Astrophysics & Space

In a groundbreaking test in 2022, NASA deliberately crashed its Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft into the tiny asteroid Dimorphos to assess our ability to divert dangerous space rocks. The collision successfully altered Dimorphos’s trajectory, scattering boulders and dust. While these debris won’t reach Earth, they will cross Mars’ orbit. This event not only showcased NASA’s asteroid diversion capabilities but also highlighted the natural meteor storm processes occurring in the solar system and beyond.

Using the Event Horizon Telescope, astronomers recently captured a remarkable image of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, revealing its magnetic fields in polarized light for the first time. This image, reminiscent of the black hole in the M87 galaxy, suggests commonalities in the magnetic field structure of supermassive black holes. The study of these magnetic fields provides insights into how black holes interact with surrounding matter, shedding light on their behavior over time.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s SLIM spacecraft successfully survived its second lunar night, defying the odds after a tumultuous landing and radio silence scare. Despite some minor malfunctions, SLIM continues to transmit data and operate on the Moon, outperforming its American counterpart, Odysseus, which met an untimely demise. JAXA remains cautiously optimistic as SLIM faces challenges with temperature sensors and battery cells, demonstrating resilience and determination in the face of adversity.

Whoopi Goldberg, a self-proclaimed alien believer, shared her belief in extraterrestrial beings during a recent episode of “The View,” stating, “They’re already here. They’ve been here for quite some time.” This revelation came after a discussion with Kumail Nanjiani about aliens and ghosts. Goldberg’s assertions about aliens monitoring us led to a humorous exchange on the talk show, highlighting her long-held belief in the existence of extraterrestrial life.

Spending time in space can be quite an adventure, with astronauts on the International Space Station facing not only the challenges of capturing specific targets but also unexpected moments of humor – like when Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furakawa accidentally photographed a tool bag instead of Mount Fuji. The incident, shared during a post-flight press conference, highlights the unique experiences and mishaps that come with living and working in space.

Both amateur and professional astronomers are eagerly anticipating the upcoming total solar eclipse on April 8 over North America, with the potential for a spectacular sight of a twisted, spiral-like structure high in the Sun’s atmosphere during totality, although the occurrence of a giant coronal mass ejection or flare remains uncertain. Experts caution against counterfeit eclipse glasses flooding the market, emphasizing the importance of protecting one’s vision during this celestial event.

New research reveals that approximately one in 12 stars have consumed a planet, indicating that stable planetary systems similar to ours may be rarer in the universe than previously thought. Published in Nature, the study examines the chemical makeup of nearby stars, focusing on binary systems. A surprising 8 percent of these pairs exhibit planet signatures, suggesting that our solar system’s stability might not be the norm. This insight stems from analyzing co-natal stars that display distinct chemical patterns, pointing towards planetary ingestion caused by gravitational wobbles.

Astronomers are fascinated by an egg-shaped exoplanet, WASP-12b, hurtling towards its parent star at an accelerated rate, potentially disintegrating upon impact. Recent findings from Italy’s University of Padova suggest the collision may happen much sooner than previously estimated, shortening the exoplanet’s lifespan from 10 million to 3 million years. Observations from the Asiago Observatory reveal WASP-12b’s unique characteristics, offering a glimpse into its intriguing but ultimately fleeting existence.

In a groundbreaking paper, Gupta challenges prevailing beliefs by proposing that the universe’s age is double what current models suggest and that dark matter may not even exist, going against the consensus of physicists. Through his research, Gupta argues that the universe does not rely on dark matter for its existence, citing the theory that the accelerated expansion is linked to a declining nature of forces over time rather than dark energy. Expect pushback from the scientific community as this bold theory contradicts widely accepted principles.

Keep an eye out from now until September for a rare celestial event: a nova explosion from 3,000 light years away, visible to the naked eye in the Northern Hemisphere. NASA anticipates the explosion, emanating from the T Coronae Borealis star system, to be as bright as the North Star for about a week. This event occurs when a binary star system explodes, such as the one formed by a red giant and white dwarf star in T Coronae Borealis, creating a spectacular and bright thermonuclear burst.

A team of NASA scientists at the Jet Propulsion Lab discovered that a single meteorite on Mars caused billions of secondary craters, triggered by a huge plume of rocks. The main 2.3 million-year-old crater named Corinto, spanning over 8.6 miles, led to the creation of 1.3-3 billion secondary craters. This research sheds light on Mars’ geological evolution and aids future missions. The vast area affected covers 540,000 square miles, including where the InSight Mars lander touched down.

For a while, scientists thought they had a handle on how quickly the universe was expanding. However, the more they delve into it, the more it seems their theories are growing as swiftly as the universe itself. The “Hubble constant” gauges the universe’s expansion rate, but conflicting values from various instruments have sparked the “Hubble tension.” This discrepancy challenges long-held beliefs about the cosmos, leading to a tantalizing prospect: that we may have fundamentally misconstrued the universe’s workings.