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☆ Legends of Uzbekistan: The man who measured the world
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-13 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

But a period of immense discovery is beginning, in which every scholar hopes their theories could change our understanding of the world. One of the greatest of these and one of the most revered in Islam is Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni. Born in 973 CE in Khwarazm in northwest Uzbekistan, Al-Biruni was a man of such prodigious knowledge and scholarship that the modern city is now an ode to his name, Beruniy. Al-Biruni is considered the "father of Indian studies" GettyThe early ages of space discoveryAlongside cultural studies, Al-Biruni had a passion for astronomy, devoting 95 of his 146 books to the cosmos. The first award ceremony is scheduled in November 2025, in Samarkand during the 43rd Session of the UNESCO General Conference.

Persons: Abu Rayhan Al, Biruni, Mahmud Ghaznav, Al, Getty, Galileo Galilei, Sir Isaac Newton, Richard Dunthorne Organizations: Nations, UNESCO Executive, UNESCO, Intelligence, UNESCO General Conference Locations: Islam, Khwarazm, Uzbekistan, Al, Tehran, Lahore, India, Samarkand

☆ Voyager 2’s defining Uranus flyby may have been skewed by a rare cosmic event
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Magnetospheres are the protective bubbles around planets like Earth that have magnetic cores and magnetic fields, and they are driven by the planet’s magnetic field. Voyager 2’s data showed that Uranus’ magnetosphere was home to unexpectedly powerful electron radiation belts. Voyager 2’s observations of Uranus’ magnetosphere defied the way astronomers understand how magnetic fields trap energetic particles and their radiation. The first panel (left) of this artist's concept depicts how Uranus' protective magnetosphere behaved prior to Voyager 2's flyby. Fortunately, sending a dedicated mission to study Uranus in the future has become a priority for NASA, according to a report released in 2022.

Persons: ”, Jamie Jasinski, ” Jasinski, It’s, Linda Spilker, Spilker, ” Spilker, James Webb Organizations: CNN, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Orbiter, Probe Locations: Pasadena , California

☆ Planet 9: Inside the search for a hidden planet in our solar system
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +18 min

“It could completely reshape our understanding of the solar system and of other planetary systems, and how we fit into that context. Brown and his colleague, planetary scientist Konstantin Batygin, reported having strong evidence of a hidden planet on the fringes of our solar system. “If you look at these bodies, their lifetimes are tiny compared to the age of the solar system,” Batygin said. “By now, we expected to have found many more of these extreme trans-Neptunian objects,” Sheppard said in an email. Finding a smaller planet would also spark excitement, Rice added, because every solar system planet is immensely useful for extrapolating information about the thousands of comparable exoplanets that researchers are uncovering across the galaxy.

Persons: Mike Brown, Pluto, ”, Brown, Pluto’s, Malena Rice, ” Rice, Konstantin Batygin, Neptune, they’ve, Brown’s, “, we’re, Scott Sheppard, Chadwick Trujillo, Trujillo, ” Brown, Batygin, ” Batygin, Patryk Sofia Lykawka, ” Lykawka, Lykawka, Rice, Hur, Renu Malhotra, Malhotra, Sheppard, ” Sheppard, ” Malhotra, she’s, “ It’s, Sigurd Naess, ” Naess, Vera C, Rubin, That’s Organizations: CNN, Caltech, NASA, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Research, International Astronomical, ESA, Yale University, Getty, California Institute of Technology, Planet Nine, Carnegie Institution for Science, Northern Arizona University, Sheppard, Kindai University, Rice of Yale University, University of Arizona, Survey Telescope, Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, US National Science Foundation, Stanford University, Rubin, Rubin Observatory, Nine Locations: Pasadena , California, AFP, Washington ,, Japan, Neptune, Hawaii, Chile, Norway

Early November ushers in a skywatching bonanza, with three active meteor showers offering the chance to see shooting stars light up the night sky. The Southern Taurids meteor shower is expected to reach its peak overnight from Monday into Tuesday. At the same time, the last of the Orionid meteor shower should still be visible, following its peak on Oct. 20. The Southern and Northern Taurids, meanwhile, are both long-lasting meteor showers, with peaks that are less clearly defined than some other shooting star shows. The Taurids meteor showers get their name because the shooting stars appear to stream from a point in the sky where the Taurus constellation is located.

Persons: Northern Taurids, it’s, Taurid Organizations: American Meteor Society, Northern, NASA Locations: Southern, Northern, streetlights

☆ China and U.S. race to solve the mystery of neutrinos, 'ghost particles' of the universe
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Eric Baculinao | Evan Bush | Eric Baculinao Is A Producer Based In Beijing. A Long-Term Resident Of Beijing Who Is Fluent In Chinese | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

Neutrinos pair with antineutrinos, which scientists think mirror their behavior. The first of three new neutrino observatoriesJUNO is part of China’s ambitious efforts to become a global science powerhouse. The sun, for example, sends electron neutrinos toward Earth, but sometimes they arrive as muon neutrinos. Several scientists behind neutrino observatory projects admitted, though, that it’s impossible to predict the practical, earthly benefits of the research. You need a discontinuity,” said Mary Bishai, a particle physicist at the U.S. Energy Department’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and a co-spokesperson for the DUNE project.

Persons: antineutrinos —, Wang Yifang, antineutrinos, ” Wang, Xi Jinping, Eric Baculinao, “ It’s, ”, Chris Marshall, China —, Wang, “, they’ve, ” Patrick Huber, Ignacio Taboada, — it’s, —, Sergio Bertolucci, We’ve, JUNO, Pedro Ochoa, you’ll, Mary Bishai Organizations: China’s Institute of High Energy, Workers, NBC, University of Rochester, U.S, NBC News U.S, Virginia Tech’s Center, Neutrino Physics, Georgia Tech, JUNO, University of California, U.S . Energy, Brookhaven National Laboratory Locations: Japan, U.S, Illinois, North Dakota, China, Italian, South Dakota, Irvine, Brookhaven

☆ Vera C. Rubin Observatory: World’s largest digital camera will be a ‘game-changer’ for astronomy
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-23 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —On a mountaintop in northern Chile, the world’s largest digital camera is preparing to power up. The expectation is that in this way, Vera Rubin will discover about 17 billion stars and 20 billion galaxies that we’ve never seen before — and that’s only the beginning. “We’re anticipating about 10 million alerts per night coming off the telescope,” Higgs says. “The Vera Rubin Observatory will enable astronomers to map the distribution of dark matter like never before, based on how dark matter bends the path of ordinary starlight — a process known as ‘gravitational lensing,’” Kaiser explains. “After all, it was her seminal work on the detection of dark matter in spiral galaxies in the 1970s that got this pursuit going,” says Natarajan.

Persons: Vera C, —, Vera Rubin, “, Rubin, ”, Clare Higgs, Higgs, Charles Simonyi, Bill Gates, it’s, Olivier Bonin, ” Higgs, “ We’re, There’s, David Kaiser, Kaiser, ” Kaiser, Rubin Obs, Konstantin Batygin, Kate Pattle, “ Rubin, Priyamvada Organizations: CNN, Rubin, Department of Energy’s, Science, US National Science Foundation, Accelerator Laboratory, Stanford University in, Accelerator, Survey, Netflix, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Nine, California Institute of Technology, of Physics, Astronomy, University College London, Yale University Locations: Chile, Cerro Pachón, Chilean, Santiago, Stanford University in California, California

☆ AI helps uncover hundreds of unknown ancient symbols hidden in Peru’s Nazca Desert
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-27 | by ( Katie Hunt | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Archaeologists working in Peru, assisted by artificial intelligence, have discovered 303 previously unknown giant symbols carved in the Nazca Desert. A geoglyph of a humanoid with a headdress is one of the newly discovered symbols. Deciphering Nazca symbols’ purposeIt’s not clear why the Nazca people made the symbols. The bigger Nazca symbols were near networks of straight lines, squares and trapezoids etched into the earth. “Our findings suggest that their meaning is formed through their combinations,” he said, referring to the way the Nazca geoglyphs are grouped together.

Persons: headdresses, geoglyphs, “, Masato Sakai, IBM’s Thomas J, ”, ” Sakai, Amina Jambajantsan, Jambajantsan wasn’t, ” Jambajantsan, Sakai Organizations: CNN —, Yamagata University Institute of, Japan’s Yamagata University, Watson Research, Yamagata University Institute of Nasca, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology’s Department of Archaeology Locations: Peru, Peru’s, Yorktown Heights , New York, ”, Jena , Germany, Mongolia

☆ Astronomers spot the most massive black hole jets ever observed
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Astronomers have observed a massive pair of jets releasing from a supermassive black hole 7.5 billion light-years from Earth. The megastructure spans 23 million light-years in length, making these black hole jets the largest ever seen, according to new research. Black hole jets can accelerate radiation and particles close to the speed of light, causing them to glow in wavelengths visible to radio telescopes. The massive black hole jets could help answer both. Martijn Oei (pictured), lead author of the new study, and his colleagues will continue their search for massive black hole jets.

Persons: Martijn Oei, ” Oei, Europe’s, Oei, “, Aivin Gast, Gast, LOFAR, “ Aivin, Porphyrion, NASA's, Powell, Nelson, Martin Hardcastle, Sasha Tchekhovskoy, ”, Tchekhovskoy Organizations: CNN —, California Institute of Technology, Astrophysics, University of Oxford, NASA, JPL, Caltech, CNN, Keck, NASA's Goddard, University of Hertfordshire, Northwestern University Locations: India, Hawaii, England

☆ Earth is about to have a temporary ‘mini-moon’
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

But as a mini-moon, Asteroid 2024 PT5 isn’t in any danger of colliding with Earth now or over the next few decades, de la Fuente Marcos said. Asteroid 2020 CD3 is considered a long-capture mini-moon, while the newly detected Asteroid 2024 PT5 is a short-capture one. Short mini-moon events can occur several times per decade, but long mini-moon events are rare, and only occur every 10 or 20 years, de la Fuente Marcos said. “In order to become a mini-moon, an incoming body has to approach Earth slowly at close range,” de la Fuente Marcos said. After 56.6 days, the sun’s gravitational pull will bring Asteroid 2024 PT5 back into its normal orbit.

Persons: PT5, Carlos de la Fuente Marcos, la Fuente Marcos, orbiters, flybys, It’s, ”, Robert Jedicke, ” Jedicke, Jedicke, “ Organizations: CNN, American Astronomical Society, Astronomers, NASA, Complutense University of Madrid, University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, Gran, Canarias, Telescope Locations: South Africa, Chelyabinsk, Russia, Hiroshima, Japan, Mars, Canary, Earth

☆ Cave fossils shed light on the disappearance of Neanderthals
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-14 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

But other chapters, like those describing the loss of our ancient ancestors, are harder to recover as time passes. A chance finding of bones in a cave is revealing clues of a much older tragic mystery. The once-in-a-lifetime find, nicknamed Thorin after a character in “The Hobbit,” has puzzled researchers for nearly a decade. The overall winner of the competition was photographer Ryan Imperio for his photo taken during the October 2023 annular solar eclipse. The phenomenon is visible for brief moments during an eclipse when sunlight shines through the moon’s valleys and craters, creating glowing drops of light.

Persons: Duke, Wellington, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Napoleon Bonaparte, Thorin, Ludovic, ”, Yuha Hasegawa, Ryan Imperio, Imperio, Zhu Yubo, Rapa Nui, Christopher Columbus, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Japan’s Nagasaki University, “, International, Astronomy, Polaris, —, NASA, CNN Space, Science Locations: Brussels, Grotte Mandrin, Rhône, New Zealand, El, Rapa, USA, Americas

☆ Astronomy Photographer of the Year contest showcases mesmerizing photos
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-12 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —The phases of Venus, the Aurora Australis and the International Space Station transiting the Sun all feature as category winners in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. Ryan Imperio was named the overall winner for his photograph capturing the progression of Baily’s beads during the 2023 annular eclipse, according to a Thursday statement from the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which runs the competition. “These are a challenge to capture due to their brevity and the precise timing needed.”Imperio said that he didn’t expect to win the competition. “The images selected each year are absolutely astonishing and I am both thrilled and honoured to have my photo among them,” he said in the statement. Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter.

Persons: Ryan Imperio, ” Imperio, ”, Ed Bloomer, Victoria Lane Organizations: CNN, Space, Astronomy, Royal Observatory Greenwich, Royal Observatory, Royal Museums Greenwich, National Maritime Museum Locations: Victoria, London

☆ See giant gas bubbles move on the surface of a nearby star
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-11 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Astronomers have observed the detailed motions of giant gas bubbles on the surface of a nearby star for the first time, which rise and fall like the inside of a lava lamp. The images show the surface of the star R. Doradus, a red giant star 180 light-years away in the Dorado constellation. The telescope enabled them to collect high-resolution images of the star’s surface over the course of a month. Convection bubbles can be seen moving on the surface of R. Doradus, as seen by the ALMA telescope in Chile. While convection bubbles have been spotted before on the surface of stars, the new observations tracked the motion of bubbles in a way that wasn’t possible earlier.

Persons: ”, Wouter Vlemmings, Vlemmings, ‘, ” Vlemmings, Theo Khouri, Chalmers, ALMA, Behzad Bojnordi, Claudia Paladini, Paladini, ” Paladini Organizations: CNN —, Chalmers University of Technology, NASA, Chalmers, Energy, European Southern Observatory, Sun Locations: Sweden, ALMA, Chile

☆ ‘Zombie star’ of supernova that exploded in 1181 revealed by study
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-13 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

But Zijlstra, who was not involved with the new study, was the first to make the connection to SN 1181. The report suggested that SN 1181 might belong to the elusive Type Iax category of supernova due to the presence of this “zombie” white dwarf. That energy causes the sudden brightness of the supernova.”That massive collision might explain another curious aspect of the SN 1181 zombie star. “We theorize that the star reignited because SN 1181 was a Type Iax supernova, which is an incomplete explosion. Schaefer added that SN 1181 represents one of the few reliable connections from supernova to supernova remnant.

Persons: ”, Takatoshi Ko, Albert Zijlstra, Dana Patchick, Zijlstra, ” Zijlstra, “, coauthors, NASA's Chandra, ” Ko, Chandra, Ko, Bradley Schaefer, Schaefer, ” Schaefer, astrophysicists Organizations: CNN, Astrophysical, University of Tokyo, University of Manchester, Survey, NASA, ESA, JPL, Caltech, Subaru, Louisiana State University Locations: China, Japan, England, New Mexico, Hawaii

☆ Oceans of water may be trapped deep beneath the Martian surface
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-12 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

CNN —Data from a retired NASA mission has revealed evidence of an underground reservoir of water deep beneath the surface of Mars, according to new research. A team of scientists estimates that there may be enough water, trapped in tiny cracks and pores of rock in the middle of the Martian crust, to fill oceans on the planet’s surface. NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter took an image of InSight sitting on the Martian surface on February 2, 2019. “It’s certainly true on Earth — deep, deep mines host life, the bottom of the ocean hosts life. Windows into Martian historyThe findings add a new piece to the Martian water puzzle.

Persons: ”, Vashan Wright, ‘, Mars, orbiters, InSight’s seismometer, Wright, James Tuttle Keane, Aaron Rodriguez, Michael Manga, “ It’s, haven’t, Alberto Fairén, Fairén, Bruce Banerdt, we’re, Banerdt, al, ” Banerdt, “, ” Wright Organizations: CNN, NASA, National Academy of Sciences, Reconnaissance Orbiter, JPL, Caltech, University of Arizona, University of California, Diego’s Scripps, of Oceanography, Mars, Interior Exploration, Transport, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, University of Maryland, Cornell University Locations: Mars, Berkeley

☆ China moon samples reveal water molecules in groundbreaking discovery, scientists say
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-05 | by ( Jessie Yeung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

NASA and Indian spacecraft have spotted what they believe to be water on the moon’s surface, and Chinese scientists last year found water trapped in glass beads strewn across the moon. But people didn’t always know there was water on the moon, though scientists theorized about its existence for hundreds of years. “I think it has lots of potential, this new finding that we can extract molecular water directly from lunar soils,” Qian said. After the latest study, many Weibo users raised the possibility of growing plants or crops on the moon using the molecular water found in soil. “We can’t work behind closed doors – it would be best to attract all of their scientists to China,” one wrote.

Persons: China’s Chang’e, ”, David A, Ren Junchuan, Yuqi Qian, didn’t, NASA’s, Luna, Qian, ” Qian, “, Xi Jinping’s, it’s, ” Kring, hasn’t, Bill Nelson, Weibo Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, NASA, Indian, Planetary Institute, University of Hong, China National Space Administration, Xinhua, CNN, “, International Space, Weibo Locations: China, Hong Kong, ULM, Texas, Xinhua, University of Hong Kong, Soviet, SOFIA, United States

☆ Venus atmosphere shows potential signs of life — again
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-29 | by ( Jacopo Prisco | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“We’re a long way from saying this, but if there is life on Venus producing phosphine, we have no idea why it’s producing it. So finding them in the atmosphere of Venus is interesting on that basis as well. But further analysis of that data by Clements’ team revealed weak traces of the molecule, reinforcing the theory. “To date, our analyses remain unchallenged in the literature,” said Mogul, who was not involved in the research of Clements’ team. While detecting phosphine and ammonia in Venus’ clouds is exciting, it is just the beginning of a longer journey to unravel the mysteries of that planet’s atmosphere, he said.

Persons: James, Maxwell, “ There’s, ”, Dave Clements, “, we’ve, Clements, ” Clements, Venus, Clements ’, Rakesh Mogul, Jane Greaves, NASA's, ” Greaves, Greaves, Javier Martin, Torres, Martín, Kate Pattle, ” Pattle, Pattle Organizations: CNN, Astronomical Society, Imperial College London, NASA, JPL, Caltech, Saturn, Venus, Telescope, California State Polytechnic University, ” Mogul, Cardiff University, Green Bank, Royal Astronomical Society, European Space Agency, University of Aberdeen, University College London Locations: Hull, England, Hawaii, SOFIA, ALMA, Pomona, United Kingdom, West Virginia

☆ Surprising element traced back to Renaissance alchemist’s basement laboratory
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-28 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Editor’s note: A version of this story appeared in CNN’s Wonder Theory science newsletter. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors produced the first maps of the stars and practiced alchemy, the precursor to chemistry. But ancient alchemists actually developed technology and discovered chemical elements that are still widely used today. Now, a new discovery links both astronomy and alchemy in one intriguing figure who lived during the Renaissance. Once the Starliner mission concludes, SpaceX will ferry a quartet of astronauts for NASA’s Crew-9 mission to the space station.

Persons: Sir Isaac Newton, Uraniborg, Tycho Brahe, Brahe, wasn’t, Butch Wilmore, Suni Williams, Mark Nappi, Craig Smith, Diva Amon, Andrew Sweetman, Sweetman, ”, David Flannery, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Chemists, Lund University Danish, NASA, Boeing, Engineers, SpaceX, NASA’s, Marine, Scottish Association for Marine Science, JPL, Caltech, Perseverance, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ireland, Brazil, Mars

☆ Surprising element found in traces of Tyco Brahe’s alchemy lab confounds scientists
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-27 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

The covert nature of Brahe’s work was common among alchemists of the Renaissance, who kept their knowledge close to the vest. “Tungsten had not even been described at that time, so what should we infer from its presence on a shard from Tycho Brahe’s alchemy workshop?” Rasmussen said. In addition to serving as Brahe's home, Uraniborg functioned as a scientific center where students across Europe came to live and work. And Brahe himself wrote that the king was eager to support the scientist’s work in both astronomy and alchemy. Given the amount of gold found in Brahe’s remains, he may have also taken medicine containing potable, or drinkable, gold.

Persons: Tycho Brahe, Brahe, Kaare Lund Rasmussen, Poul Grinder, Hansen, Uraniborg, Lund University Gold, Rasmussen, ”, “ Tungsten, ” Rasmussen, Ann Ronan, Carl Wilhelm Scheele, Juan José, Fausto d’Elhuyar y de Suvisa, wolfram, Georgius Agricola, Agricola, Lawrence Principe, Drew, ” Principe, King Frederick II of Denmark, De Agostini, Paracelsus, Rudolph II, Emperor, Stjerneborg, “, ” Brahe, Isaac Newton, Johns, King Frederick II’s, Christian IV, Johannes Kepler, Kepler, Newton, Galileo Galilei Organizations: CNN, University of Southern, National Museum of Denmark, Heritage, Lund University, Getty Images, Humanities, Singleton Center, Johns Hopkins University, De Agostini Editorial, Culture, Hulton, Art, Sun, Scientific Locations: Danish, Ven, Sweden, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Europe, Baltimore . Principe, Norway, Uraniborg, Brahe’s, Mercury, Principe, Johns Hopkins

☆ NASA’s Chandra Observatory just celebrated 25 years in space. Budget cuts could threaten its future
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASASo far, Chandra has taken nearly 25,000 observations of the universe. Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASAShortly after launch, the observatory focused on what has become an iconic celestial target: supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Chandra has returned to this feature again and again, revealing new insights each time. Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASA“Before Chandra, it was known that there was a sort of diffuse haze of X-ray emission coming from all directions in the sky. The NASA budget allotment for Chandra will gradually dwindle in the coming years, based on the agency’s budget request released in March. Chandra X-ray Observatory Center/NASADespite 25 years spent in space, Chandra remains in good health and virtually all of the spacecraft’s systems are in good condition, Slane said.

Persons: NASA’s Chandra, Chandra, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Eileen Collins, ” Collins, ”, Pat Slane, astrophysicists Riccardo Giacconi, Harvey Tananbaum, NASA’s, Slane, Chandra’s, ” Slane, “ Organizations: CNN, NASA, Center, Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, Hubble, Telescope, Spitzer, Compton Gamma, “ NASA, Chandra Locations: Columbia, Cambridge , Massachusetts, “

☆ 13 photos from NASA's most powerful X-ray space telescope reveal the invisible universe
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-24 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory is one of its most scientifically productive space missions. The telescope has been in space for 25 years, discovering black holes and dark matter. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The Einstein Observatory pioneered X-ray astronomy in the late '70s, but the crown jewel of this science field is the Chandra X-ray Observatory, which has been in space for the last 25 years. Here are some of Chandra's most stunning images and groundbreaking discoveries of the invisible X-ray universe.

Persons: NASA's Chandra, —, Chandra Organizations: Service, NASA, Einstein Observatory

☆ Scientists confirm first lunar cave that could help shelter astronauts from the moon’s extreme temperatures
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Taylor Nicioli | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Scientists have long theorized the existence of lunar caves — underground passageways formed through volcanic processes that are connected to the pits covering the moon’s surface. Now, a team of international researchers has found the first direct evidence that the moon’s deepest known pit connects to a cave that could provide shelter to astronauts. “Lunar caves have remained a mystery for a long time. Future research and exploration of lunar caves could also provide new insight into the evolution of the moon and lunar volcanism, the authors note in the study. “Moreover, (lunar caves) can be an alternative or an integration to a base on the surface of the Moon,” he added.

Persons: ”, Leonardo Carrer, Lorenzo Bruzzone, —, Tyler Horvath, ” Horvath, Horvath, Paul Hayne, Hayne, ” Hayne, Carrer, Noah Petro, Petro, Artemis III, “ LRO, ” Petro Organizations: CNN —, NASA Lunar Reconnaissance, University of Trento, Remote, NASA, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, University of California, Mare Tranquillitatis, University of Colorado, European Space Agency, Reconnaissance, Artemis Locations: United States, China, Italy, Los Angeles, Carrer, University of Colorado , Boulder, Hawaii, Canary Islands, Australia, Iceland

☆ Unusual world offers astronomers a glimpse into how planets become ‘hot Jupiters’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-17 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

The star is one of a binary pair, so the planet orbits the primary star, while the primary star orbits a secondary star. While Jupiter takes 4,000 Earth days to complete one orbit around the sun, hot Jupiters complete one orbit every few days. Astronomers use “eccentric” to refer to the shape of a planet’s orbit on a scale from zero to 1. “It’s a pretty extreme process in that the changes to the planet’s orbit are massive,” Millholland said. Discovering a second hot Jupiter precursor is helping astronomers to confirm the idea that high-mass gas giants transform into hot Jupiters as they migrate from eccentric to circular orbits, the researchers said.

Persons: —, ”, Arvind Gupta, NOIRLab, Gupta, Suvrath Mahadevan, Verne, Willaman, Jason Wright, ” Wright, ” Gupta, Sarah Millholland, “, ” Millholland, Wright, James Webb Organizations: CNN —, Penn State, Astronomy, Mercury, NASA, Massachusetts Institute, Technology’s Kavli, for Astrophysics, Space Research, chrysalis Locations: Kitt, Arizona

☆ Scientists found an underground cave on the moon where astronauts could live and think there may be hundreds more
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-16 | by ( Jessica Orwig | Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The team speculates that, given how they think this cave formed, there could be hundreds more hidden under the lunar surface. AdvertisementTo the moon cave and beyondExploring caves on the moon could offer a plethora of scientific data and resources for future space missions. There's also a chance that moon caves harbor water, a crucial resource for any future moon bases. Access to lunar water is key to NASA's plans to establish a permanent base on the moon and, eventually, use it to hopscotch astronauts to Mars. Bruzzone and his coauthors also noted that caves and lava tubes of different ages might act like fossilized records of the moon's history.

Persons: —, Leonardo Carrer, Lorenzo Bruzzone, Wes Patterson, NASA's LRO, Tranquillitatis, Patterson, Caspar Benson, There's, Bruzzone Organizations: Service, University of Trento, Associated Press, Business, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA, Arizona State, Reconnaissance, Getty, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Locations: American, Hawaii

☆ A detailed look at children’s brains might show how sex and gender are different, new study says
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-12 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Sex and gender are often conflated or equated in everyday conversations, and most American adults believe a person’s gender is determined by sex assigned at birth. But a new study of nearly 5,000 9- and 10-year-olds found that sex and gender map onto largely distinct parts of the brain. The researchers on the new study defined sex as what was assigned to the child at birth. They also hope to see how different cultures affect a person’s gender and their brain development. The study did not look at whether sex or gender were congruent or incongruent in any study participant.

Persons: ”, Elvisha, Dr, Dani S, Bassett, “, ” Bassett, ” Dhamala, —, Sanjay Gupta, Avram Holmes, Holmes, “ It’s, ” Holmes Organizations: CNN, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Zucker Hillside, University of Pennsylvania, Bioengineering, Systems Engineering, Physics, Astronomy, Neurology, Psychiatry, Research, London, Conservative, CNN Health, Rutgers University Locations: Glen Oaks , California, United States

☆ Cosmic Research Hints at Mysterious Ancient Computer’s Purpose
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-05 | by ( Becky Ferreira | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Antikythera mechanism, an ingenious calculator made 2,200 years ago, has inspired awe and enchantment ever since it was recovered from a shipwreck near a Greek island in 1901. Generations of researchers have unraveled many mysteries about the device, which is often described as the world’s first analog computer, though much remains unknown. A study published this month in The Horological Journal challenges a core assumption about the mechanism that could upend understanding of the complex timepiece’s form and function. That result conflicts with earlier research that identified the ring as a solar calendar, lined with 365 holes. “It’s a slightly contentious idea,” said Dr. Woan, who acknowledged that he and Dr. Bayley are not experts on the device.

Persons: Graham Woan, Joseph Bayley, ”, Woan, Bayley Organizations: University of Glasgow

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