Space Scientists

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  Earth's Hidden 'Ignorosphere' Could Provide Insights into Auroras

  A new dataset developed by Japanese researchers from the University of Tokyo provides valuable insights into Earth's upper atmosphere, specifically the mesosphere. Spanning 19 years, the data sheds light on phenomena like auroras, gravity waves, and their connection to space weather. The study, published in Progress in Earth and Planetary Science, ...

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  Hubble Telescope Observes Young Stars HOPS 150 and HOPS 153 in Orion Nebula

  The Hubble Space Telescope has captured images of two young stars, HOPS 150 and HOPS 153, in the Orion Nebula, which is located about 1,300 light-years from Earth. The binary system HOPS 150 glows in bright golden red, while HOPS 153 emits a colorful jet. These stars are still in their early stages of development, feeding from their surrounding dus...

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  NASA's TESS Discovers Fastest Disintegrating Planet Ever Seen: What You Need to Know

  NASA’s TESS has observed the closest and fastest disintegrating planet, BD+05 4868 Ab, located 141 light-years away. The planet loses a moon’s mass every million years as it is bombarded by its host star. Scientists are examining its massive dust trails, offering rare insights into the composition of terrestrial exoplanets. Researchers from MIT...

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  Study Finds Coronal Loop Flickers Could Predict Solar Flares Hours in Advance

  NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory has revealed a potential breakthrough in predicting solar flares. Scientists observed brightness fluctuations in coronal loops—plasma structures in the Sun's atmosphere—that intensify hours before solar flares occur. This discovery, with a prediction accuracy of 60–80%, may provide 2–6 hours of advance warn...

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  ESA Uses Solar Orbiter to Turn Solar Flares into Sound, Offering New Insights

  The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with NASA, has used data from the Solar Orbiter mission to convert solar flares into audible sound. By mapping solar flare data into blue circles and pairing them with tones, a new way to experience solar activity has been created. This process is linked to the sun’s 11-year solar cycle, with curr...

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  Supermassive Black Hole Flashed Twice in a Rare Event, Scientists Explain the Reason

  In a galaxy 408 million light-years away, the black hole ASASSN-22ci consumed a star from a binary system, producing a rare double-flash tidal disruption event (TDE). First observed in February 2022, a second flare occurred 720 days later, possibly caused by Hills capture. Researchers anticipate a third flare in early 2026, offering unprecedented i...

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  White Dwarf’s Unexplainable Rapid Spin Finally Decoded by Scientists

  The white dwarf star RX J0648.0–4418, 1,700 light-years away, spins at a rapid pace of 13 seconds per rotation. Part of a binary system with a helium-burning hot subdwarf star, it continues to shrink while accreting material. This rare and short-lived system provides a unique view into stellar evolution. Approaching the Chandrasekhar limit, RX J0...

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  AI Enhances Northern Lights Classification and Geomagnetic Storm Forecasting

  A breakthrough in auroral research, powered by artificial intelligence, has allowed scientists to classify over 700 million auroral images. This effort, using NASA's THEMIS dataset, will significantly enhance the prediction of geomagnetic storms, which can disrupt Earth's communication and security systems. Led by the University of New Hampshire, t...

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  NASA's LEXI Mission Will Explore Earth’s Magnetic Shield from the Moon

  NASA is preparing for the launch of the Lunar Environment Heliospheric X-ray Imager (LEXI) aboard Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost lander, scheduled for January 15. The mission will observe Earth’s magnetosphere, capturing X-ray images that reveal how the planet's magnetic shield reacts to solar wind. This project could improve predictions of geoma...

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  'Earth's Imagery Down To The Centimetre': Why NISAR Is Like No Mission Before

  The US-India NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar or NISAR mission will observe the Earth down to the centimetre, monitoring its land and ice surfaces, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory Scientist Paul Rosen said.

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  ISRO Cowpea Seeds Successfully Germinate in Space: Everything You Need to Know

  ISRO marked a significant achievement with the successful germination of cowpea seeds in space, conducted as part of the CROPS experiment by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC). Launched aboard the PSLV-C60 POEM-4 platform, the experiment aimed to study plant growth in microgravity, a key factor for future space missions. The seeds sprouted wit...

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  Solar Missions in 2025: Heliophysics Projects and Spacecrafts That Will Study the Sun

  The study of the sun, its activity, and effects across the solar system will advance in 2025. With Solar Cycle 25 peaking, six NASA missions planned, and new research priorities outlined, scientists are poised to address long-standing questions about solar dynamics and their impacts. Missions such as IMAP, ESCAPADE, and PUNCH will investigate solar...

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  Newly Discovered Oxygen Reaction Existed in Primitive Atmosphere, Sheds Light on Origin of Life

  Scientists have uncovered a new way oxygen could form in carbon dioxide-rich atmospheres without the involvement of life. The discovery, led by researchers from the University of Science and Technology of China, shows that a reaction between helium ions and CO2 can produce molecular oxygen. This process challenges traditional methods of life detect...

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  Scientists Find the Origin of a Mysterious Fast Radio Burst With a Unique Technique

  Researchers have pinpointed the origin of fast radio burst FRB 20221022A to within 10,000 kilometres of a neutron star. Using scintillation analysis, a team from MIT determined that the burst emerged from the magnetosphere, a highly magnetic and chaotic environment surrounding the star. This discovery marks the first conclusive evidence of FRBs ori...

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  Shenzhou-15 Spacecraft Debris Burns Over Los Angeles During Uncontrolled Reentry

  On April 2, 2024, debris from China's Shenzhou-15 spacecraft lit up the Los Angeles sky during an uncontrolled reentry. Scientists employed seismic data to track the sonic booms generated by the debris, analysing its path, speed, and fragmentation. This novel use of seismic tools highlights the risks of increasing space debris and the potential to ...