A recent study accepted to The Astrophysical Journal uses computer models to investigate why the exoplanet, TRAPPIST-1c, could not possess a thick carbon dioxide (CO2) atmosphere despite it receiving the same amount of solar radiation from its parent star as the planet Venus receives from our Sun, with the latter having a very thick carbon dioxide atmosphere. This study comes after a June 2023 study published in Nature used data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to ascertain that TRAPPIST-1c does not possess a carbon dioxide atmosphere. Both studies come as the TRAPPIST-1 system, which is located approximately 41 light-years from Earth and orbits its star in just 2.4 days, has received a lot of attention from the scientific community in the last few years due to the number of confirmed exoplanets within the system and their potential for astrobiology purposes.
Space News & Blog Articles
End of year, end of exhibit: Space shuttle Endeavour goes off view for a few years
With the end of 2023 comes the end of an endeavor — or rather Endeavour — as the retired NASA space shuttle goes off public view at the California Science Center for the next few years.
Sea of methane sealed beneath Arctic permafrost could trigger climate feedback loop if it escapes
A sea of migrating methane discovered below the permafrost in Svalbard may eventually escape its icy prison if the permafrost continues to thaw due to climate change.
These eclipse-themed places will experience totality on April 8, 2024
Here we've rounded up some of the best eclipse-themed places that lie on the path of totality for the upcoming solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.
SpaceX test fires giant Starship booster — and spaceship — for 3rd test flight (video)
SpaceX closed out 2023 with a fiery double test of its next Starship megarocket booster and spacecraft on Friday (Sept. 29).
'For All Mankind' season 4 episode 8 review: Mars prepares for the heist of the millennium
Dev gets "Oceans Eleven"-shaped delusions of grandeur, while an old friend of Margo returns to deliver an ominous message.
NASA's Curiosity rover films from dawn to dusk on Mars during downtime (video)
NASA 'sCuriosity Rover filmed footage from dawn to dusk, capturing half a day on Mars as it sat waiting for contact with ground control Nov. 8.
Japan's ispace shows off a tiny moon lander for its 2nd moon mission in 2024
The Resilience lander for ispace's 2nd moon mission is under construction, as it aims to send a mini-rover to the lunar surface after a winter 2024 launch.
Zoom through a 'spectacular' chain of ancient underwater volcanoes on Antarctic ocean floor
A research expedition in the Southern Ocean has mapped a string of seamounts that help to shape an ocean current that flows clockwise around Antarctica.
Organic Molecules Come from the Universe’s Cold Places
Life, as we all know, is based on chemistry. Prebiotic chemical building blocks existed on our planet for a long time before life arose. Astrobiology and cosmochemistry focus on the formation of those building blocks. They also look at the role each played in creating all the life forms we know today.
NASA Tests Out 3D-printed Rotating Detonation Rocket Engine!
Looking to the future, NASA is investigating several technologies that will allow it to accomplish some bold objectives. This includes returning to the Moon, creating the infrastructure that will let us stay there, sending the first crewed mission to Mars, exploring the outer Solar System, and more. This is particularly true of propulsion technologies beyond conventional chemical rockets and engines. One promising technology is the Rotating Detonation Engine (RDE), which relies on one or more detonations that continuously travel around an annular channel.
NASA can't wait for its OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft to meet 'God of Chaos' asteroid Apophis in 2029
'God of Chaos' asteroid Apophis will make a flyby like no other in recorded history in 2029 as it becomes visible with the naked eye, and NASA's OSIRIS-APEX spacecraft will be on hand to supervise.
NASA's Juno spacecraft will get its closest look yet at Jupiter's moon Io on Dec. 30
NASA's Juno spacecraft will come closer to Jupiter's moon Io on Dec. 30 than any spacecraft has in 20 years, getting a good look at the solar system's most volcanic body.
Chinese rocket booster falls from space, crashes near house, after satellite launch: report
Rocket debris from a recent China satellite launch fell to ground near inhabited areas, where bystanders apparently caught the fiery touchdown on video.
SpaceX wows with a double header of final 2023 rocket launches (photos, video)
SpaceX ended 2023 with not 1 but 2 rocket launches. Within hours on Dec. 28, it sent a Falcon Heavy rocket loaded with the X-37B space plane, and a Falcon 9 carrying Starlink satellites.
The Early Universe Was Surprisingly Filled With Spiral Galaxies
If we could travel far beyond our galaxy, and look back upon the Milky Way, it would be a glorious sight. Luminous spirals stretching from a central core, with dust and nebulae scattered along the spiral edges. When you think about a galaxy, you probably imagine a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way, but spirals make up only about 60% of the galaxies we see. That’s because spiral galaxies only form when smaller galaxies collide and merge over time. Or so we thought, as a new study suggests that isn’t the case.
Quantum batteries could charge faster by scrambling the rules of cause and effect
Batteries could charge up by relying on a quantum effect known as indefinite causal order, whereby the laws of cause and effect are scrambled and power can move through the system quicker.
Tonga volcano eruption was fueled by 2 merging chambers that are still brimming with magma
Researchers have mapped the magma plumbing system beneath Tonga's underwater volcano and discovered three magma chambers, two of which fed the record-shattering 2022 eruption.
It’s all relative
Image: It’s all relative
12 times scientists penetrated the secrets of asteroids in 2023
The OSIRIS-REx sampling mission, a planetary defense prototype named DART and a spacecraft's ambitious journey to a metal world are just some of the highlights
A guide to the solar system's planets in 2024
This guide to the planets in our solar system will show you what to look out for in the sky in 2024.
