hiding young oceans, which is pretty exciting,” Rhoden said.

Persons: Mimas, Cassini, William Herschel, Observatoire, Dr, Valéry Lainey, Lainey, ”, Nick Cooper, Saturn, ” Lainey, “, Triton, Frédéric, ” Cooper, “ Lainey, Matija Ćuk, Alyssa Rose Rhoden, Rhoden Organizations: CNN —, Saturn, Voyager, “, Physical, Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, NASA, Clipper, SETI Institute, Southwest Research Locations: Paris, California, Colorado

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have found the best evidence yet of a vast, young ocean beneath the icy exterior of Saturn’s Death Star lookalike mini moon. Barely 250 miles (400 kilometers) in diameter, the heavily cratered moon lacks the fractures and geysers — typical signs of subsurface activity — of Saturn’s Enceladus and Jupiter’s Europa. Photos You Should See View All 45 ImagesThe ocean is believed to fill half of Mimas’ volume, according to Lainey. But at the seafloor, he said the water temperature could be much warmer. Co-author Nick Cooper of Queen Mary University of London said the existence of a “remarkably young” ocean of liquid water makes Mimas a prime candidate for studying the origin of life.

Persons: Cassini, “ Mimas, ”, Valery Lainey, Alyssa Rose Rhoden, Nick Cooper, William Herschel, Mimas Organizations: —, Paris Observatory, Star, “ Star, Research, Queen Mary University of London, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla

☆ Asteroid visited by NASA spacecraft has a ‘puzzling’ companion
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Dinkinesh, a small asteroid that NASA’s Lucy mission visited last week, continues to surprise. At first, images suggested that the space rock was part of a binary pair, with a smaller asteroid orbiting Dinkinesh. The first image taken by the spacecraft during its closest approach revealed the companion, but not the fact that it was a contact binary. “Contact binaries seem to be fairly common in the solar system,” said John Spencer, Lucy deputy project scientist at the Southwest Research Institute, in a statement. The skeleton has helped researchers piece together aspects of human evolution, and NASA Lucy team members hope their mission will achieve a similar feat regarding the history of our solar system.

Persons: CNN —, Lucy, Goddard, Johns Hopkins, ”, John Spencer, we’ve, We’d, Hal Levison, “, Tom Statler, NASA Lucy Organizations: CNN, NASA, Southwest Research Institute, Dinkinesh, Trojans Locations: Ethiopia, Jupiter

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The little asteroid visited by NASA’s Lucy spacecraft this week had a big surprise for scientists. It turns out that the asteroid Dinkinesh has a dinky sidekick — a mini moon. The discovery was made during Wednesday’s flyby of Dinkinesh, 300 million miles (480 million kilometers) away in the main asteroid belt beyond Mars. In data and images beamed back to Earth, the spacecraft confirmed that Dinkinesh is barely a half-mile (790 meters) across. NASA sent Lucy past Dinkinesh as a rehearsal for the bigger, more mysterious asteroids out near Jupiter.

Persons: NASA’s Lucy, —, Dinkinesh, Lucy, It's, “ Dinkinesh, Hal Levison Organizations: NASA, Research, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, Ethiopia

☆ NASA sent a spaceship rocketing by an asteroid — and discovered the space rock has a little baby one dancing around it
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

NASA sent a spacecraft flying by the Dinkinesh asteroid. The agency discovered that Dinkinesh is actually a binary asteroid system. The Lucy spacecraft discovered that the larger asteroid has a baby asteroid dancing around it. But the Lucy spacecraft returned images showing that the asteroid Dinkinesh is actually a binary asteroid system, meaning there are two asteroids orbiting a common center. Lucy flew by the asteroid system at a speed of 10,000 miles per hour, NASA said.

Persons: —, Lucy, Dinkinesh, Hal Levison, we've, Tom Kennedy Organizations: NASA, Service, Southwest Research Institute, Lockheed Martin Locations: Colorado

☆ NASA mission captures image of surprising asteroid pair
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —When NASA’s Lucy mission flew by its first asteroid this week, its cameras captured a surprise. The Lucy spacecraft zoomed by the small asteroid Dinkinesh, located in our solar system’s main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. (Lockheed Martin is a NASA partner on the Lucy mission.) Preparing for future flybysThe data collected during the Lucy mission flyby will continue to return to Earth over the next week. There are about 7,000 Trojan asteroids, and the largest is 160 miles (257 kilometers) across.

Persons: Lucy, Hal Levison, “, ” Levison, we’ve, ”, Tom Kennedy, Lockheed Martin, ” Kennedy, Keith Noll, NASA’s, Lucy’s, NASA Lucy Organizations: CNN, Southwest Research Institute, ”, Lockheed, NASA, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Locations: Ethiopia, Greenbelt , Maryland, Jupiter

☆ NASA’s Lucy mission will closely fly by the asteroid Dinkinesh
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-01 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —The NASA Lucy mission is about to have its first encounter with a space rock. The spacecraft, launched in October 2021, will fly by the small asteroid Dinkinesh on Wednesday. Dinkinesh is about half a mile (1 kilometer) wide and is situated in the main asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. Each of the asteroids Lucy will fly by differ in size and color. These are some of the asteroids that the Lucy mission will fly by over the next 12 years.

Persons: NASA Lucy, Lucy, ”, Hal Levison, Dinkinesh, REx — Lucy, Mark Effertz, Amy Mainzer, — Organizations: CNN, NASA, Lincoln, Asteroid Research, US Air Force, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Southwest Research Institute, Dinkinesh, JPL, Caltech, Lockheed Martin, University of Arizona, Trojans Locations: LINEAR, San Antonio, Jupiter, Littleton , Colorado, Ethiopia

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Lucy spacecraft on Wednesday encountered the first of 10 asteroids on its long journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft will swing past eight Trojans believed to be up to 10 to 100 times bigger than Dinkinesh. The spacecraft is named after the 3.2 million-year-old skeletal remains of a human ancestor found in Ethiopia in the 1970s. Lucy will next swing past an asteroid named after one of the fossil Lucy's discoverers: Donald Johanson. Then in October, it launched a spacecraft to a rare, metal-rich asteroid named Psyche.

Persons: —, Lucy, Donald Johanson, Hal Levison Organizations: NASA, Research, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group, AP Locations: CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla, Dinkinesh, Ethiopia

☆ Unlocking the clues of a metal world
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-06 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —For the first time, a NASA mission is setting off on a distant journey to visit a metal world in our solar system. This illustration depicts how scientists envision the Psyche asteroid. Over time, Psyche likely collided with other rocky objects, losing its outer crust and mantle until only its metal core remained. “We have never seen the surface of a metal world up close. “If you brought back as much metal as likely exists in Psyche, then the metals would no longer be rare and the price would plummet,” Metzger said.

Persons: REx, Annibale de Gasparis, ”, Zoe Landsman, Psyche, Landsman, isn’t, ” Landsman, NASA’s, Anicia Arredondo, “, ” Arredondo, Philip Metzger, ” Metzger Organizations: CNN, NASA, JPL, Caltech, ASU, Exolith, University of Central, Radar, Astronomy, Boeing, ASU “, Southwest Research Institute, Division, Planetary Sciences, Europlanet Science Congress, Scientists, University of Central Florida’s Florida Space Institute Locations: Italian, University of Central Florida, San Antonio

☆ NASA’s Juno captures image of ghostly Jupiter lightning
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-19 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —A NASA spacecraft captured the eerie glow of lightning inside a swirling vortex on Jupiter. The green lightning bolt was seen inside one of the many vortices that cluster near Jupiter’s north pole. Lightning bolts originate from water clouds on Earth, and most of the strikes occur near the equator. The raw images of Jupiter and its moons taken by JunoCam are posted online and available for anyone to process. Juno’s ongoing investigation will help scientists gain a greater understanding of the largest planet in the solar system and its distinctive features.

Persons: Kevin M, Gill, JunoCam, ”, Matthew Johnson, Scott Bolton, Juno Organizations: CNN, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Southwest Research Institute Locations: Pasadena , California, San Antonio

☆ Key building block of life found on ocean world orbiting Saturn
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —A key chemical building block of life has been found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. An ocean exists beneath the thick, icy surface of Enceladus, and plumes of material regularly release from geysers at the moon’s south pole. “Previous geochemical models were divided on the question of whether Enceladus’ ocean contains significant quantities of phosphates at all,” Postberg said. “This key ingredient could be abundant enough to potentially support life in Enceladus’ ocean; this is a stunning discovery for astrobiology.”Some of the additional ocean world moons around Jupiter and Saturn include Europa, Titan and Ganymede. Although the building blocks of life and conditions for habitability exist on Enceladus, no actual life has been detected yet.

Persons: ”, Frank Postberg, ” Postberg, Fabian Klenner, “, Postberg, Christopher Glein, Cassini, Linda Spilker, Spilker, ” Spilker, ” Glein, ” “, Nozair Khawaja, Mikhail Zolotov, Zolotov Organizations: CNN, Cassini, NASA, JPL, Space Science, Freie Universität, ATP, University of Washington, Southwest Research Institute, Clipper, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, Arizona State University Locations: Freie Universität Berlin, San Antonio , Texas, Europa, Pasadena , California

☆ Saturn's icy moon Enceladus harbors essential elements for life
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Steve Gorman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The discovery was based on data collected by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, the first to orbit Saturn, during its 13-year landmark exploration of the gaseous giant planet, its rings and its moons from 2004 to 2017. The same team previously confirmed that Enceladus' ice grains contain a rich assortment of minerals and complex organic compounds, including the ingredients for amino acids, associated with life as scientists know it. Another is Jupiter's larger moon Europa, which also is believed to harbor a global ocean of liquid water beneath its icy surface. "This key ingredient could be abundant enough to potentially support life in Enceladus' ocean," said co-investigator Christopher Glein, a planetary scientist at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas. "Whether life could have originated in Enceladus' ocean remains an open question," Glein said.

Persons: NASA's Cassini, Read, Frank Postberg, Cassini, Christopher Glein, Glein, Steve Gorman, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: NASA's, Nature, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Free University, Southwest Research Institute, Thomson Locations: German, Los Angeles, Berlin, Europe, Japan, San Antonio , Texas

☆ On Pluto you could throw a baseball over the Great Pyramid of Giza, a scientist's animation reveals
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An astronomer's animation reveals how far the average person could throw a ball on different worlds. On Pluto, your baseball could clear the Great Pyramid of Giza. Watch a ball throw on each planet in our solar system, plus Pluto and the moon, below. At just two-thirds the diameter of our moon, Pluto has such weak gravity that your baseball could clear the 455-foot-tall Great Pyramid of Giza — with room to spare. The video plays out in "real time," showing how long each ball throw would take, O'Donoghue said.

A NASA spacecraft is set to swing past one of Jupiter’s moons on Thursday, giving astronomers a close-up view of one of the most volcanic spots in the solar system. The Juno probe, which has been orbiting Jupiter since July 2016, is set to conduct a flyby of Io, one of the 80 known moons in Jupiter’s system. Over the course of the next year and a half, the Juno spacecraft will carry out a total of nine flybys of Io. NASA / JPL-CaltechEarlier this year, Juno captured a dramatic view of Io from a distance of around 50,000 miles. Last year, NASA extended the Juno mission through September 2025.

☆ NASA spacecraft heads for the most volcanic place in the solar system
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A NASA spacecraft is gearing up for the first of a series of close encounters with the most volcanic place in the solar system. The Juno spacecraft will fly by Jupiter’s moon Io on Thursday, December 15. Juno captured a glowing infrared view of Io on July 5 from 50,000 miles (80,000 kilometers) away. “The team is really excited to have Juno’s extended mission include the study of Jupiter’s moons. Juno flew by Jupiter’s moon Ganymede in 2021, followed by Europa earlier this year.

☆ The Taurids meteor shower is expected to peak this weekend. Here's how to watch bright fireballs dazzle the night sky.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The Northern Taurids meteor shower will be at its best overnight, between November 11 and 12. In the Southern Hemisphere, the meteor shower reached another peak in mid-October. The Southern and Northern Taurids' last peaks were in 2015. NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington/Southwest Research InstituteIn 2005, a Taurids meteor struck the surface of the moon. During the peak, the American Meteor Society says you might see around five meteors per hour under clear, dark skies.

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