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Livescience
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Image Credit: Livescience
10 supercharged solar storms that blew us away in 2024
- The year 2024 has seen the sun in full force due to the explosive peak of the sun's roughly 11-year solar cycle officially arrived and as a result, powerful solar storms have been hitting Earth.
- The most powerful solar flare of the current solar cycle was unleashed on Oct. 3, making it the sun's strongest outburst in more than seven years.
- In early May, people across the globe were treated to the most widespread auroral display in living memory, which lasted between May 10 and May 12.
- On April 8, millions of people across North America witnessed a total solar eclipse as the moon passed directly between Earth and the sun.
- On Oct. 10-11, another wave of widespread auroras swept across large parts of the globe caused by a severe geomagnetic storm.
- On April 23, a rare phenomenon occurred across large parts of the sun: a quadruple solar flare.
- In late February, X-class triplets erupted from the sun in less than 24 hours, which had respective magnitudes of X1.8, X1.7, and X6.3, which was a record for the current solar cycle.
- On Aug. 5, a pair of X-class flares erupted from the sun in quick succession less than two hours apart.
- In early August, Earth was hit by an unusually large and complex CME that formed via an act of solar cannibalism.
- On Feb. 17, a solar flare exploded from a sunspot near the sun's south pole, releasing a gigantic column of plasma that towered around 124,000 miles (200,000 km) above the solar surface.
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Popsci
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Image Credit: Popsci
Swirling galaxy arms, a cosmic sombrero, and a dead supernova: Our favorite JWST images from 2024
- The James Webb Space Telescope has provided a steady stream of remarkable images throughout the year 2024.
- Some of the spectacular images include Spiral galaxy, A neutron star in the remnants of a supernova, Incredibly distant and ancient objects, The Horsehead Nebula in detail, Two images of galaxies colliding, A possibly unknown phase of galactic formation and many others.
- The images of Spiral galaxies combine data from the James Webb Space Telescope’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIR-Cam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) with visible-light images from the Hubble Space Telescope.
- The James Webb Space Telescope's infrared cameras discovered the theorized neutron star in a cloud of dust after the explosion of a star in the Large Magellanic Cloud around 168,000 years ago.
- GN-z11, the oldest and hence the most distant galaxy ever observed and JADES-GS-z14-10, the most distant galaxy ever observed by JWST including other celestial objects like supermassive black holes and black hole merger from the Big Bang era were discovered.
- The various events of galaxy collision and formation including the Penguin Galaxy has been captured by JWST.
- A rare gravitational effect and “hyperbolic umbilic gravitational lens[ing].” effect were seen using the telescope.
- JWST found the first evidence for brown dwarfs outside our galaxy, in a young star formation region called NGC 602, which is in the outer part of the Small Magellanic Cloud.
- The Sombrero Galaxy also known as Messier 104 was imaged by the Hubble telescope earlier.
- The JWST continues to reveal new insights in the field of astrophysics.
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Earthsky
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Image Credit: Earthsky
Wild weather: Best satellite imagery of 2024
- NOAA's GOES satellites captured some amazing images of the Earth in 2024.
- Hurricane Helene caused a catastrophic impact in the Atlantic region.
- The Park Fire in Northern California became fourth largest wildfire record holder, highlighted in GOES-18's timelapse satellite imagery.
- Atmospheric rivers unique phenomenon over the US West Coast were captured by GOES-18.
- GOES-16 satellite perfectly captured the North American total solar eclipse on April 8.
- GOES satellites can also view the star, capture significant events like the enormous X9 solar flare from our star.
- Hurricane Milton caused record destruction and tornado outbreaks in the Gulf of Mexico,
- Wildfires in Western Canada observed by GOES-16–with the smoke carried by jet stream into New England.
- South Florida summer floods showed a huge torrential precipitation pummeled Florida, seen in GOES-16's imagery.
- Nor'easter developed in the run-up to Valentine's day and caused a mess from mid-Atlantic to New England as viewed in the GOES-16 images.
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Earthsky
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Image Credit: Earthsky
Orphaned bonobos can develop social skills and empathy
- Orphaned bonobos in a sanctuary in Africa have overcome trauma to develop social skills and empathy, new research has shown.
- Bonobos have a matriarchal social structure, and maternal loss in primates can have both immediate as well as lasting detrimental effects.
- The researchers studied rescued bonobos living at the Lola ya Bonobo Sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Africa.
- Behavior such as social skills, aggression and empathy were observed among the orphaned bonobos who had not had a role model.
- The study showed that the orphaned bonobos did have reduced social skills, but they still demonstrated a degree of typical behaviors for their species, gender and age.
- Orphaned bonobos exhibited decreased affiliative tendencies yet showed social functioning ranging within patterns of their mother-reared peers.
- The researchers conclude that rehabilitation centers and sanctuaries are important to protect this endangered species, and to better understand the healthy social development of bonobos.
- Bonobos are closely related to chimpanzees and the closest surviving relatives to humans, and are capable of altruism, compassion, empathy, kindness, patience and sensitivity.
- Bonobos are listed as endangered due to habitat loss and poaching for meat and pets.
- The results of the study show that orphaned bonobos are able to overcome trauma and develop social skills and empathy typical of those who do have mothers.
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Livescience
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Image Credit: Livescience
'Mathematically perfect' star system discovered 105 light-years from Earth may still be in its infancy. Could that change its prospects for life?
- Star HD 110067, 105 light-years from Earth, has six exoplanets that orbit synchronously.
- A recent study suggests that the star's age is around 2.5 billion years - far younger than the initially estimated of 8 billion years
- Astronomer Klaus-Peter Schröder and his colleagues used HD 110067's spin rate and activity levels to estimate its age.
- The team analyzed wavelengths of ionized calcium to judge star activity levels which intrinsic of the star’s age.
- With the new age estimation, astronomers will better understand how the surrounding exoplanets have evolved.
- Current exoplanet detection methods favour planets with smaller orbits which revolve closer to HD 110067, close enough for conditions to be too hot for life to arise.
- However, while temperature is a factor, younger stars spew lethal doses of X-rays and gamma rays. As such, HD 110067's newly refined age may limit the possibility of life on its unseen alien worlds.
- HD 110067’s youthful age may also lead astronomers to search for exoplanets with increasing distances from the star within its habitable zone.
- It is suggested that it may have taken as little as 1 billion years for some of the inner planets to begin rehearsing their careful dance through a phenomenon called tidal locking.
- The research was published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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Medium
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Image Credit: Medium
Known as red Planet
- Venus is the second brightest object in the night sky after the Moon, with the nickname "Morning Star" or "Evening Star".
- Venus has an extreme and unwelcoming environment, with a surface temperature of 475°C (900°F) and a thick atmosphere consisting mainly of carbon dioxide.
- A day on Venus is longer than a year, with a rotation taking 243 Earth days and an orbit around the Sun taking 225 days.
- Future missions aim to explore Venus further to understand its climate history and the possibility of past conditions suitable for life.
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Guardian
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Image Credit: Guardian
Starwatch: Mercury reaches greatest western elongation
- Mercury reaches greatest western elongation, making it visible in the morning sky.
- Mercury is challenging to observe due to its proximity to the sun and never appearing in a fully dark sky.
- It will be visible in the morning sky close to the horizon during twilight.
- Clear horizon is necessary for skywatchers to spot Mercury, which will be 17 degrees above the horizon at sunrise.
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Medium
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Image Credit: Medium
The Advances of Artificial Intelligence for the Current Space Exploration
- Data Analysis: Artificial intelligence helps scientists process large amounts of data from space missions faster and identify abnormal values.
- Robotic Missions: AI is used in controlling robotic vehicles and rovers for space exploration, such as the NASA Mars missions.
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Digitaltrends
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Image Credit: Digitaltrends
SpaceX’s holiday greetings involve a quirky rocket-engine nozzle dance
- SpaceX has released a holiday greeting video featuring a synchronized rocket-engine nozzle dance.
- The video showcases the 33 Raptor engines of SpaceX's Super Heavy booster, highlighting the Thrust Vector Control (TVC) mechanism.
- TVC allows the engines to pivot and adjust the direction of thrust, enabling precise maneuvers during launch, flight, and landing.
- SpaceX plans to use the Super Heavy rocket for missions to the moon and potentially Mars in the future.
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Knowridge
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Image Credit: Knowridge
Dark energy might not exist—new study offers a different view of the universe’s expansion
- Researchers at the University of Canterbury suggest that dark energy, the force believed to be responsible for the universe's expansion, might not exist after all.
- Using improved data from supernovae, they found that the universe's expansion is not uniform and can be explained by the 'timescape model' which considers how gravity affects time.
- This new approach may help solve the 'Hubble tension' and explain the varying behavior of dark energy over time.
- Further data from advanced space telescopes will be crucial in confirming this alternative explanation of the universe's expansion.
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Universe Today
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Image Credit: Universe Today
Quantum Correlations Could Solve the Black Hole Information Paradox
- New research suggests that quantum connections in spacetime may resolve the black hole information paradox.
- The paradox arises from the question of where the information goes when a black hole evaporates.
- The hypothesis proposes that spacetime carries correlated variations related to the information inside the black hole.
- These variations may be detectable in gravitational waves, providing a way to test the hypothesis.
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Brighter Side of News
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Image Credit: Brighter Side of News
New study finds the Moon is much older than previously thought
- Recent research suggests that tidal forces reshaped the Moon’s surface, effectively masking its true age.
- Analyses of lunar samples collected during NASA’s Apollo missions indicate that the Moon’s crust solidified around 4.35 billion years ago.
- Rare lunar zircons—minerals that crystallized at extreme temperatures—suggest the Moon formed as early as 4.5 billion years ago.
- Several inconsistencies complicate the timeline of Moon's formation.
- A new study suggests that tidal forces caused widespread remelting of the lunar surface around 4.35 billion years ago.
- Tidal forces could also account for the scarcity of early impact basins on the Moon’s surface.
- The proposed timeline suggests the Moon formed around 4.51 billion years ago.
- Deep minerals from the lunar far side can be used to confirm this new theory.
- Nailing down the Moon’s precise timeline is crucial for understanding planetary evolution.
- With each discovery, our understanding of Earth’s closest neighbor grows deeper, bringing us closer to unraveling the mysteries of the early Solar System.
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Universe Today
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Image Credit: Universe Today
M87 Releases a Rare and Powerful Outburts of Gamma-ray Radiation
- The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has released the first high-energy gamma-ray outburst observed in over a decade from M87's powerful relativistic jet.
- This Gamma-ray flare reveals a tremendous amount of energy in multiple wavelengths and helps constrain the size of the region responsible for the observed emission,
- allowing researchers to study the physics surrounding M87's supermassive black hole.
- The multi-wavelength campaign leveraged data from more than two dozen high-profile observational facilities, including Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory.
- The flare lasted approximately three days and occupied a region roughly three light-days in size.
- The discovery could create opportunities for future research and lead to breakthroughs in our understanding of the Universe,
- The EHT collaboration comprises researchers from thirteen universities and institutes worldwide.
- The study presents data from the second EHT observational campaign conducted in April 2018, which obtained nearly simultaneous spectra of the M87 galaxy with the broadest wavelength coverage ever collected.
- The flare revealed that particles in supermassive black hole jets are accelerated in a unique way that cannot be explained by current theories.
- This marks another important step towards understanding the universe.
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Spaceflightnow
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Live Coverage: SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket to launch 21 Starlink satellites from Kennedy Space Center
- SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center to deploy 21 satellites for its Starlink fleet.
- The launch, known as Starlink 12-2, will take place at 12:35 a.m. EST from pad 39A, marking a record turnaround time of five days and seven hours for SpaceX.
- The mission will have live coverage and is SpaceX's 131st orbital launch of 2024.
- The Falcon 9 booster will attempt a landing on the SpaceX droneship 'Just Read the Instructions' after stage separation.
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Universe Today
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Image Credit: Universe Today
Astronomers Find a Black Hole Tipped Over on its Side
- Astronomers have discovered a galaxy, NGC 5084, with a black hole that appears to have been turned on its side, spinning out of alignment with its host galaxy.
- Using a new technique called SAUNAS (Selective Amplification of Ultra Noisy Astronomical Signal), researchers found four large X-ray plumes extending from the center of the galaxy, unusual in both number and alignment with the galactic plane.
- Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope, Atacama Large Millimeter Array, and NRAO's Expanded Very Large Array revealed a dusty inner disk spinning at a 90-degree angle to the rest of the galaxy.
- The disturbance in the galaxy's structure suggests a possible collision with another galaxy, causing the black hole to tip over.
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