Being a Star: Nature vs Nurture

Being a Star: Nature vs Nurture

Asteroseismologists are combining data from TESS, Kepler, and eventually, JWST to study stellar oscillations in ‘infant’ stars, with the goal of creating new models for how such young stars form and evolve over time. Plus, JWST images Mars, Hubble images stars, and SpaceX manages to launch another Starlink mission in spite of weather delays.

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Early Bacterial Life May Have Formed Far Earlier Than Thought

Early Bacterial Life May Have Formed Far Earlier Than Thought

An analysis of microscopic features in rocks from the Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt in Quebec, Canada, which date back between 3.75 and 4.28 billion years, finds evidence of possible microbial life. Plus, a supermassive black hole precursor, temperatures on Neptune, check-ins with various spacecraft, and our weekly What’s Up segment.

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Rubble Pile Asteroids May Be Extinct Comets

Rubble Pile Asteroids May Be Extinct Comets

After detecting high levels of organic matter using remote sensors at the asteroid Ryugu, numerical models show that it’s possible that rubble pile asteroids are actually extinct comets. Plus, the Cosmic Optical Background, Enceladus’s tiger stripes, and this week in rocket history, we look back at STS-45.

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Mars Could Have Supported Life Longer Than Thought

Mars Could Have Supported Life Longer Than Thought

A NASA-funded simulation of early Mars revealed that the climate three billion years ago on the red planet was very similar to Earth now, with a stable ocean in the northern hemisphere. This new timeline would have given life another 500 million years to develop. Plus, a dwarf galaxy, Saturn’s aurorae, a Soyuz launch, and an interview with Dr. Adam Szabo, mission scientist for the Parker Solar Probe.

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