Topic: Solar Systems
Welcome, Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS!

Welcome, Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS!

Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS I want to call your attention to an assuming moving dot. Catalogued as 3I/ATLAS, this high speed dot is moving at more than the escape velocity of our Solar System as it comes crashing through on its journey through the Milky Way. This dot is moving at a whopping 68 km/sec! Folks, this is an interstellar object that originated from some other star system. The ATLAS telescope in Chile discovered it on July 1. Amateur astronomer Sam Deen and others were able to find pre-discovery images take by the ATLAS and the Zwicky Transient Facility. The pre-discovery images...

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Aurora Alert: Neptune & Jupiter

Aurora Alert: Neptune & Jupiter

Aurora on Neptune shine along the right side of the planet in Webb's IR images (right). Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Heidi Hammel (AURA), Henrik Melin (Northumbria University), Leigh Fletcher (University of Leicester), Stefanie Milam (NASA-GSFC) Earth isn’t the only...

It’s a Star-Eat-Planet Universe

It’s a Star-Eat-Planet Universe

One of the most mystifying planets to many of us are the hot Jupiters. These massive worlds have orbits smaller than Mercury’s and in some cases are so close to their stars that starlight is pushing mass off the planet or the planet is raising tides on the star....

New Weird Star-Star-Planet Combination

New Weird Star-Star-Planet Combination

The Universe sometimes likes to mock us. Such is the case with exoplanets. Once upon a time, researchers would sagely say, “Solar Systems like Tatooine, with twin stars, likely don’t exist.” The thing is, this was based on models that relied on limits created with...

Venus Volcanism is Erupting in the Literature

Venus Volcanism is Erupting in the Literature

Another big topic of discussion at LPSC seemed to be Venus. I say "seemed" because I’m sure the actual big topic of discussion was proposed budget cuts, which could be as much as 50%, but there was no definitive information on budget cuts, so that is more a big topic...