Space News & Blog Articles

What can an ancient supernova teach scientists about Earth and celestial objects? This is what a recently submitted study to *Astronomy & Astrophysics* hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the interaction of the remnants of supernova that occurred 10-million years ago with Earth. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand how Earth is influenced by celestial objects and what this could mean for the future of life on Earth, along with potentially habitable worlds beyond Earth.

What can equatorial jet streams on gas giant planets teach scientists about gas giant planetary formation and evolution? This is what a recent study published in *Science Advances* hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the mechanisms of jet streams on gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) and ice giants (Uranus and Neptune). This study has the potential to help scientists better understand not only the formation and evolution of giant planets in our solar system, but exoplanets, too.

There is a growing movement worldwide to establish a human presence in orbit, on the Moon, and beyond. This presents many challenges, ranging from the technological and logistical to the biological and medical. After all, if people are going to be living and working in space for extended periods, we need to know what the effects will be on the human mind and body. While considerable research has been conducted aboard the International Space Station (ISS), most notably NASA's Twins Study, much more remains to be done before outposts in space can be realized.

How can star populations help astronomers re-evaluate the search for intelligent extraterrestrial life, also called technosignatures? This is what a recently submitted study hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the parameters of identifying locations of technosignatures, also called extraterrestrial transmitters. This study has the potential to help astronomers constrain the criteria for finding intelligent life in both our galaxy and throughout the universe.

What can star variability—changes in a star’s brightness over time—teach astronomers about exoplanet habitability? This is what a recent study accepted to *The Astronomical Journal* hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the interaction between a star’s activity and exoplanetary atmospheres. This study has the potential to help astronomers better understand how star variability plays a role in finding habitable exoplanets, specifically around stars that are different from our Sun.

Star formation should be a relatively straightforward process. Dense clouds of molecular hydrogen collapse under gravity, fragmenting into cores that grow into protostars. These infant stars are cold, deeply embedded in their parent clouds, and shouldn't produce ultraviolet radiation. They're not hot enough. Yet when astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope's MIRI instrument to observe five young stars in the Ophiuchus molecular cloud, 450 light years away, they found clear evidence of UV radiation affecting molecular hydrogen in outflows around these protostars.

What is the importance of studying explosive volcanism on Venus? This is what a recent study published in the *Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets* hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the potential altitudes of explosive volcanism on Venus. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand the present volcanic activity on Venus, along with gaining insight about its formation and evolution and other planetary bodies throughout the solar system and beyond.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope continues its inexorable march toward launch. It recently completed another series of tests that brings it a few steps closer to a launch pad in Florida. This time, the telescope was split into two separate parts - an inner portion and an outer portion, each of which went through separate tests throughout the fall.