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For the first time, astronomers may have seen direct evidence of a planet forming around a young star. A spiral disk of gas and dust surrounding the star AB Aurigae contains a small S-shaped twist near the spiral’s center, infrared telescope images show. That twist “is the precise spot where a new planet must be […] More
The oldest disk-shaped galaxy ever spotted formed just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, a new study finds. That’s much earlier than astronomers thought that this type of galaxy could form. Previous observations show that disk-shaped galaxies — including sprawling, spiral systems like the Milky Way — didn’t show up in large numbers until […] More
Future astronauts could make lunar buildings out of moon dust and pee. That’s the suggestion of chemist Anna-Lena Kjøniksen and her colleagues, who made a cement from urea — a major component of urine — and faux lunar soil. When humans take up long-term residence on other planets or the moon, they will need to […] More
A truly all-terrain rover on the moon or Mars may need to put a little wiggle in its walk. Wheeled rovers have trouble crossing the soft soil that covers large swaths of lunar and Martian terrain. NASA’s Spirit rover, for example, met its end after getting stuck in a sand trap on Mars in 2009 […] More
Liquid brine can hang around on Mars’ surface, a new study suggests, but conditions may not be great for life as we know it. That’s bad news for any Earth-based microorganisms determined to colonize the Red Planet, but good news for humans who don’t want to contaminate Mars with microbes hitching a ride on robot […] More
Talk about sibling rivalry. Most of the smallest galaxies are “dead,” making no new stars. Now, computer simulations reveal why it is so hard for a tiny galaxy to rejuvenate itself: The galaxy’s existing stars fight the birth of any new ones, even after fresh fuel for star formation falls into the galaxy. These simulations […] More
The closest black hole to the solar system ever spotted may be just 1,000 light-years away. This newfound dark neighbor is at least 4.2 times as massive as the sun, and lives with two ordinary stars whose funny orbits gave the black hole’s presence away, astronomers report May 6 in Astronomy & Astrophysics. Astronomers expect […] More
Microbes can live and grow in an atmosphere of pure hydrogen, lab experiments show. The finding could widen the range of environments where astronomers seek signs of alien life. “We’re trying to expand people’s view of what should be considered a habitable planet,” says exoplanet astronomer Sara Seager of MIT (SN: 10/4/19). “It seems to […] More
