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Posts by
Paul Scott Anderson
Nearby red dwarf star not so quiet and life-friendly after all
Astronomers say the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 887 appears to have more dangerous flare activity than first believed. This could make life tough - but maybe not impossible - on its family of super-Earth planets.
September 11, 2020
Cool! Here’s how Venus would look as a water world
A new map created by a Reddit user - based on what we know about the highs and lows on Venus' surface - shows what this neighboring, cloud-shrouded, blazing hot planet might look like with oceans. Wow!
September 6, 2020
The true polar wander of Jupiter’s moon Europa
Cracks in Europa's surface indicate the moon's outer ice shell has shifted by as much as 70 degrees over the past several million years. It's the kind of movement you'd expect from a planetary crust floating on a subsurface ocean.
September 4, 2020
Repeating fast radio burst woke up again on schedule. Now what?
FRB 121102 is one of the few known repeating fast radio bursts, and astronomers are trying to use this new period of activity to understand it better. Some predict the current active phase should end sometime between August 31 and September 9. Will it?
August 30, 2020
Are there more rogue planets than stars in our galaxy?
A new study suggests there are more rogue, free-floating planets - unconnected to any star - than stars in our Milky Way galaxy. NASA's upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is expected to begin finding hundreds of them.
August 26, 2020
95 new cool brown dwarfs in the sun’s neighborhood
A group of citizen scientists working with a NASA citizen science project called Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 has discovered 95 new brown dwarfs in the sun's nearby neighborhood.
August 23, 2020
Amazing photos in Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter celebration
NASA has posted a sampling of some of the most awe-inspiring photos of Mars, to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the launch of Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They are proof that Mars is a very photogenic world.
August 20, 2020
Exoplanet-hunter TESS completes its primary mission
NASA's 2nd planet-hunter, TESS, has spent 2 years surveying the sky for exoplanets orbiting distant stars. It has found over 2,000 exoplanets so far. TESS now moves into its extended mission phase.
August 16, 2020
A deep, giant cloud disruption found on Venus
Researchers have discovered a giant atmospheric wave-like phenomenon in Venus' lower atmosphere, unlike anything else seen in the solar system. Evidence shows it has existed since at least 1983, but went completely undetected until now.
August 10, 2020
A surprising spiral around a planet factory
A new image of the planet-forming disk around the young star RU Lup reveals a beautiful and unexpected massive spiral of gas, reminiscent of a spiral galaxy.
August 9, 2020
