Phys.org Astronomy and Space

• NASA telescopes tune into a black hole prelude and fugue

  NASA has released three new pieces of cosmic sound that are associated with the densest and darkest members of our universe: black holes. These scientific productions are sonifications—or translations into sound—of data collected by NASA telescopes in space, including the Chandra X-ray Observatory, James Webb Space Telescope, and Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE).

• Hubble pinpoints roaming massive black hole

  Like a scene out of a sci-fi movie, astronomers using NASA telescopes have found "Space Jaws." Lurking 600 million light-years away, within the inky black depths between stars, there is an invisible monster gulping down any wayward star that plummets toward it. The sneaky black hole betrayed its presence in a newly identified tidal disruption event (TDE) where a hapless star was ripped apart and swallowed in a spectacular burst of radiation.

• Webb visualization reveals 3D structure of Cosmic Cliffs

  In July 2022, NASA's James Webb Space Telescope made its public debut with a series of breathtaking images. Among them was an ethereal landscape nicknamed the Cosmic Cliffs. This glittering realm of star birth is the subject of a new 3D visualization derived from the Webb data. The visualization, created by NASA's Universe of Learning and titled "Exploring the Cosmic Cliffs in 3D," breathes new life into an iconic Webb image.

• Proba-3 achieves precise formation flying

  For the first time, two spacecraft in orbit were aligned in formation with millimeter precision and maintained their relative position for several hours without any control from the ground.

• DNA-like molecule may survive Venus-like cloud conditions

  Punishing conditions in the clouds of Venus could be home to a DNA-like molecule capable of forming genes in life very different to that on Earth, according to a new study.

• There's a chorus of gravitational waves coming from the core of the Milky Way. Will we hear them?

  There is a supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, and it's not alone. There is also likely a forest of binary black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs. All of these emit gravitational waves as they gradually spiral ever closer together. These gravitational waves are too faint for us to detect at the moment, but future observatories will be able to observe them. This poses an interesting astronomical challenge.

• A single impact could leave a giant planet ringing for millions of years

  To understand how chaotic the early solar system was, we need only gaze at the moon. Its cratered surface bears the scars of multitudes of collisions. The early solar system was like a debris field where objects smashed into each other in cascades of collisions. The same must be true in all young solar systems, and in a new paper, researchers describe how they simulated a collision between two massive planets to see what would happen.

• X-ray source AX J145732−5901 is a cluster of galaxies, observations suggest

  Japanese astronomers have presented new results of observations that suggest an unidentified X-ray source designated AX J145732−5901 is a cluster of galaxies behind the galactic plane. The findings are detailed in a research paper published April 30 on the arXiv preprint server.

• Key portion of Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope clears thermal vacuum test

  A major part of NASA's nearly complete Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope just passed a lengthy thermal test to ensure it will function properly in the space environment.

• Spacecraft can 'brake' in space using drag − advancing craft agility, space safety and planetary missions

  When you put your hand out the window of a moving car, you feel a force pushing against you called drag. This force opposes a moving vehicle, and it's part of the reason why your car naturally slows to a stop if you take your foot off the gas pedal. But drag doesn't just slow down cars.

• Shortwave radiation sheds light on how Earth works

  When our planet and the incoming sunlight align just right, stunning phenomena such as rainbows and halos can occur. More often, sunlight—or shortwave radiation—interacts with the Earth in subtle but curious ways.

• Free floating binary planets may not survive for long

  The JWST continues to live up to its promise by revealing things hidden from other telescopes. One of its lesser-known observations concerns free-floating planets (FFP). FFPs have no gravitational tether to any star and are difficult to detect because they emit so little light. When the JWST detected 42 of them in the Orion Nebula Cluster, it gave astronomers an opportunity to study them more closely.

• New project investigates mysteries of Sun's atmosphere

  The sun's activity has a profound impact on satellites, humans in space and technology on Earth.

• 100 years of planetariums: A brief history of how humans brought the stars indoors

  Picture this: a small audience is quietly ushered into a darkened room. They gasp in awe, as a brilliant night sky shines above. They wonder—as many after them will do—what trickery has made the roof above their heads disappear?

• Improving in-situ analysis of planetary regolith with OptiDrill

  What new technologies or methods can be developed for more efficient in-situ planetary subsurface analyses? This is what a recent study presented at the 56th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how a novel instrument called OptiDrill could fill existing technological voids regarding the sampling and collection of regolith (top dust layer) and subsurface samples on a myriad of planetary bodies throughout the solar system.

• Observations shed more light on properties of X-ray pulsar RX J0032.9-7348

  Astronomers have employed the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) and the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) to observe the X-ray pulsar RX J0032.9-7348 in a broadband X-ray energy range. Results of the observational campaign, published April 30 on the arXiv preprint server, yield important insights into the properties of this pulsar.

• SpaceX sends up latest Starlink launch from Cape Canaveral

  A Falcon 9 carrying 28 Starlink satellites lifted off at 9:17 p.m. from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station's Space Launch Complex 40.

• Private Japanese lunar lander enters orbit around moon ahead of a June touchdown

  A private lunar lander from Japan is now circling the moon, with just another month to go before it attempts a touchdown.

• NASA's IXPE reveals X-ray-generating particles in black hole jets

  The blazar BL Lacertae, a supermassive black hole surrounded by a bright disk and jets oriented toward Earth, provided scientists with a unique opportunity to answer a longstanding question: How are X-rays generated in extreme environments like this?

• NASA progresses toward crewed moon mission with spacecraft and rocket milestones

  Engineers, technicians, mission planners, and the four astronauts set to fly around the moon next year on Artemis II, NASA's first crewed Artemis mission, are rapidly progressing toward launch.

• SpaceX gets US approval to launch more Starship flights from Texas

  Elon Musk's SpaceX on Tuesday received approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase the number of annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25 at its Texas base, marking a major boost for the company's ambitions.

• SpaceX aims for launch after sunset tonight from Cape Canaveral

  SpaceX has lined up another launch soon after sunset Tuesday night from Cape Canaveal.

• NICER maps debris from Ansky's quasi-periodic eruptions

  For the first time, astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA's NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions.

• India plans manned space flight by 2027

  India's space agency said Tuesday it planned to launch an uncrewed orbital mission later this year before its first human spaceflight in early 2027.

• Astronomers tune into the music of a nearby star to unlock a surprising discovery

  Astronomers using W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaiʻi Island have listened to the music of a nearby star, uncovering surprises that shake our understanding of how stars work.

• Ancient Mars may have had a carbon cycle. Study suggests the red planet may have once been warmer, wetter

  Mars, one of our closest planetary neighbors, has fascinated people for hundreds of years, partly because it is so similar to Earth. It is about the same size, contains similar rocks and minerals, and is not too much farther out from the sun.

• Is exoplanet imaging with the solar gravitational lens feasible?

  The solar gravitation lens (SGL) has much potential as a telescope. This point in space, located about 650 AU away from the sun, uses fundamental properties of physics to amplify the light from extremely far-away objects, allowing us to see them at a level of detail unachievable anywhere else. However, any SGL mission would face plenty of technical and physical challenges.

• Astronomers solve long-standing mystery of massive star formation using interstellar ammonia

  Using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Very Large Array, astronomers have revealed for the first time the huge flow of gas near a massive star in the making that allows its rapid growth.

• Astronomers observe the cooling process of a young stellar object following an accretion burst

  Using the NOrthern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), Chinese astronomers have observed a young stellar object known as G24.33+0.14 in the process of cooling after an accretion burst. Results of the observations are published on the arXiv preprint server.

• Green fireball spotted over western skies. 'Never seen anything quite like this'

  Hundreds of people reported seeing a fireball over several western U.S. states, especially over Utah, where it was exceptionally large, bright and green.