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New research reveals the grim odds for planets hoping to survive the Red Giant phase
When a sun dies, it swells into a monster that devours its children. New research reveals the grim odds for planets hoping to survive the Red Giant phase.Billions of years from now, our sun will run out of hydrogen. It will not fade quietly. It will swell into a Red Giant, expanding its radius hundreds of times, engulfing Mercury, Venus, and likely Earth.
Feb 51 min read


Is Dark Matter real, or is our understanding of gravity wrong?
Is Dark Matter real, or is our understanding of gravity wrong? A new study suggests gravity itself might change shape at cosmic distances.
For decades, astronomers have observed that galaxies spin too fast. According to Newton's laws, stars on the edges should fly off into space, yet they hold together. To explain this, physics postulated Dark Matter—invisible mass holding galaxies together.
For decades, astronomers have observed that galaxies spin too fast. According to Ne
Feb 31 min read


New radio data from the Juno spacecraft has just rewritten the textbooks.
For 50 years, we thought we knew Jupiter's size. New radio data from the Juno spacecraft has just rewritten the textbooks.
Since the Voyager missions of the 1970s, our understanding of Jupiter's shape has been based on just six measurements. Now, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science have used 26 new measurements from NASA's Juno spacecraft to create the most precise model of the gas giant ever made.
Feb 31 min read


Toxic soil on Mars was supposed to kill our building bacteria
Toxic soil on Mars was supposed to kill our building bacteria. Instead, it made them build stronger.
Mars is covered in Perchlorate, a toxic salt that poses a major challenge for future colonizers. Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) feared this chemical would kill the bacteria needed to manufacture "biocement" bricks from Martian soil.
Jan 311 min read


A new survey has produced the clearest map yet of the Milky Way's magnetic field
A new survey has produced the clearest map yet of the Milky Way's magnetic field, revealing a structure far more complex than we ever imagined.
Working at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) in Penticton, BC, a team led by UBC Okanagan researchers has completed the DRAGONS survey.
Jan 311 min read


Physicists have designed a new trap for "ultralight" dark matter using lasers and mirrors.
Physicists have designed a new trap for "ultralight" dark matter using lasers and mirrors. The trick? Catching the universe breathing.
Dark matter accounts for most of the universe's mass, yet we can't see it. One hypothesis suggests it isn't made of heavy particles, but ultralight waves that flow through the galaxy.
Jan 311 min read


Ancient solar storms left radioactive fingerprints in trees around the world.
Ancient solar storms left radioactive fingerprints in trees around the world. But new research shows that trees are imperfect narrators of history.
When massive solar storms—known as Miyake events—hit Earth, they bombard the atmosphere with high-energy particles, creating radioactive carbon-14. Trees absorb this carbon and lock it into their annual growth rings, preserving a record of the event.
Jan 311 min read


For 30 years, a complex mathematical problem hid the true nature of exoplanet atmospheres.
For 30 years, a complex mathematical problem hid the true nature of exoplanet atmospheres. Now, a physicist at LMU Munich has solved it.
When astronomers look at exoplanets, they don't see surfaces; they see "spectra"—fingerprints of light filtered through the planet's atmosphere. But for decades, the math used to interpret these signals was too simple.
Jan 311 min read


Why are planets with two suns so rare?
Why are planets with two suns so rare? Physicists have found the culprit: Einstein's theory of General Relativity.
Of the more than 6,000 confirmed exoplanets, only 14 have been found orbiting tight binary stars (stars that orbit each other in less than a week). Statistically, there should be hundreds.
Jan 311 min read


Mysterious radio pulses repeating every 21 minutes have puzzled astronomers.
Mysterious radio pulses repeating every 21 minutes have puzzled astronomers. A new study reveals the source: a white dwarf spinning in a cosmic dance.
Neutron stars are usually the speed demons of the universe, spinning vertically fast to create "pulsars." But recently, astronomers found something impossible: slow pulses, repeating every 18 minutes to 6 hours. Physics says neutron stars shouldn't pulse that slowly.
Jan 311 min read


BepiColombo has detected a magnetic "chorus" around the first planet
BepiColombo has detected a magnetic "chorus" around the first planet. It's a form of magnetic birdsong that drives a rain of electrons onto the surface.
Magnetic fields are strange creatures. They vibrate, creating "whistler-mode" waves that, when translated to audio, sound like a dawn chorus of chirping birds.
Jan 291 min read


Alfvén waves: The invisible power source that accelerates particles to create the stunning Northern Lights
Scientists have finally identified the invisible power source that accelerates particles to create the stunning Northern Lights: Alfvén waves. We've known for a long time that auroras are caused by high-energy particles from space smashing into Earth's atmosphere. But one mystery remained: What accelerates them?
Jan 291 min read
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