Category Astronomy/Space

Mysterious ‘red dots’ in early universe may be ‘black hole star’ atmospheres

Mysterious 'red dots' in early universe may be 'black hole star' atmospheres
Artist’s impression of a black hole star (not to scale). Mysterious tiny pinpoints of light discovered at the dawn of the universe may be giant spheres of hot gas that are so dense they look like the atmospheres of typical nuclear fusion-powered stars; however, instead of fusion, they are powered by supermassive black holes in their center that rapidly pull in matter, converting it into energy and giving off light. Credit: T. Müller/A. de Graaff/Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

Tiny red objects spotted by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) are offering scientists new insights into the origins of galaxies in the universe—and may represent an entirely new class of celestial object: a black hole swallowing massive amounts of matter and spitting out light.

Using the first dat...

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Life on Mars? NASA discovers potential biosignatures in Martian mudstones

An image of the rock named “Cheyava Falls” in the “Bright Angel formation” in Jezero crater, Mars collected by the WATSON camera onboard the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover.  The image shows a rust-colored, organic matter bearing sedimentary mudstone sandwiched between bright white layers of another composition.  The small dark blue/green to black colored nodules and ring-shaped reaction fronts that have dark rims, and bleached interiors are proposed to be potential biosignatures.  Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

Data and images from NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover reveals that recently discovered rocks in Jezero crater are organic carbon bearing mudstones...

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Hit the wrong spot and an asteroid returns on a collision course

Asteroid deflection could save Earth, or accidentally doom it, depending on where we aim the impact.

Scientists caution that asteroid deflection must be precise, as striking the wrong spot risks sending it through a gravitational keyhole that sets up a future collision with Earth. Using lessons from NASA’s DART mission, researchers are developing probability maps to guide safer impact strategies.

Selecting the right spot to smash a spacecraft into the surface of a hazardous asteroid to deflect it must be done with great care, according to new research presented at the EPSC-DPS2025 Joint Meeting this week in Helsinki...

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TRAPPIST-1e observations narrow down possibilities for atmosphere and surface water on elusive exoplanet

Transmission spectroscopy of the habitable zone planet TRAPPIST-1 e
Scientists call this event a transit, when valuable data can be gathered as the exoplanet passes between the star and the telescope and starlight illuminates the atmosphere, if one is present. NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has made initial observations of planets b, c, d, and e during their transits, with additional observations of planet e underway. While the star’s frequent flares make it difficult to detect an atmosphere, each transit builds up more and more information for scientists to get a more complete picture of these distant worlds. Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, J. Olmsted (STScI)

University of Bristol astrophysicists are helping shed new light on an Earth-sized exoplanet 40 light years away where liquid water in the form of a global ocean or icy expanse might exist on its surf...

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