https://phys.org/space-news/planetary-sciences en-us Planetary science and exoplanets exploration news stories and features from Phys.org A ring of icy rocks orbiting our sun just beyond Neptune may give us a glimpse of how Neptune—and other objects in the outskirts of our solar system—were formed. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-scientists-james-webb-space-telescope.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Mar 2024 16:57:04 EST news628966621 Using some of the largest telescopes in the world, including the Subaru Telescope, a team of astronomers discovered three new natural satellites orbiting the outermost planets in our solar system—one around Uranus and two around Neptune. One of the new moons, initially detected by the Subaru Telescope, is the faintest moon ever discovered by ground-based telescopes. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-subaru-telescope-faintest-moon-icy.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Wed, 06 Mar 2024 14:52:58 EST news628959176 An international team of astronomers reports the discovery of a new exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star. The newfound alien world, designated TOI-1135 b is young, hot and comparable in size to Saturn. The discovery was detailed in a paper published February 27 on the pre-print server arXiv. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-astronomers-saturn-sized-exoplanet.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 05 Mar 2024 08:59:10 EST news628851548 In a series of studies, a team of astronomers has shed new light on the fascinating and complex process of planet formation. The stunning images, captured using the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) in Chile, represent one of the largest ever surveys of planet-forming disks. The research brings together observations of more than 80 young stars that might have planets forming around them, providing astronomers with a wealth of data and unique insights into how planets arise in different regions of our galaxy. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-groundbreaking-survey-reveals-secrets-planet.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Tue, 05 Mar 2024 08:00:01 EST news628834856 April 17, 2021, was a day like any other day on the sun, until a brilliant flash erupted and an enormous cloud of solar material billowed away from our star. Such outbursts from the sun are not unusual, but this one was unusually widespread, hurling high-speed protons and electrons at velocities nearing the speed of light and striking several spacecraft across the inner solar system. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-multiple-spacecraft-story-giant-solar.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 16:47:03 EST news628793221 The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is helping scientists uncover how planets form by advancing understanding of their birthplaces and the circumstellar disks surrounding young stars. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-james-webb-space-telescope-captures.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:57:04 EST news628790221 Correcting 50-year-old errors in the math used to understand how electromagnetic waves scatter electrons trapped in Earth's magnetic fields will lead to better protection for technology in space. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-space-physics-satellite-safety.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 13:36:01 EST news628781759 When it was first discovered in 2004, Apophis was identified as one of the most dangerous asteroids in that there was a risk that it could impact Earth. But that impact assessment changed over the years after astronomers tracked Apophis, also known as asteroid 99942, and its orbit became better determined, and it became clear that it was on course to miss our planet. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-chance-infamous-apophis-collides-asteroid.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 13:27:57 EST news628781274 An astronomy lesson on binary stars could begin with a series of complex diagrams and data or with a clip from the movie Star Wars where Luke Skywalker looks up at the sky of his home planet, Tatooine, and sees two suns shining. Which will more easily awaken the interest of a sleepy high school class? https://phys.org/news/2024-03-tatooine-reality-exoplanet-science-fiction.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 13:09:31 EST news628780169 As it trundles around an ancient lakebed on Mars, NASA's Perseverance rover is assembling a one-of-a-kind rock collection. The car-sized explorer is methodically drilling into the Red Planet's surface and pulling out cores of bedrock that it's storing in sturdy titanium tubes. Scientists hope to one day return the tubes to Earth and analyze their contents for traces of embedded microbial life. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-drilled-mars.html Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 12:02:04 EST news628776122 New research suggests there's less oxygen on the icy surface of Jupiter's moon Europa than thought—and that could affect what if any life might be lurking in the moon's underground ocean. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-jupiter-moon-europa-oxygen-damper.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 11:06:22 EST news628772767 Astronomers have performed multi-wavelength photometric observations of a nearby planetary-mass object known as SIMP J013656.5+093347. Results of the observational campaign, presented February 22 on the pre-print server arXiv, suggest that the object hosts patchy cloud layers in its atmosphere. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-evidence-patchy-cloud-layers-atmosphere.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Mon, 04 Mar 2024 09:00:01 EST news628764905 Three physicists have taken a new look at the circumstances surrounding the mysterious Chinguetti meteorite and developed a means for confirming whether it exists or not. In their paper posted to the arXiv preprint server, Robert Warren, Stephen Warren and Ekaterini Protopapa suggest that there are only a few possible places the meteorite could be and thus a magnetometer-based survey over the region could solve the mystery. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-physicists-deny-chinguetti-meteorite.html Planetary Sciences Fri, 01 Mar 2024 11:30:01 EST news628512729 Decades before any probe dips a toe—and thermometer—into the waters of distant ocean worlds, Cornell astrobiologists have devised a novel way to determine ocean temperatures based on the thickness of their ice shells, effectively conducting oceanography from space. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-ice-shell-thickness-reveals-temperature.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 29 Feb 2024 15:09:26 EST news628441762 How do planetary systems such as the solar system form? To find out, CNRS scientists taking part in an international research team studied a stellar nursery, the Orion Nebula, using the James Webb Space Telescope. By observing a protoplanetary disk named d203-506, they have discovered the key role played by massive stars in the formation of such nascent planetary systems. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-scientists-massive-stars-planetary.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 29 Feb 2024 14:00:01 EST news628421237 An increasing number of seismologists are using fiber optic cables to detect seismic waves on Earth—but how would this technology fare on the moon, and what would it tell us about the deep layers of our nearest neighbor in space? https://phys.org/news/2024-02-fiber-optic-cable-scientists-probe.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:03:27 EST news628423405 Researchers have found water vapor in the disk around a young star exactly where planets may be forming. Water is a key ingredient for life on Earth and is also thought to play a significant role in planet formation, yet until now, astronomers have never been able to map how water is distributed in a stable, cool disk—the type of disk that offers the most favorable conditions for planets to form around stars. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-astronomers-reveal-link-planet-formation.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 29 Feb 2024 05:00:01 EST news628356444 Organic materials discovered on Mars may have originated from atmospheric formaldehyde, according to new research, marking a step forward in our understanding of the possibility of past life on the red planet. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-possibility-life-mars-biomolecules-atmospheric.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Wed, 28 Feb 2024 08:40:40 EST news628332037 There are three levels of severity for space storms: geomagnetic storms, solar radiation storms and radio blackouts. These storms produce different effects on Earth, including satellite, GPS, communications and electrical grid issues, as well as health dangers for astronauts and people on high-altitude flights. Geomagnetic storms also produce the beautiful auroras that are commonly observed in polar regions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-leverage-machine-space-weather.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 27 Feb 2024 14:21:31 EST news628266089 A frequent idea in sci-fi and apocalyptic films is that of an asteroid striking Earth and causing global devastation. While the probabilities of this kind of mass extinction occurring on our planet are incredibly small, they are not zero. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-mission-collided-asteroid-didnt.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 27 Feb 2024 12:08:06 EST news628258083 Continuous research is being conducted globally on using the moon as an advanced base for deep space exploration, and Korea is no exception in these efforts. The Korea Institute of Civil Engineering and Building Technology (KICT) successfully implemented an electrostatic environment that simulates the moon's surface conditions, not in space but on Earth. The researchers also assessed its performance and effectiveness. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-korean-electrostatic-environment-simulates-moon.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Tue, 27 Feb 2024 10:50:03 EST news628253401 The building blocks of new planets could form more easily than previously thought, according to calculations by a team led by a RIKEN astrophysicist. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-growth-planets-easily-previously-thought.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Tue, 27 Feb 2024 10:11:03 EST news628251061 New measuring techniques will enable improved measurements of the Earth's ionosphere, a key to studying and reducing the impact of space weather. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-earth-ionosphere.html Planetary Sciences Tue, 27 Feb 2024 09:45:40 EST news628249537 Physicists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich wanted to know whether the planned LIFE space mission could really detect traces of life on other planets. Yes, it can, say the researchers, with the help of observations of our own planet. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-earth-life-space-mission.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Mon, 26 Feb 2024 10:42:09 EST news628166525 In the three years since NASA's Perseverance rover touched down on Mars, the NASA science team has made the daily task of investigating the red planet seem almost mundane. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-years-life-mars.html Astrobiology Planetary Sciences Thu, 22 Feb 2024 15:55:03 EST news627839701 Star Wars protagonist Luke Skywalker's childhood might have been slightly less harsh if he'd grown up on a more temperate Tatooine—like the ones identified in a new study. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-astronomers-temperate-tatooines.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Thu, 22 Feb 2024 12:20:03 EST news627826801 Mars was once a wet world. The geological record of the Red Planet shows evidence for water flowing on the surface—from river deltas to valleys carved by massive flash floods. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-groundwater-recharge-ancient-mars-aquifer.html Planetary Sciences Thu, 22 Feb 2024 10:27:26 EST news627820043 A new computer model mimics moon dust so well that it could lead to smoother and safer lunar robot teleoperations. The tool, developed by researchers at the University of Bristol and based at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, could be used to train astronauts ahead of lunar missions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-realistic-robots-moon.html Space Exploration Planetary Sciences Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:02 EST news627751754 Astrophysicists studying a popular exoplanet in its star's habitable zone have found that electric currents in the planet's upper atmosphere could create sufficient heating to expand the atmosphere enough that it leaves the planet, likely leaving the planet uninhabitable. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-atmospheric-destruction-potentially-habitable-exoplanet.html Planetary Sciences Wed, 21 Feb 2024 11:00:01 EST news627733788 New observations from NASA's New Horizons spacecraft hint that the Kuiper Belt—the vast, distant outer zone of our solar system populated by hundreds of thousands of icy, rocky planetary building blocks—might stretch much farther out than we thought. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-nasa-horizons-dusty-hints-kuiper.html Astronomy Planetary Sciences Tue, 20 Feb 2024 12:10:05 EST news627653401