Searching for Planets: New Mission Goes Rogue; Possible Extragalactic Planet Found

Searching for Planets: New Mission Goes Rogue; Possible Extragalactic Planet Found

A proposed mission called the Contemporaneous LEnsing Parallax and Autonomous TRansient Assay, or CLEoPATRA, seeks to work with the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope to find 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. Plus, an interview with Dr. Margaret Meixner, Director of Science Mission Operations for the SOFIA telescope.

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Black Holes Can Clear Way For Star Formation

Black Holes Can Clear Way For Star Formation

Contrary to the destructive role supermassive black holes are thought to play in the lives of stars, it turns out that certain types of galaxies benefit from black holes clearing the way and keeping star formation going. Plus, lightning at the edge of space, a landslide in the Himalayas, and an interview with Dr. Darby Dyar and Dr. David Grinspoon about the recent selection of three different Venus missions.

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Solar Systems Vary From Star Type to Star Type

Solar Systems Vary From Star Type to Star Type

In new research, scientists examined the populations of stars observed by the Kepler and K2 missions and found that the solar systems were different depending on the type of star involved. Plus, CHIME results, a brown dwarf’s atmosphere, a stream of stars in the Milky Way, and an interview with PSI’s Dr. Candice Hansen about the recent Ganymede flyby of NASA’s Juno spacecraft.

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Supernovae and Galaxies Being Used to Solve Astrophysics’ Biggest Questions

Supernovae and Galaxies Being Used to Solve Astrophysics’ Biggest Questions

Two new studies are attempting to solve a couple of big puzzles in astrophysics: Is the Hubble constant actually constant? And why do galaxies have flat rotation curves? Plus, a young star’s circumstellar disk, the search for stellar-mass black holes, magnesium in the deep waters of Neptune and Uranus, and an interview with PSI scientist David Horvath regarding possibly active volcanism on Mars.

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