With the successful launch of the JWST, the focus turns to the complicated process of unfurling the sunshield and unfolding the mirror. We’ll look at just where NASA is in the process and how much farther we have to go before first light.
New models of sublimating nitrogen show that the process creates enough heat to drive the formation and texture of the polygons in Sputnik Planitia.
Using the ESO’s VLTI, scientists have obtained the deepest and sharpest images of Sagittarius A*. They tracked the orbits of stars and were able to more precisely measure the mass of the black hole.
Analysis of coccoliths An analysis of over 9 million samples of coccoliths whose ages span several million years has led scientists to conclude that changes in Earth’s orbit may have influenced changes in the size and shape of the microscopic algae.
Scientists have measured the composition of the hot Jupiter exoplanet WASP-77Ab as the first step in creating a catalog of exoplanetary atmospheres.
A proposed mission called CLEoPATRA will look for rogue planets not orbiting any star. Meanwhile, a possible planet has been discovered in the Whirlpool Galaxy and could be the first planet found outside the Milky Way.
Scientists analyzed the results of a stellar occultation when Pluto passed in front of a distant star and found that Pluto’s atmosphere is freezing. More about it at #365DaysOfAstro
From the Great Oxidation Event to how Earth is dimming, we look at a selection of stories about how climate changes have affected the Earth in the distant past, the recent past, and the current time.
Using data from the Hubble Telescope and the ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile, a team of scientists have successfully detected clouds on an exoplanet and even measured their altitude.
The discovery of multicellular algae specimens in an early Cambrian formation in China provides evidence of the change from cyanobacteria to more complex organisms with external membranes and cell walls.