The interiors of Uranus and Neptune may be rockier than scientists previously thought, a new computational model suggests — challenging the idea that the planets should be called “ice giants.” The new study, published Dec. 10 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, may also help to explain the planets’ puzzling magnetic fields. Uranus and Neptune … Read more
Scientists have found that time moves slightly faster on the Red Planet than it does on Earth. Clocks on Mars tick, on average, 0.477 milliseconds (477 microseconds) faster over 24 hours when measured from Earth compared with time recorded on our planet, a new study finds. Knowing this difference may help in establishing an “internet” … Read more
The catastrophic collision that forged the moon, and marked one of the most consequential events in Earth’s early history, may have been triggered not by a distant interloper, but by a sibling world that grew up right next door, according to a new study. About 4.5 billion years ago, a Mars-size world slammed into the … Read more
A strange, lopsided dust cloud shrouds Earth’s moon, ever skewed toward whichever side is facing the sun. Now, a new study may finally explain how the asymmetrical cloud got its shape. Most of the moon’s surface is covered by a layer of gray dust and loose rocks. This layer, called regolith, arises because the lunar … Read more
California-based startup’s controversial plan to put 4,000 tennis-court-sized mirrors in orbit around Earth is “catastrophic” and “horrifying,” astronomers warn. Reflect Orbital, which was founded in 2021, has recently taken the first step in a scheme to sell sunlight at night by bouncing solar rays off giant “reflectors” that can redirect the vital resource almost anywhere … Read more
Worrying new simulations show that a solar storm on par with the infamous Carrington Event could potentially wipe out every single satellite orbiting our planet, leaving us in a precarious and expensive predicament. And experts say such a powerful solar storm is inevitable and will hit our planet sooner or later. On Sept. 1, 1859, … Read more
With help from citizen scientists, astronomers have spotted the most powerful “odd radio circle” (ORC) yet. The discovery could give astronomers a better understanding of how these unusual objects — and the galaxies they encircle — form. “ORCs are among the most bizarre and beautiful cosmic structures we’ve ever seen — and they may hold … Read more
A weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field over the South Atlantic Ocean has ballooned in size since 2014, satellite data reveals. The region, known as the South Atlantic Anomaly, has grown by an area nearly half the size of continental Europe, sprouting a lobe in the direction of Africa where the field is weakening the … Read more
Earth may respond to the huge quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) that humans are pumping into the atmosphere by “overcorrecting” the imbalance, which could result in the next ice age arriving on time instead of being delayed by tens of thousands of years, as had previously been predicted. This is due to a newfound “thermostat” … Read more
If you’ve ever wanted to get lost on Mars, now’s your chance: You can fly over a maze-like canyon on the Red Planet in a stunning new video from the European Space Agency (ESA). The animation, based on data from ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, brings viewers on a “mesmerising flight over curving channels carved by … Read more
