Category Archives: Astronomy News

Astronomy News

Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet

Scientists find ‘strongest evidence yet’ of life on distant planet

Pallab Ghosh, Science Correspondent BBC

Cambridge University The bottom half of the frame shows a large blue planet with a shimmering atmosphere. Above it is space with a small red star above the planet
Cambridge University: Artwork of K2-18b, a faraway world that may be home to life

Scientists have found new but tentative evidence that a faraway world orbiting another star may be home to life.

A Cambridge team studying the atmosphere of a planet called K2-18b has detected signs of molecules which on Earth are only produced by simple organisms.

This is the second, and more promising, time chemicals associated with life have been detected in the planet’s atmosphere by Nasa’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

But the team and independent astronomers stress that more data is needed to confirm these results.

The lead researcher, Prof Nikku Madhusudhan, told me at his lab at Cambridge University’s Institute of Astronomy that he hopes to obtain the clinching evidence soon.

“This is the strongest evidence yet there is possibly life out there. I can realistically say that we can confirm this signal within one to two years.”

For more, click the link: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c39jj9vkr34o
Astronomy News

A STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM IS UNDERWAY

https://spaceweather.com/

A STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM IS UNDERWAY: A G3-class (Strong) geomagnetic storm is underway on April 16th, with a slight chance of intensifying to category G4 (Severe). This is happening because a CME hit Earth’s magnetic field on April 15th. It may have been a Cannibal CME–a pile-up of two closely-spaced CMEs, in which one overtook the other. Cannibal CMEs contain shock waves and enhanced magnetic fields that do a good job sparking auroras.

“The CME delivered!” reports Sebastian Sainio from Finland. “It sparked a great, although not so long-lasting show on the night between the 15th and 16th of April.”

“The scenic landscape on the island of Raippaluoto in western Finland gave extra vibe to the photos,” he says. “The water was also exceptionally calm that night.”

If today’s storm persists at current levels (a big IF), auroras would appear across Canada and some northern-tier US states during the night of April 16-17. Aurora alerts: SMS Text

more images: from Gregory Ash of Ely, Minnesota; from Kristian Eli Eli Zachariasen of the Faroe Islands; from Thierry Garcia of Fishburn, Durham, England; from Jeff Dykstra of Búðardalur, Iceland

Astronomy News

TWO CMEs ARE HEADING FOR EARTH

GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH (G2): Geomagnetic storms are likely on April 16th when a pair of closely-spaced CMEs is expected to hit Earth’s magnetic field. NOAA forecasters say storm levels could reach category G2 with auroras across Canada and northern-tier US States. The CMEs were hurled toward Earth by a double eruption on the sun; see below. 

A DOUBLE ERUPTION ON THE SUN: Explosions on the sun do *not* require sunspots. Spotless explosions occurred twice over the weekend when these two magnetic filaments lifted off the sun:

Magnetic filaments are tubes of dense plasma held above the sun’s surface by magnetic forces. The two pictured above are about 400,000 km long–longer than the distance between Earth and the Moon. These massive structures can erupt when their magnetic underpinnings become unstable. That happened twice in quick succession on April 12th and 13th–a rare double blast.

Fragments of the exploding filaments ripped through the sun’s atmosphere to produce a pair of closely-spaced CMEs, now heading for Earth. A one-two punch from these CMEs could spark a G2-class geomagnetic storm on April 16th. CME impact alerts: SMS Text.

Astronomy News

Are we on the verge of mining metals from the asteroids above Earth?

Are we on the verge of mining metals from the asteroids above Earth?

BBC, Josh Sims
 

Getty Images An asteroid rock on a starry background (Credit: Getty Images)
Asteroid mining firms say mining for minerals on asteroids is just around the corner now, but not everyone is convinced (Credit: Getty Images)

 

As an asteroid mining start-up’s latest mission goes awry, Josh Sims looks at how close we really are to extracting rare minerals from the many celestial bodies floating above us.

Thirty years ago the seminal BBC science programme Tomorrow’s World made a few predictions about how the world might be by 2025. It was a testament to how hard predicting the technological future is: we would, the programme suggested, have microchip implants to help us deal with ATMs, chat with holographic helpmates in our homes and there would be riots over internet access.

The episode also suggested we would be mining asteroids by now. And while we aren’t there yet, it’s something that some start-ups argue will happen sooner than many imagined.

The founder of the California-based company AstroForge believes it will be the first to get there, and the company has already taken the first tentative steps. On 27 February 2025 it launched its first $6.5m (£5.1m) unmanned spacecraft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Around nine days later, AstroForge believes the spacecraft – named Odin – likely passed beyond the Moon and into deep space as planned.

Unfortunately, however, AstroForge developed major communications problems with Odin, which it is still trying to rectify at the time of writing. The firm hopes Odin has now entered its nine-month long coast to its mission destination: a fly-by of the carefully pre-selected asteroid 2022 OB5, some eight million km (five million miles) from Earth, which Odin will assess the composition of using its sensors.

“Move fast and break rocks” might be the mantra of Matt Gialich, AstroForge’s ebullient founder with a penchant for swear words, who is not dissuaded by the perhaps unresolvable technical trouble. AstroForge expected nothing less than many hurdles and has, he says, learned much even if contact isn’t made with this spacecraft again. “Yes, there are a lot more baby steps to take,” he concedes. “But we’re going to start to actually do it. You have to try.”

READ MORE

Astronomy News

STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH

STRONG GEOMAGNETIC STORM WATCH
Space Weather News for March 22, 2025

NOAA forecasters have issued a watch for strong G3-class geomagnetic storms on March 23rd when a CME is expected to hit Earth. The Russell-McPherron effect could amplify the effectiveness of the impact, producing widespread equinox auroras. Full story @ Spaceweather.com.

CME impact alerts: Sign up for Space Weather Alerts to receive instant text messages when CMEs strike Earth.

Above: Equinox auroras over Luosto, Finland, on March 20th. “Thanks to the Russell-McPherron effect, the aurora showed up nicely,” reports photographer Zoltán Kolláth.

Astronomy News

COSMIC RAY SHOWERS CAUSE LIGHTNING

Space Weather News for March 20, 2025
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

COSMIC RAY SHOWERS CAUSE LIGHTNING:  A new study by researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory links lightning to antimatter in cosmic ray showers. This could solve a centuries-old mystery of what causes electrical outbursts in thunderstorms. Full story @ Spaceweather.com

Above: 3D images of lightning over New Mexico. Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory used these data to link lightning to cosmic rays.

Astronomy News

LUNAR ECLIPSE OBSERVED FROM THE MOON

LUNAR ECLIPSE OBSERVED FROM THE MOON:  For the first time in almost 60 years, a lunar lander has photographed an eclipse from the surface of the Moon. During last night’s lunar eclipse, Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost recorded the sky show from Mare Crisium. Full story with photos @ Spaceweather.com.

Above: A two-planet view of last night’s lunar eclipse. Credit: Eric Allen and Firefly Aerospace.

Astronomy News, Science and technology

Space Snapshot

Good morning, Moon! This image captured by Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost lander on March 3 shows sunrise on the lunar surface. This marked the beginning of the lunar day and the start of Blue Ghost’s surface operations, which will last throughout one lunar day (about 14 Earth days). Image credit: Firefly Aerospace.

PlanetVac is sampling the Moon! Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, carrying with it 10 NASA science and technology instruments, including Lunar PlanetVac. This sample collection technology was developed and tested by Honeybee Robotics, with key tests funded by Planetary Society members and donors. Firefly Aerospace confirmed this week that Lunar PlanetVac has been deployed to begin collecting samples of lunar regolith.

Moon illustrationWithout an atmosphere, the temperature on the surface of the Moon depends almost entirely on direct sunlight. Near the Moon’s equator, temperatures can reach around 120 degrees Celsius (250 degrees Fahrenheit) in the daytime and ten drop to -130 degrees Celsius (-208 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.

Lunar planetvac
The Lunar PlanetVac instrument on the end of Blue Ghost’s Surface Access Arm. Image credit: Firefly Aerospace.

PlanetVac is sampling the Moon! Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost successfully landed on the Moon on March 2, carrying with it 10 NASA science and technology instruments, including Lunar PlanetVac. This sample collection technology was developed and tested by Honeybee Robotics, with key tests funded by Planetary Society members and donors. Firefly Aerospace confirmed this week that Lunar PlanetVac has been deployed to begin collecting samples of lunar regolith.

Astronomy News

ASTEROID 2024 YR4 UPDATE

Space Weather News for Feb. 18, 2025
https://spaceweather.com
https://www.spaceweatheralerts.com

 ASTEROID 2024 YR4 UPDATE: The odds just increased again. Asteroid 2024 YR4 now has a 2.6% chance of hitting Earth on Dec. 22, 2032, up from 2.2% a week ago, and 1.3% in January. Current probabilities are based on 368 observations spanning 54 days. This growing arc of data is improving our knowledge of the asteroid’s orbit and, so far, steadily increasing the odds of a strike.


Click to view and play with an interactive orbit of asteroid 2024 YR4

That was the bad news. The good news is, even if it hits, 2024 YR4 will not wipe us out. With an estimated diameter of 40 to 70 meters, it is only a few times larger than the Chelyabinsk meteor that hit Russia in 2013. That space rock exploded in the atmosphere, creating shock waves that shattered glass windows and injured hundreds of people (mainly from broken glass). The estimated size of 2024 YR4 reminds researchers even more of the Tunguska impactor, which leveled a forest in Russia in 1908. You wouldn’t want to be at ground zero, but Earth would survive.

The risk profile of 2024 YR4 is unusual. Often we see sensational headlines predicting some newly-discovered asteroid might hit Earth. These are space rocks with huge error bars on their orbits because they haven’t been tracked for very long. As soon as more data are collected, the odds of impact go down. For 2024 YR4, however, the odds are still going up, which makes it interesting.

Reminder: There’s still a 97.4% chance of a miss. Stay tuned for updates.

 

Astronomy News

Hearts on Mars

https://www.planetary.org/

Hearts on mars

Mars may be named after the god of war, but it seems more like a sappy romantic. NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft spotted these hearts on the Martian surface throughout its time in orbit. All of them are natural formations, but let’s just go ahead and interpret them as love notes from the red planet. Image credit. NASA/JPL/Malin Space Science Systems.