Form

Not One, Not Two, But Three Planetary Systems Are Forming Around This Binary Star

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Astronomers have spied three whole systems of exoplanets being born around one binary star. SVS 13 is a binary star system 980 light-years away, and the complex structures of dust around it are shedding light on how planetary systems are born in these fascinating environments. Since a large proportion of stars is bound up in … Read more

How did the moon form? Simulation may solve riddle about its chemistry

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The moon is thought to have been created in a violent collision, and a new simulation of the event could answer questions that have puzzled astrophysicists Space 11 March 2022 By Alex Wilkins Artwork of the collision that gave rise to the moon MARK GARLICK/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY A computer simulation that traces the moon’s formation … Read more

Astronomers Identify The Largest Molecule Ever Found in a Planet-Forming Disk

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The largest molecule yet found in a roiling disk of dust and gas around a baby star has been identified, scientists report. In this swirling cloud, astronomers detected the signature of dimethyl ether, a molecule that contains nine atoms. This oxygen-bearing molecule can act as a building block for sugars and other biomolecules, which means … Read more

This Weirdly Tilted Black Hole Could Upend Our Understanding of How They Form

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Black holes could make a strong case for being the most fascinating phenomena in the whole Universe, and scientists are constantly discovering more about the way that they work and behave – including how they’re created in the first place.   Now, a new study of an unusually misaligned one some 10,000 light-years away from … Read more

This Extremely Extreme Exoplanet Has Metal Vapor Clouds And Rains Liquid Jewels

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A giant exoplanet 855 light-years away is so extreme, it has clouds of vaporized metals and rains liquid rubies and sapphires. That’s the conclusion astronomers have reached after probing its atmosphere – the most detailed such analysis to date, revealing for the first time the conditions and dynamics of the exoplanet’s permanent night side.   … Read more

Fusion Power Experiment in The UK Smashes Its Old Record in Major Step Forward

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Late last century, the Joint European Torus (JET) near Oxford, UK, churned out 22 megajoules of energy in what was, at the time, a record in fusion power. Now, experimental upgrades have brought the facility into line with the technology anticipated for a major international project, resulting in the production of nearly three times that … Read more

Even Dying Stars Could Give Birth to Brand New Planets, Says Study

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When young stars coalesce out of a cloud of molecular hydrogen, a disk of leftover material called a protoplanetary disk surrounds them. This disk is where planets form, and astronomers are getting better at peering into those veiled environments and watching embryonic worlds take shape. But young stars aren’t the only stars with disks of … Read more

Life-enabling moons can probably only form around small planets, study finds

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Earth’s moon is large for the planet’s size, and many astronomers have long believed that this fact has helped make Earth a habitable world. And a new study has now found that our planet was just the right size to form such a large, life-enabling moon.  The study, by researchers from the University of Rochester … Read more

Sudden rise of more transmissible form of Omicron catches scientists by surprise | Science

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On 7 December 2021, as the Omicron variant of the pandemic coronavirus began to pummel the world, scientists officially identified a related strain. BA.2 differed by about 40 mutations from the original Omicron lineage, BA.1, but it was causing so few cases of COVID-19 that it seemed a sideshow to its rampaging counterpart. “I was … Read more

This Stupendous Crater on Mars Looks Eerily Like a Tree Stump

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You might be forgiven for thinking the above picture is the stump of a tree. Shift your perspective a little, however, and the truth becomes clear: What you’re looking at is much bigger than any tree – a concave depression on the surface of Mars, gouged out by a massive impact.   The rings radiating … Read more