Simulating stars’ sounds to reveal their secrets

"A cello sounds like a cello because of its size and shape,” said astronomer Jacqueline Goldstein. “The vibrations of stars also depend on their size and structure."

Asteroid strike simulation blasts New York City

It seems like play, but they're serious. Every year, at the Planetary Defense Conference, asteroid experts from around the globe run days-long simulations of asteroids headed for major cities. In 2019, it was New York City's turn.

What Mars’ giant dust storm taught us

Before we send people to Mars, we need to understand more about how Martian dust could affect astronauts and their equipment. Here are 3 things we’ve learned from the planet’s 2018 global dust storm.

Star formation burst created 50% of Milky Way disk stars

Analysis of data from the Gaia satellite shows a powerful burst of star formation - a stellar baby boom - in our Milky Way galaxy 2 to 3 billion years ago. This single burst might have created half the stars in the galaxy's flat disk.

India aims for 1st landing near moon’s south pole

The moon's south pole has never been explored from the ground, but India's new Chandrayaan-2 mission will attempt a 1st-ever landing there, with a rover, this September.

Unfathomably deep oceans on alien water worlds?

Distant water exoplanets might have oceans thousands of miles deep. That's in contrast to Earth's ocean, which is about 6.8 miles (about 11 km) deep at its deepest point.

Was moon created from proto-Earth magma?

A new study suggests that our moon formed from a splash of magma when a large object crashed into a proto-Earth covered in a fiery ocean.

Why Pluto is losing atmosphere: Winter is coming

Pluto's orbit is very elongated. Right now, it's in a part of its orbit where its distance from the sun is steadily increasing. That fact is devastating its atmosphere.

Researchers find water in samples from asteroid

Researchers have discovered water in tiny dust particles from asteroid Itokawa. Japan's Hayabusa spacecraft brought the asteroid dust to Earth in 2010.

Beetles steer by the Milky Way

When dung beetles grab a prized bit of food, they hurry off in a straight line. To be able to do this, they have to be able to see the stars.

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