Scientists have discovered a new planet that defies all expectations. It’s a world of lava, but it’s also cold. In fact, it’s the coldest lava world we’ve ever seen with an atmosphere. Researchers detected HD 3167 b, a rocky, lava-covered super-Earth, orbiting a star 154 light-years away. This planet orbits so close to its star … Read more
After months of missed deadlines, NASA shared the most concrete timeline yet for Boeing’s beleaguered spacecraft. And it looks like Starliner may finally have a chance to redeem itself as a viable option for transporting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) as SpaceX’s Dragon nears retirement. During a press conference on Monday, NASA Administrator … Read more
In 1991, an oil company discovered a giant crater buried beneath Ames, Oklahoma. Further investigation led researchers to propose that the meteor responsible for the structure belonged to the many meteors that struck North America about 470 million years ago. However, a new dating challenges this version, while proposing a completely different context for this … Read more
An unusual rock buried on the far side of the Moon is providing new clues to an ancient scientific enigma: the ancient lunar magnetic field. Analyzing data from lunar probes, a team of researchers found a rock formation that was much denser and more strongly magnetized compared to the surrounding material. The underground feature could … Read more
Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus has long stood out as one of the most intriguing places in the solar system in the search for life beyond Earth. Beneath its icy crust lies a global ocean of salty liquid water, and geyser-like plumes spew material from that hidden sea into space, offering scientists an unusually accessible glimpse … Read more
A new species of deltatheroid mammal from China may be the oldest confirmed ancestor of marsupials yet found, offering new evidence that Asia played a central role in the deep evolutionary split between marsupials and placental mammals. The holotype of Archetheridium sinense in dorsal view. Image credit: Hai-Bing Wang and Yuan-Qing Wang, doi: 10.11646/mesozoic.3.3.3. Archetheridium … Read more
When you swim through the blue waters of the Great Barrier Reef, there is one entity on the seafloor that is almost impossible to miss: the giant clam. Its enormous ribbed shell frames a soft mantle that shines in electric blue, green and gold. As the largest living bivalve in the world, Tridacna gigas can … Read more
For the first time, astronomers have directly detected radio emissions from a planet beyond our Solar System. This artist’s impression shows what the gas giant exoplanet might look like inside the disk of Beta Pictoris. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO. First discovered in 2008 by astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope, Beta Pictoris b … Read more
Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft will carry astronauts again, but not until 2028. If all goes as planned, Starliner will make an uncrewed test flight to the International Space Station (ISS) in December or January of next December or January, and then carry astronauts sometime in 2028, NASA announced in an update today (Sept. 28). It’s a … Read more
SpaceX’s Starship performed a landing before touching down in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii after completing its mission to enter Earth’s orbit for the first time. (SpaceX) SpaceX’s massive Starship rocket lifted off from Texas on Monday morning on its most ambitious test flight yet, aiming for a roughly 10-hour mission that would have sent … Read more