Space

Scientists have been working on models of planet formation since before we knew exoplanets existed. Originally guided by the properties of the planets in our Solar System, these models turned out to be remarkably good at also accounting for exoplanets without an equivalent in our Solar System, like super Earths and hot Neptunes. Add in the ability of planets to move around thanks to gravitational interactions, and the properties of exoplanets could usually be accounted for.

Today, a large international team of researchers is announcing the discovery of something our models can't explain. It's roughly Neptune's size but four times more massive. Its density—well above that of iron—is compatible with either the entire planet being almost entirely solid or it having an ocean deep enough to drown entire planets. While the people who discovered it offer a couple of theories for its formation, neither is especially likely.

DSN needs more bandwidth to handle everything they want to throw at it, but isn't getting the budget

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/4059211

James Webb Space Telescope reveals the colorful Ring Nebula in exquisite detail::The James Webb Space Telescope has imaged the Ring Nebula in vibrant green and purple, presenting one of the most well-known objects in astronomy like never before.

The second-largest planet in our solar system will glow extra-bright with a golden light in the coming days.

One of the year’s must-see stargazing events is underway, giving us an incredible look at one of our solar system’s outer planets.

Once a year, Earth passes in between the sun and Saturn, which brings the famously ringed planet opposite the sun in our sky — an alignment astronomers call “opposition,” which in 2023 will occur overnight on August 26-27, according to the astronomy site EarthSky.

Opposition is the time during the year when Saturn is at its closest to Earth and shines its brightest, making this weekend, and the days following, an exceptional time to view this impressive planet. You don’t need special equipment to see Saturn’s glow in the night sky, but a telescope of any size can dramatically change the experience by revealing its spectacular rings.

To the unaided eye, Saturn will be visible in the night sky as a bright, faintly golden point of light. Its shine will be steady, not twinkling.

A telescope, however, will show Saturn’s rings — an awe-inspiring sight. A small backyard telescope is enough to see Saturn’s distinct ringed shape, though larger telescopes can provide even more gasp-inducing views, so check with local astronomy groups and planetariums for public stargazing events.

Look for Saturn to rise in the east around sunset; it will be visible all night. It will reach exact opposition at 4 a.m. ET on August 27, when it will be in the constellation of Aquarius, the water bearer. If the weather doesn’t cooperate for viewing this weekend, don’t worry; while it will diminish in brightness, Saturn will be visible in the evening sky for the remainder of the year.

archive link: https://archive.is/wip/k9wOa

The SpaceX Crew-7 mission launched from Florida on Saturday morning, hosting one of the most internationally diverse astronaut crews to date, with members from the US, Japan, Russia and Denmark.

CNN
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Four astronauts — representing four nations and space agencies across the globe — launched aboard a SpaceX rocket toward the International Space Station, kicking off a mission expected to last more than six months.

The crew is riding aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance capsule on the mission, dubbed Crew-7. The spacecraft launched atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 3:27 a.m. ET Saturday.

The four astronauts on the mission include NASA’s Jasmin Moghbeli, who is serving as mission commander; Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen representing the European Space Agency; Satoshi Furukawa of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA; and Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov of Roscosmos.
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archive link: https://archive.ph/iam7z

Nicole McGaa combined Indigenous knowledge with engineering to build a rocket for the First Nations Launch competition.

Moon landing.

In their jiggles and shakes, red giant stars encode a record of the magnetic fields near their cores.

Russia's Luna-25 spacecraft has crashed into the Moon after spinning into an uncontrolled orbit, officials say.

The unmanned craft was due to make a soft landing on the Moon's south pole, but failed after encountering issues as it moved into its pre-landing orbit.

It was Russia's first Moon mission in almost 50 years.

The spacecraft was scheduled to land on Monday to explore a part of the Moon which scientists think could hold frozen water and precious elements.

Roskosmos, Russia's state space corporation, said it lost contact with the Luna-25 shortly after running into difficulties.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/3451334

The Luna 25 spacecraft reported an “emergency situation on board,” Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, said on Saturday.

An incident occurred as the spacecraft was trying to enter a pre-landing orbit, according to Roscosmos.

“During the operation, an emergency situation occurred on board the automatic station, which did not allow the maneuver to be performed with the specified parameters,” Roscosmos said in a Telegram post.

Watch the launch of a Saturn rocket from the inside of an Apollo Capsule. Footage has been painstakingly restored, upscaled, stabilized, synchronized with 3D rendering and exterior views, sound recreated from actual launch measurements, and detailed explanations about what each switch, instrument, and gauge does. Truly a work of love.

A new NASA study offers an explanation of how quakes could be the source of the mysteriously smooth terrain on moons circling Jupiter and Saturn.

Astronomers have uncovered a link between Neptune's shifting cloud abundance and the 11-year solar cycle, in which the waxing and waning of the Sun's entangled magnetic fields drives solar activity.