New research reveals how melting ice shells could boil subsurface oceans—and sculpt alien landscapes
Sandeep K S
Nov 24
1 min read
This infographic illustrates how tidal forces cause cyclical melting and freezing of subsurface oceans, reshaping the surfaces of small icy moons like Uranus’s Miranda and Saturn’s Enceladus. The process involves boiling oceans and immense pressure, leading to unique landscapes and surface cracks known as “tiger stripes.”
In visible light, it looks like a normal galaxy. In infrared, it reveals a monster. Meet Virgil, the galaxy that is rewriting black hole history.
Before JWST, astronomers believed galaxies grew first, nurturing small black holes that grew slowly over time.
Virgil breaks this rule. Its black hole is "Overmassive"—far larger than its host galaxy should be able to support. It's like finding a skyscraper engine inside a compact car.
JWST has found evidence of a thick atmosphere on the ultra-hot Super-Earth TOI-561 b, challenging the idea that such close-in worlds are barren rocks.
TOI-561 b is an "Ultra-Short Period" planet, orbiting its star in less than 11 hours. It is tidally locked, meaning one side faces the star forever.
Westerlund 1 is the biggest star cluster in our galaxy. New data reveals it acts as a colossal particle accelerator, blasting a hole through the Milky Way's disk.
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