US Air Force's nuclear-ready bomber spotted over Texas on secret mission

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

A US Air Force nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress has been spotted flying over Texas, raising questions about the purpose of the high-profile flight.

Flight tracking data showed the long-range, subsonic strategic bomber departed from Shreveport, Louisiana at 1:18pm ET on Tuesday, soaring up through Arkansas, into Oklahoma and is now flying over Texas.

The US Air Force describes the aircraft as a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions.

The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet. 

It was built during the Cold War to serve as a long-range strategic bomber capable of delivering massive payloads, including nuclear weapons, anywhere in the world. 

The B-52 made a loop outside of Oklahoma City and several circles above northern Texas.

While the exact purpose of the flight has not been disclosed, such missions are often part of training exercises, strategic rotations or readiness operations. 

The flight, which traveled over Texas at 26,000 feet at speeds exceeding 554 mph, highlights the bomber’s continued role in America’s nuclear and conventional arsenal. 

Flight tracking data showed the long-range, subsonic strategic bomber departed from Shreveport, Louisiana at 1:18pm ET on Tuesday

The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic speeds at altitudes of up to 50,000 feet, while carrying nuclear or precision-guided conventional ordnance with worldwide precision navigation capability

In conventional conflicts, the B-52 can conduct strategic attacks, close-air support, air interdiction, offensive counter-air and maritime operations. 

During Desert Storm, B-52s were responsible for 40 percent of all coalition munitions dropped, demonstrating their critical role in large-scale operations. 

The bomber is also highly effective in ocean surveillance, assisting the US Navy with anti-ship missions and mine-laying operations. 

In just two hours, two B-52s can monitor roughly 140,000 square miles of ocean surface, providing unmatched coverage. 

Modern B-52s are equipped with electro-optical viewing sensors, forward-looking infrared, and advanced targeting pods to improve targeting, battle assessment, and flight safety. 

Pilots also use night vision goggles (NVGs) to enhance visibility during night operations, improving situational awareness, safety, and the ability to visually track other aircraft.

The current flight has the callsign 'TUFFF72,' which suggests the B-52 would likely be conducting training exercises and complex tactical maneuvers with other aircraft and ground forces. 

This includes rehearsing strategic attack, air interdiction and maritime operations.

Flight tracking data spotted another bomber mission on October 8, taking a different route than today's flight

Another bomber took off from Shreveport this month, but its flight details are unknown.

Flight data tracked the aircraft heading east into Mississippi, back around over Baton Rouge, where it made several circles just outside the city before returning to home base.

While the bomber emerged during the Cold War, officials said that America's 76-strong fleet will fly until at least 2050, with a few upgrades along the way. 

Rolls-Royce is among the companies competing to provide new fuel-saving engines that will spare the Air Force from having to keep ferreting out parts for existing ones that are no longer manufactured.

The B-52 is versatile, able to fire long-range missiles and launch satellite-guided mines and bombs, and is the only current U.S. bomber that can be equipped with nuclear-tipped cruise missiles. 

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15-10-2025 om 17:16 geschreven door peter  

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14-10-2025 om 21:40 geschreven door peter  

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14-10-2025 om 20:34 geschreven door peter  

Earth loses its shield: “Hole” in magnetic field is rapidly expanding

The Earth’s magnetic field is our invisible protective shield. It keeps the planet safe from dangerous cosmic radiation and solar particles. But this shield has begun to weaken. Thanks to data from the European Space Agency’s Swarm satellite constellation, scientists have obtained worrying evidence: one of the weakest areas of the field — the South Atlantic Anomaly — is rapidly expanding.

What is the South Atlantic Anomaly?

This anomaly is a huge area over the South Atlantic where the magnetic field is significantly weaker than normal. It was first discovered in the 19th century. Today, it poses a real threat to spacecraft. Satellites flying through this zone receive increased doses of radiation, which can damage their equipment.

The Swarm mission, consisting of three identical satellites, has been continuously measuring the Earth’s magnetic field since 2013. Data published this month shows that since 2014, the anomaly has expanded to cover almost half of Europe. But what is most concerning is that since 2020, an area of even more rapid weakening has formed over the Atlantic southwest of Africa.

“The South Atlantic Anomaly is not just one block,” explains Professor Chris Finlay, lead author of the study. “It changes in different ways. Something special is happening in this region, causing a more intense weakening”.

Probable cause

Scientists attribute this strange behavior to processes in the Earth’s core, at a depth of about 3,000 km. There molten iron creates electric currents that generate a magnetic field. Unusual areas have been discovered beneath the South Atlantic Anomaly – so-called “reverse flow zones.” There, instead of escaping outward, the magnetic field unexpectedly returns back to the core. Swarm data shows that one such zone is moving westward over Africa, which is exacerbating the weakening.

Global changes in the magnetic field

Recent discoveries emphasize that the Earth’s magnetic field is a dynamic and complex structure. For example, there are two powerful magnetic regions in the Northern Hemisphere: one above Canada and the other above Siberia. Since Swarm was launched, the Siberian region has strengthened, while the Canadian region has weakened. This is due to the fact that the North Magnetic Pole is rapidly drifting towards Siberia, which is important for global navigation systems.

The Swarm mission continues to provide unique data that helps us not only better understand our planet, but also protect our technological infrastructure. As mission leader Anja Stromme notes, they hope to continue this research after 2030 in order to obtain even more key answers.

Earlier, we talked about the anomaly that prevented GPS signals from being received over Brazil.

• According to ESA

• Posted in News, Science

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14-10-2025 om 17:56 geschreven door peter  

Mysterious 'dent' in Earth's magnetic field explodes in size

• READ MORE: Earth faces mass extinction as magnetic poles race toward catastrophe, expert warns 

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

Scientists have discovered that a 'weak spot' in Earth's magnetic field is growing at an alarming rate.

Known as the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), the region has expanded by an area nearly twice the size of Texas since 2014, and it is also slowly shifting westward toward Africa, according to a new study released on Monday. 

The SAA has increased by up to 25 percent, as it moves about 14 miles west each year.

The expansion and movement are the result of turbulent flows of molten iron in Earth’s outer core, which generate unusual magnetic patterns that weaken the field in this part of the planet.

The Earth’s magnetic field, created by the swirling liquid iron thousands of miles beneath the surface, acts as a protective shield against dangerous charged particles from the sun and cosmic radiation.

Scientists warned that the weakening and shifting of this shield in the SAA is not just a scientific curiosity but has real-world consequences.

The SAA poses the greatest threat to satellites passing overhead, exposing spacecraft to higher levels of radiation that can temporarily disable electronics, corrupt data, or even cause permanent damage to critical hardware.

Satellites providing GPS, communications, and weather forecasting services for the US and around the world are particularly vulnerable when they pass through the anomaly.  

The SAA has increased by up to 25 percent, as it moves about 14 miles west each year since 2014

Lead author Chris Finlay, Professor of Geomagnetism at the Technical University of Denmark, said in a statement: 'It's changing differently towards Africa than it is near South America. 

'There's something special happening in this region that is causing the field to weaken in a more intense way.'

While regions outside of Earth contribute to the observed magnetic field, the primary source stems from inside the planet.

The outer layer of Earth's core is made of molten iron and nickel, located 1,800 miles below the surface.

These churning metals act like a massive generator called the 'geodynamo,' creating electric currents that produce the magnetic field.

But this motion isn't constant. It fluctuates over time, and as a result, Earth's magnetic field fluctuates too.

This, coupled with the tilt of the planet's magnetic axis, is what produces the SAA, according to Nasa.

In the southern hemisphere, weak magnetic areas under Africa are moving westward, while similar features in the mid-Atlantic are moving east. 

Scientists warned the weak spot will let harmful radiation from the sun hit Earth, disrupting satellites in orbit

In the north, a strong magnetic zone under the Bering Strait is drifting west, and near Indonesia and the western Pacific, magnetic features are moving east. 

These shifts are strongest near the equator, where the field is also experiencing rapid changes and oscillations. 

The study, which analyzed 11 years of data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Swarm satellite constellation, also revealed other significant changes in Earth’s magnetic field. 

In northern Canada, the area of the strong magnetic field has weakened, shrinking by 0.65 percent of Earth’s surface area.

This weakening can affect navigation systems, satellite operations, and even technologies that rely on geomagnetic calibration.

Additionally, the study found that strong magnetic flux features under the Bering Strait have shifted westward, while those beneath Indonesia and the western Pacific have moved eastward. 

These movements, though invisible to most people, can influence global geomagnetic conditions and the behavior of space weather, further impacting satellites and technology infrastructure worldwide.

Scientists emphasized that the changes in Earth’s magnetic field highlight its dynamic nature. 

The SAA is not static and its continued growth underscores the importance of constant monitoring to anticipate and mitigate potential impacts. 

The Swarm satellites, which have been collecting continuous magnetic field data since 2013, are providing unprecedented insight into the complex forces at work deep inside our planet.

While the average person on the ground is not directly at risk, the growing anomaly is a reminder of the delicate balance that protects life on Earth from the constant bombardment of cosmic radiation. 

For satellites, astronauts, and high-altitude air travel, however, the implications are real and require careful attention.

'The South Atlantic Anomaly is a warning from Earth’s core,' Finlay said. 'It shows us that our planet’s protective shield is dynamic, and changes deep below the surface can ripple all the way to space and to our daily lives.'

The discovery was made using the European Space Agency's (ESA) Swarm satellite constellation that precisely measures the magnetic signals that stem from Earth's core, mantle, crust and oceans, as well as from the ionosphere and magnetosphere.

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14-10-2025 om 16:07 geschreven door peter  

The secret world lurking in Earth's backyard: Scientists say a 'Planet Y' could be hiding in our solar system

• READ MORE: Scientists discover a NEW planet that could have life

By WILIAM HUNTER, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

It is a question that feels like it should have a straightforward answer: how many planets are there in our solar system?

Since Pluto was relegated back down to dwarf planet status, almost everyone has agreed that the answer is eight.

However, scientists say that it might be time to rewrite the textbooks.

A new study has proposed that there could be a secret world lurking on the edge of our solar system.

Dubbed 'Planet Y' by reseachers from Princeton University, this planet is said to be Earth–sized and rocky. 

The researchers were alerted to the possible planet after noticing that 50 objects in the Kuiper Belt – a region of icy objects beyond Neptune – were tilted on an unusual angle.  

'We started trying to come up with explanations other than a planet that could explain the tilt, but what we found is that you actually need a planet there,' lead author Dr Amir Siraj told CNN.

'This paper is not a discovery of a planet. But it's certainly the discovery of a puzzle for which a planet is a likely solution.'

Scientists say there could be a ninth planet, dubbed Planet Y, hidden in the outer reaches of the Solar System beyond the orbit of Neptune

(stock image) 

Since Pluto was axed from the list of planets, astronomers looking for a ninth planet have focused on the Kuiper Belt.

This is a doughnut–shaped ring of icy objects, asteroids, and dwarf planets beyond Neptune that scientists believe was left over by the creation of the eight planets.

Any potential planets hiding in this distant region would receive very little light from the sun, making them extremely hard to see with a conventional telescope.

But scientists think they might be able to pick up on the traces of these hidden worlds by looking at how they affect other bodies in the Kuiper Belt.

In 2016, Caltech astronomers Mike Brown and Konstantin Batygin proposed the 'ninth planet hypothesis', arguing that the movement of a dozen Kuiper Belt objects could only be caused by an enormous and very distant 'Planet X'.

However, Dr Siraj thinks that there could be another ninth–planet contender, hiding much closer to home.

If it exists, Planet Y should be a rocky world with a mass between that of Earth and Mercury.

That makes it much smaller than Planet X – another theorised planet hiding in our solar system, believed to be a gas giant with a mass 10 times greater than Earth's.

What do we know about Planet Y?

Type of planet: Rocky

Size: Between that of Earth and Mercury

Location: Kuiper Belt

Distance from the Sun: 100 to 200 times further than Earth

Evidence in favour: Disturbed orbits of Kuiper Belt objects

Evidence against: Lack of direct observations  

Orbiting 100 to 200 times farther from the sun than the Earth, Planet Y is also much closer than Planet X – which is believed to orbit 400 times further from the sun than Earth.

However, at that distance, Planet Y would still be extremely dim and difficult to detect.

Likewise, the researchers predict that Planet Y's orbit is likely tilted by about 10 degrees from the orbital plane, which would make it much harder to find.

Importantly, the Planet Y theory does not mean that Planet X does not exist – meaning there could be as many as 10 planets in our solar system.

In fact, Dr Siraj's previous research suggests that there could be room for up to five more Earth–like planets to hide in the Solar System's very outermost regions.

That means our stellar neighbourhood might be much more crowded than we had previously thought.

However, not every astronomer is convinced by Dr Siraj's calculations.

Dr Samantha Lawler, associate professor of astronomy at the University of Regina in Canada, told CNN that these findings were 'not definitive'.

Planet X and Planet Y are likely located in the Kuiper Belt, a doughnut–shaped ring of icy objects beyond Neptune. However, Planet Y could be two to four times closer to Earth 

Although Planet Y is a plausible explanation for the tilted orbits of Kuiper Belt objects, without observational evidence, there is no hard proof.

Read More

• Scientists are baffled by a rogue planet growing at a record rate of six BILLION tonnes per second 

However, that could change very soon thanks to the Vera Rubin Observatory, which has just started taking photos of the sky with the world's largest digital camera.

Over the next decade, the Vera Rubin Observatory will take a photo every 40 seconds for eight to 12 hours a night, repeatedly scanning the entire sky.

Scientists anticipate that this observatory will discover thousands of new objects – including Planet X and Planet Y – if they really are there.

Dr Siraj predicts: 'I think within the first two to three years [of the observatory's mission], it'll become definitive. If Planet Y is in the field of view of the telescope, it will be able to find it directly.'

PLANET NINE: ORBITS OF OBJECTS BEYOND NEPTUNE SUGGEST 'SOMETHING LARGE' IS THERE

Astronomers believe that the orbits of a number of bodies in the distant reaches of the solar system have been disrupted by the pull of an as yet unidentified planet.

First proposed by a group at CalTech in the US, this alien world was theorised to explain the distorted paths seen in distant icy bodies.

In order to fit in with the data they have, this alien world - popularly called Planet Nine - would need to be roughly four times the size of Earth and 10 times the mass.

Researchers say a body of this size and mass would explain the clustered paths of a number of icy minor planets beyond Neptune.

First proposed by a group at CalTech in the US, this alien world was theorised to explain the distorted paths seen in distant icy bodies.

Its huge orbit would mean it takes between 10,000 and 20,000 years to make a single pass around the sun. 

The theoretical Planet Nine is based on the gravitational pull it exerts on these bodies, with astronomers confident it will be found in the coming years.

Those hoping for theoretical Earth-sized planets proposed by astrologers or science fiction writers - which are 'hiding behind the sun' and linked with Doomsday scenarios - may have to keep searching.

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14-10-2025 om 15:44 geschreven door peter  

More than 50 years ago, the Apollo 17 astronauts made the last lunar landing. They returned to Earth not only with unforgettable impressions, but also with a priceless cargo — more than 2,000 samples of lunar rocks. NASA carefully packed and preserved some of these treasures for the future, assuming that advanced technology would better reveal their secrets. And now, half a century later, that hope has been fulfilled.

The breakthrough was achieved thanks to the work of a team led by James Dottin from Brown University. Scientists gained access to one of the unique preserved samples — a soil column extracted from the Taurus Littrow lunar valley. Instead of the methods used in the 1970s, they used modern secondary ion mass spectrometry, a technology that allows the ratio of isotopes, a kind of “chemical fingerprint” of substances, to be measured with incredible accuracy.

The aim of the study was sulfur in volcanic rocks originating from the mantle of the Moon. For a long time, science believed that the composition of our moon’s mantle was practically identical to that of Earth, which was indicated, in particular, by analyses of oxygen isotopes. Dottin expected to see the same picture with sulfur.

However, the results published in the journal JGR Planets proved to be sensational. Analysis showed that the sulfur-33 (33S) isotope content in lunar rocks differs sharply from any terrestrial samples. “My first thought was, ‘Oh my God, this can’t be true,’” Dottin admitted.

What does this mean for science?

This discrepancy is not just an interesting fact. It indicates different origins or different chemical processes that occurred in the early stages of the formation of the Earth and the Moon. The most common theory is that the Moon was formed from debris after a giant collision between Earth and an object the size of Mars, known as Theia.

The discovery of Dottin’s team may be the first direct “trace” of Theia. Scientists may have discovered the very sulfur that was once part of the mysterious protoplanet. This opens up new horizons for understanding the greatest space catastrophe in the history of our planet.

Further study of sulfur isotope “fingerprints” on Mars and other objects in the Solar System will help paint a complete picture of how the chaos formed into the eight planets known to us today.

Earlier, we reported on what humanity learned thanks to the Apollo 17 expedition.

• According to brown.edu

• Posted in News, Science

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13-10-2025 om 18:00 geschreven door peter  

Have you ever dreamed of flying away during the autumn cold to a place where it is always warm, but not too warm, with moderately humid air and, if possible, no strong winds? Could a planet with such conditions exist? Could such a space resort exist in reality?

Zone of life

Autumn has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, including Ukraine. The days have grown colder, and the nights have grown longer. The leaves are falling from the trees, and it is generally a sad time of year. It makes you want to go somewhere where there is no winter. Or fly away. Have you ever dreamed of a resort planet? One where it is neither too cold nor too hot anywhere on the surface.

There are places on Earth where such conditions prevail all year round. We call them subtropical or Mediterranean climates. But is it possible for an entire planet to have such a climate? Or at least for it to have only tropics and temperate latitudes closer to the poles, without the rainforests of the equator, arid deserts and semi-deserts, and the icy expanses of the Arctic and Antarctic?

In general, it should be noted that a planet that is simply suitable for life on Earth would already be a real sensation. After all, many still believe that Earth occupies a unique place in the universe in terms of its characteristics and that there is no other planet like it, let alone one with better conditions than our planet.

Although in reality, there is nothing incredible about the existence of a planet similar to Earth. The main thing is that it should be comparable in size to Earth and located within the habitable zone, where it would receive neither too much nor too little heat for liquid water to exist on its surface.

However, this is actually an oversimplification, because climate is not just about the amount of sunlight. For example, a planet with synchronous rotation, i.e., one that always faces its star with the same side, will almost certainly not be a resort. Life on it will most likely exist, but it will exist in climatic conditions that are relatively extreme for Earth.

This means that at least some of the worlds orbiting red dwarfs are unlikely to be considered resorts. However, certain areas of their surface may still have fairly favorable conditions, even pleasant ones for relaxation.

Short year, length of day, and axial tilt

In general, with stars whose luminosity is significantly lower than that of the Sun, everything is quite ambiguous. Because in reality, a small distance from the star to the habitable zone means a very short orbital period, which means that annual temperature fluctuations cannot be significant, because the atmosphere and hydrosphere need time to heat up and cool down.

On the other hand, these planets will mostly have tidal locking or very long days (40, 60, or 80 hours). This means that the planet can experience significant annual temperature fluctuations, but it can cool down significantly overnight.

However, regardless of how close a planet is to its star, the most significant astronomical parameter affecting its climate is the axial tilt. If the Earth’s axis were perpendicular to the ecliptic, we would not know what seasonal changes were, and the difference between the polar and equatorial regions would not be so pronounced. So it is quite possible that this situation exists on some other planet.

Oceans and atmosphere

Therefore, for a planet to resemble a resort, it must orbit close to a circular path at a distance from its star such that the surface temperature is 15-30 degrees above the freezing point of water. At the same time, its axis of rotation must be perpendicular to the plane of the ecliptic. It is also desirable that the planet’s period of rotation around the star be shorter than that of Earth, but not so short that it becomes tidally locked.

But this is not all. The atmosphere and hydrosphere have a much stronger impact on the climate. They act as heat accumulators and transferors. Therefore, worlds with little water and thin atmospheres cannot be resorts.

A good option would be a planet slightly larger and more massive than Earth. It is believed that they can hold more water and gases, but we should not get carried away here, because a world that is too large will most likely turn into an ocean world, or even a mini-Neptune. An atmosphere only slightly denser than Earth’s, combined with a global ocean, will provide a greenhouse effect and powerful currents that distribute heat throughout the planet.

Incidentally, taking this into account, it should actually be a little further away from the star so that, theoretically, the latter could heat it to somewhere between 10 and 15°C. Then the greenhouse effect would heat it to exactly the right temperature, rather than turning it into Venus.

But how can we ensure that areas of pleasant warmth occupy most of the planet’s surface, rather than just small areas, as is the case on Earth? The location of the continents has a major influence here. Of course, over millions of years, they do not remain stationary. The movement of lithospheric plates is a necessary condition for the normal functioning of the carbon cycle, which also has a strong influence on the greenhouse effect.

However, it is still possible to imagine a configuration of the continents in which the planet would heat up more or less evenly. First, there should not be such large land masses as Eurasia. Such continents act as a kind of heat and cold accumulators, causing significant seasonal temperature fluctuations.

Secondly, the polar regions of the planet must remain covered with water. The reason is the same as in the first point. Antarctica is the largest “refrigerator” on our planet. This is good for the Earth, but not in cases where cooling is unnecessary.

Thirdly, the planet’s equator must remain free of dry land. This will allow energy not to concentrate in deserts and tropical forests, but to be redistributed by warm ocean currents, such as those that exist in the Pacific Ocean.

The optimal scenario would be the existence of 6-10 relatively small continents in the tropical and temperate zones, with several archipelagos between them. The absence of large mountain ranges would also have a positive effect on the climate. Of course, they can act as a barrier to cold air, but they also lead to the formation of altitude zones.

• Posted in Articles, Questions

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13-10-2025 om 17:47 geschreven door peter  

On October 10, Chinese startup Orienspace launched its second Gravity-1 rocket. It successfully placed three satellites into orbit.

Orienspace was founded in 2020. Like many other Chinese aerospace startups, it decided to start its activities with the creation of solid-fuel rockets, and then move on to more powerful liquid launch vehicles. The company’s first rocket was Gravity-1.

Gravity-1 is 30 meters high and consists of four side boosters and three stages. All of them are solid fuel. It can carry up to 6.5 tons of cargo into low orbit and up to 4.2 tons into sun-synchronous orbit. This makes it the most powerful solid-fuel rocket in history. When activated, Gravity-1 engines produce large amounts of smoke and debris. Therefore, a barge is used to launch it.

The first flight of Gravity-1 took place in January 2024 and was successful. After that, Orienspace specialists modernized the rocket, which, according to the company, improved its reliability.

The second launch of Gravity-1 took place on October 10. Orienspace provided an official live broadcast of the mission, which is rare for Chinese launches. Gravity-1 successfully launched three spacecraft into near-polar orbit: an Earth remote sensing satellite and two satellites for the Internet of Things system being developed by Geely.

The successful launch of Gravity-1 is an important step toward realizing Orienspace’s ambitious plans. The company is actively working on a more powerful liquid rocket, Gravity-2, whose first test flight may take place before the end of this year. It will have a reusable first stage and will be capable of delivering over 20 tons of cargo into low Earth orbit.

• Posted in Launches, News

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13-10-2025 om 17:32 geschreven door peter  

NASA unveils plan for astronauts to live on the moon – inside glass bubbles made from lunar dust

• READ MORE: NASA boss reveals plans for an entire VILLAGE on the moon

By SOPHIE CARLIN, TRAINEE REPORTER

NASA has unveiled plans to send astronauts to live on the moon – inside glass bubbles made from lunar dust. 

The US space agency is funding research into the large livable spheres which would be created in situ, the Telegraph reports.

Tiny pieces of so–called lunar glass – a component of the moon's soil, or regolith, along with rocks and mineral fragments – would be collected upon arrival from Earth. 

The material would be melted down using the same technology as in a domestic microwave oven, along with a 'smart microwave furnace'.  

A 'smart microwave furnace' will be developed to aid melting and blow the glass into a bubble, which would harden into a large, transparent structure. 

The idea has been dreamt up by US space engineering company Skyeports, which has already proven that glass balls can be blown from lunar dust in this way.   

The firm's test spheres are only a couple of inches wide – but the goal is to expand them by hundreds or thousands of feet, into workable astronaut homes. 

The compound used to build a spherical habitat – which is hoped to be between around 1,000ft and 1,600ft wide – could be altered to make the eventual glass self–healing. 

The compound used to build a spherical habitat – which is hoped to be between around 1,000ft and 1,600ft wide – could be altered to make the eventual glass self–healing.

It is a special type of glass made of polymers which can reorganise themselves after any breaks caused by micrometeorites or 'moonquakes'.

The moon homes could also be fitted with solar panels to generate their own energy. 

Skyeports chief executive Dr Martin Bermudez hoped to one day see entire cities of the spheres, connected by glass bridges, on the moon – and elsewhere in space. 

'You will never replicate Earth, but this is something that gets pretty close, and we could even put them into orbit one day,' he said. 

He has always been interested in space and wanted to start using his architecture background to explore how to make structures on the moon or Mars.  

Chemical compounds called silicates, often used to make glass, can account for up to 60 per cent of lunar dust – which first got him thinking about the bubbles. 

And with further research, he discovered glass can be adapted to become less brittle – and even stronger than steel.  

He contacted NASA around two years ago with the idea, which he said the agency liked from the start.

The American space agency is funding research into the large livable spheres (pictured, in plans), which would be created in situ

Lunar regolith would be melted down by a 'smart microwave furnace' and blown into concentric bubbles that would give the lunar base its structure 

NASA's Artemis Mission Timeline

Artemis I

- Uncrewed lunar flight test

- Launched November, 2022

Artemis II 

- Crewed Lunar Flyby

- Launch planned for April, 2026

Artemis III

- Crewed Surface Landing

- Launch planned for mid–2027

Artemis IV

- Building First Lunar Space Station

- Launch targeting September 2028

The concept is now being researched under the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) programme, for projects which have the potential to transform aerospace. 

And its in situ construction is attractive – it is hard to build things on the moon, with shipping materials to its surface hugely expensive. 

Enormous gas pipes would be used to blow the melted glass – and repurposed to create the entrance once the bubble has been created. 

Any interior fittings would be 3D printed using materials gathered from the surface of the moon. 

Skyeports has said a sphere was chosen because it is a particularly structurally sound shape, with an even distribution of pressure. 

Using transparent glass to build it, meanwhile, was said to be beneficial for astronauts' mental health. 

Dr Bermudez added: 'The spherical shape happens automatically, because at that temperature it becomes an amorphous liquid, and when it is extruded out of a furnace in low gravity it will form the shape of a sphere.' 

Along with the lunar glass, metals like titanium, magnesium and calcium will need to be mixed into the raw compound for strength. 

Interior fittings could be made via 3D printing. This would create a habitat that could be suitable for a long–term presence on the lunar surface 

It is also hoped that layers of bubbles could be created, with one warmer surface and another cooler to create condensation. 

This would allow astronauts to plant vegetables and plants and create an ecosystem to produce oxygen. 

And development teams also hope a glass bubble of that size could be used to produce enough electricity to power the whole system.  

The blowing technique will be tested in a thermal vacuum chamber in January, before moving to a micro–gravity environment. 

It will eventually be trialled on the International Space Station – and tests on the moon itself could happen in the next couple of years.  

While NASA works out if humans could live on the moon, astronauts may well return to it for a visit. 

The agency could put men on the moon within the next five years under its Artemis programme and is currently searching for appropriate habitats for that mission. 

Dr Bermudez said: 'We're in a race against time because Artemis is moving so fast.' 

NASA currently plans to return to the moon in 2027 with the Artemis III mission (illustrated. However, the space agency has also expressed plans for a 'village' on the moon by 2035

Clayton Turner, from NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate, which is responsible for tech innovation, said: 'Our next steps and giant leaps rely on innovation, and the concepts born from NIAC can radically change how we explore deep space, work in low–Earth orbit, and protect our home planet.

'From developing small robots that could swim through the oceans of other worlds to growing space habitats from fungi, this programme continues to change the possible.'

The study comes after researchers at Aalen University in Germany suggested in 2023 that  buildings and roads could be built on the moon using bricks made from lunar dust zapped with a laser. 

The space agency's description of the research notes: 'This innovative approach involves in–situ melting of lunar glass compounds and the creation of a large spherical shell structure, representing a significant departure from current habitat construction methods.

Read More

• NASA whistleblowers claim astronauts could die in horrific tragedy: 'No one is coming to save us' 

'Traditional construction methods, such as using prefabricated parts, 3D printing, inflatable systems and complex assembly, are labour–intensive and time–consuming.

'In contrast, the concept of blown scalable glass structures utilizes lunar glass resources and introduces a novel in–situ manufacturing approach.' 

It adds: 'The idea of constructing monolithic glass habitats on the moon holds immense promise for the future of space exploration and habitation. 

'It inspires a pioneering spirit by envisioning a new era of self–sustaining off–world habitats, offering significant benefits to NASA, the aerospace community, and humanity as a whole.'

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

13-10-2025 om 15:25 geschreven door peter  

Physicists capture rare illusion of an object moving at 99.9% the speed of light

Although previous models have worked with this illusion, now called the Terrell-Penrose effect, this is the first time it has been done in a lab setting. The team described their results in the journal Communications Physics.

"What I like most is the simplicity," Dominik Hornof, a quantum physicist at the Vienna University of Technology and first author of the study, told Live Science. "With the right idea, you can recreate relativistic effects in a small lab. It shows that even century-old predictions can be brought to life in a really intuitive way."

Re-creating the illusion

In the new study, physicists used ultra-fast laser pulses and gated cameras to produce snapshots of a cube and a sphere "moving" at nearly the speed of light. The results showed snapshots of rotated objects. This proved the Terrell-Penrose effect to be true.

But like every study, this one also had its difficulties. Moving any object at or near the speed of light is currently impossible. "In Einstein's theory, the faster something moves, the more its effective mass increases. As you get closer to the speed of light, the energy you need grows by a lot," Hornof said. We cannot generate enough energy to accelerate something like a cube, and "that's why we need huge particle accelerators, even just to move electrons close to that speed. It would take a huge amount of energy."

So the team used a clever substitute. "What we can do is mimic the visual effect," Hornof said. They started with a cube of about 3 feet (1 meter) on each side. Then, they fired ultra-short laser pulses — each just 300 picoseconds long, or about a tenth of a billionth of a second — at the object. They captured the reflected light with a gated camera that opened only for that instant and produced a thin "slice" each time.

After each slice, they moved the cube forward about 1.9 inches (4.8 cm). That is the distance it would have traveled if it were moving at 80% the speed of light during the delay between pulses. Then, the scientists put all of these slices together into a snapshot of the cube in motion.

"When you combine all the slices, the object looks like it's racing incredibly fast, even though it never moved at all," Hornof said. "At the end of the day, it's just geometry."

They repeated the process with a sphere, shifting it by 2.4 inches (6 cm) per step to mimic 99.9% light speed. When the slices were combined, the cube appeared rotated and the sphere looked as if you could peek around its sides.

"The rotation is not physical," Hornof said. "It's an optical illusion. The geometry of how light arrives at the same time tricks our eyes."

That is why the Terrell-Penrose effect does not contradict Einstein's special relativity. A fast-moving object is physically shortened along its direction of travel, but a camera doesn't capture that directly. Because light from the back takes longer to arrive than light from the front, the snapshot shifts in a way that makes the object appear rotated.

"When we did the calculations, we were surprised how beautifully the geometry worked out," Hornof said. "Seeing it appear in the images was really exciting."

{ https://www.livescience.com/physics-mathematics }

12-10-2025 om 18:41 geschreven door peter  

10 Dark Matter Facts That Will Surprise You

The following 10 facts are a summary of what scientists have learned about this invisible stuff.

{ https://curiosmos.com/category/unsolved-mysteries/ }

12-10-2025 om 17:59 geschreven door peter  

The cosmos is changing before our eyes — and astronomers can barely keep up. A never-before-seen supernova is rewriting ...

{https://www.youtube.com/ }

12-10-2025 om 17:25 geschreven door peter  

A strange tilt in the outer reaches of the Kuiper Belt has scientists wondering if the solar system is hiding another planet—a potential “Planet Y” that could soon join the family of known worlds.

The Kuiper Belt is an enormous ring of icy bodies that extends from the orbit of Neptune to a distance of close to 30 astronomical units (AU), or approximately 30 times the distance from Earth to the Sun. During recent investigations of this mysterious outer solar system region, a team of Princeton researchers uncovered a strange warp in its plane, which could mean that something is pulling on some of the icy objects beyond Neptune—possibly even an undiscovered planet.

Eying the Kuiper Belt

The Princeton team’s work began with a simple question: “Is the Kuiper Belt flat?” Despite some slight deviations, the planets in our solar system all lie on roughly the same plane, which should be reflected in the belt. However, the Kuiper Belt unexpectedly changes this orientation with a tilt of about 15 degrees. Despite the team’s best efforts, most potential explanations failed to account for the unusual warpage, save for one: the potential existence of an unknown body the researchers dub “Planet Y.”

While there has been no direct observation of this currently theoretical planet, the team believes that current data suggests the planet would be between the sizes of Earth and Mercury, positioned deep in the outer reaches of our solar system. 

“This paper is not a discovery of a planet, but it’s certainly the discovery of a puzzle for which a planet is a likely solution,”  the authors said when presenting their work in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters.

A New Addition to the Solar System?

This isn’t the first time a theoretical planet has been suspected to lurk in the Kuiper Belt, which once held a recognized planet until one of its largest residents, Pluto, was reclassified as a dwarf planet in 2006. The region remains mysterious due to difficulties in observing it at such great distances.

Earlier work sought what astronomer Percival Lowell dubbed “Planet X,” an attempt to explain away other anomalies by proposing a mysterious hidden planet. Those anomalies were in the orbits of the planets Neptune and Uranus, and even the 1930 discovery of Pluto didn’t prove to be enough to account for them. 

However, the mystery resolved itself in a less dramatic way than expected when Voyager 2 probe data revealed Neptune’s mass to be less than speculated in the 1990s. The recognition of a less massive Neptune seemingly resolved the question of the irregularities without requiring the pull of an unknown body.

Planet Y and the Search for Planet Nine

However, the search for a mysterious planet reignited with a 2016 paper speculating on what was now being called “Planet Nine” instead of “Planet X.” However, this long-suspected outer-solar system planetary body differs considerably from what the recent Princeton University research proposes, as this planet would be much larger and farther out beyond Pluto.

There is a great deal of debate over what an undiscovered planet in our solar system might look like, but the Princeton team says that they are not mutually exclusive. In theory, a pair of undiscovered planets could coexist beyond the range of our present observations.

Pentetrating the mysteries of the Kuiper Belt may soon be on the horizon, though, as the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile is about to launch its decade-long survey, which the researchers believe will likely detect any such planet in the Kuiper Belt within two to three years.

Hence, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory may soon be able to finally resolve the question of whether other worlds might exist in our planetary neighborhood, as well as which planetary category the Princeton team’s suspected “Planet Y” belongs to.

The paper, “Measuring the Mean Plane of the Distant Kuiper Belt,” appeared in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters on August 21, 2025.

• Ryan Whalen covers science and technology for The Debrief. He holds an MA in History and a Master of Library and Information Science with a certificate in Data Science. He can be contacted at ryan@thedebrief.org, and follow him on Twitter @mdntwvlf.

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{ https://thedebrief.org/category/astronomy/ }

12-10-2025 om 17:12 geschreven door peter  

Precise date interstellar visitor will reveal itself as 'alien mothership' or comet confirmed

• READ MORE: Interstellar object defies NASA's expectations as it nears Earth

By STACY LIBERATORE, US SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR

The mysterious interstellar visitor streaking through our Solar System is just days away from revealing its true origins.

Harvard professor Avi Loeb told DailyMail.com that if the object, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, is a comet, it should 'disintegrate into fragments' as it swings closest to the sun on October 29, 2025. 

The European Space Agency's Jupiter probe will have a front-row seat, capturing the moment it either breaks apart or, as Loeb speculated, 'releases mini-probes as a technological mothership.'

'When a comet gets close to the sun, solar radiation heats its icy nucleus,' Loeb explained. 

'Volatile ices like carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, or water sublimate directly into gas, carrying away dust and small rocks. 

'This process can cause the comet to break apart if the mix of ice and dust cannot withstand the thermal stress.'

But if it does not, Loeb said, it could release 'a fleet of mini-probes to study multiple targets simultaneously.'

Loeb noted there is a 30 to 40 percent chance the object 'does not have a fully natural origin,' noting the possibility it is a 'Trojan Horse,' where a technological object masquerades as a comet.

Harvard professor Avi Loeb told DailyMail.com that if the object, dubbed 3I/ATLAS, is a comet, it should 'disintegrate into fragments' as it swings closest to the sun on October 29, 2025

The ESA's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (Juice) craft will have a view of the object when it comes 125 million miles from the planet and monitor it through November.

'During November and December, terrestrial observatories will also be able to monitor 3I/ATLAS and check whether it disintegrated like a natural comet or released mini-probes as a technological mothership,' Loeb explained.

While the professor believes there is a possibility it is of alien origin, NASA has long said the object is a natural comet.

The American space agency released images of 3I/ATLAS as it soared past Mars on October 3, showing it as cylindrical-shaped. 

Stargazers on social media shared color-enhanced images of the object, which showed the interstellar visitor having a green glow. 

Loeb and many other scientists are anticipating the visitor's journey to the sun as it will finally put the mystery to rest. 

3I/ATLAS will appear as a fuzzy ball of light in the blackness of space, and if it does disintegrate, the professor said it will break into independent, smaller dots of light. 

'Comets disintegrate primarily as a result of heating by the sun, but sometimes also by gravitational tides and rotational stress from outgassing,' Loeb explained.

NASA released images of 3I/ATLAS as it soared past Mars on October 3, showing it as cylindrical-shaped. Stargazers on social media shared color-enhanced images of the object, which showed the interstellar visitor having a green glow

'The catastrophic breakup of a comet into multiple fragments is difficult to forecast without knowing its detailed composition and material strength.' 

So far, ESA’s Mars orbiters have not spotted any verified fragments, only faint artifacts and noise, as 3I/ATLAS moves closer to the sun.

Some reports have claimed that mysterious objects have been spotted with 3I/ATLAS, but Loeb told Daily Mail that these are false.

'There are unrelated contemporary comets, background stars and images of the moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, which appear in some images. But so far, no verified object branched off 3I/ATLAS,' the professor explained.

The object was first identified in July 2025 by the ATLAS telescope network, which looks for objects that might hit Earth.

Earlier images taken by the Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile this summer had unknowingly photographed the object as well, but no one realized it was there at the time.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

11-10-2025 om 14:50 geschreven door peter  

Celestial standoff! Scientists capture an image of two black holes circling each other for the first time

• READ MORE: Scientists think we have received a signal from a parallel universe

By WILIAM HUNTER, SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY REPORTER

An image of two black holes circling each other has been captured for the very first time.

Astronomers spotted the celestial standoff in the heart of the galaxy OJ287, around five billion light-years from Earth.

Previously, scientists have only been able to produce images of individual supermassive black holes, such as the one at the centre of our own Galaxy.

However, scientists from the University of Turku, Finland, have now produced the first direct proof that black holes can come in pairs.

For years, scientists have suspected that OJ287 might be hiding two black holes, but there hasn't been a telescope powerful enough to tell them apart.

By combining antennas on Earth with a satellite located halfway to the moon, the astronomers created a radio telescope effectively 15 times larger than Earth.

That allowed them to take an image with a resolution 100,000 times higher than anything that had been used to observe OJ287 in the past.

Lead researcher Professor Mauri Valtonen says: 'For the first time, we managed to get an image of two black holes circling each other.'

Scientists have captured an image of two black holes circling one another for the very first time, proving that black holes come in pairs 

The pair of black holes is located at the centre of the quasar OJ287, an extremely bright galactic core around five billion light-years from Earth.

Pictured: An artist's impression of OJ287

OJ287 is a type of object known as a quasar, which is an extremely bright galactic core holding a supermassive black hole.

The black hole itself doesn't give out any light, but the gas and dust falling into the singularity become so hot that they produce massive amounts of radiation.

Quasar OJ287 is actually so bright that, despite being five billion light-years away, even an amateur astronomer with a decent telescope should be able to see it.

However, in the 1980s, scientists realised that the quasar's light was fluctuating in a reliable 12-year pattern.

Professor Valtonen says: 'What is special about OJ287 is that it has been thought to harbour not one but two black holes circling each other in a twelve-year orbit, which produces an easily recognisable pattern of light variations in the same period.'

Even though scientists were pretty sure that there were two supermassive black holes hiding within the quasar, it still took decades to prove this.

Even when NASA's TESS satellite was able to detect light from both black holes in 2021, the resulting image still only showed a single object.

The problem was that normal light-based telescopes simply can't produce a high enough resolution to peel apart the signals from these extremely distant objects.

Until now, scientists have only ever been able to take images of single black holes such as the black hole at the centre of our own galaxy, Sagittarius A* (pictured)

Using a very large radio telescope, the scientists revealed that there are two black holes. A very large one at the centre, and a smaller one that orbits its neighbour once every 12 years 

To see more, the scientists used a technique called 'Very Long Baseline Interferometry'.

This essentially involves combining radio telescopes scattered across Earth and throughout space into a single enormous 'virtual' telescope.

By adding the RadioAstron satellite, which was halfway to the moon when the images were taken, researchers were finally able to take a radio image of the quasar.

In their new paper, published in the Astrophysical Journal, Professor Valtonen compared their images to theoretical calculations and found that the black holes were exactly where they were expected to be.

Professor Valtonen says: 'In the image, the black holes are identified by the intense particle jets they emit.

'The black holes themselves are perfectly black, but they can be detected by these particle jets or by the glowing gas surrounding the hole.'

These images revealed that one of the black holes was significantly larger than the other.

The bigger has a mass about 18.35 billion times that of the sun, while the smaller is around 150 million solar masses. 

By comparing these radio images (pictured) to the theoretical models (shown as stars), the researchers showed that the jets produced by the black holes followed the exact path scientists had predicted 

That means the smaller is constantly spun around by the intense gravity, slamming through the larger black hole's accretion disk with each pass.

Every time the black hole passes through this cloud of dust and gas, the researchers estimate that it pulls away about 16 solar masses of material.

However, the larger black hole's accretion disc is so large that this barely makes a difference to the overall system.

Read More

• 'Supermassive' black holes aren't as big as we thought, scientists say 

In addition to proving that black hole pairs exist, the researchers also made an interesting discovery about these particle jets.

They found that the jet emanating from the smaller black hole was twisted, much like the stream of water emerging from a spinning, out-of-control firehose.

Because this smaller black hole is moving so fast around its larger neighbour, its particle jet is diverted depending on where it is currently moving.

The researchers call this a 'wagging tail' jet and predict that it should be seen twisting in different directions in the coming years when the smaller black hole changes its speed and direction.

EINSTEIN'S GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY

Albert Einstein

In 1905, Albert Einstein determined that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers - known as the theory of special relativity.

This groundbreaking work introduced a new framework for all of physics, and proposed new concepts of space and time.

He then spent 10 years trying to include acceleration in the theory, finally publishing his theory of general relativity in 1915.

This determined that massive objects cause a distortion in space-time, which is felt as gravity.

At its simplest, it can be thought of as a giant rubber sheet with a bowling ball in the centre.

Pictured is the original historical documents related to Einstein's prediction of the existence of gravitational waves, shown at the Hebrew university in Jerusalem

As the ball warps the sheet, a planet bends the fabric of space-time, creating the force that we feel as gravity.

Any object that comes near to the body falls towards it because of the effect.

Einstein predicted that if two massive bodies came together it would create such a huge ripple in space time that it should be detectable on Earth.

It was most recently demonstrated in the hit film film Interstellar.

In a segment that saw the crew visit a planet which fell within the gravitational grasp of a huge black hole, the event caused time to slow down massively.

Crew members on the planet barely aged while those on the ship were decades older on their return.

{ https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/index.html }

10-10-2025 om 18:17 geschreven door peter  

3I/ATLAS, as seen by the Gemini South observatory in August 2025

(Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Shadow the Scientist).

Physicists have detected water activity during observations of the mysterious comet 3I/ATLAS, marking the first time hydroxyl gas, a chemical signature of water, has been detected from the interstellar visitor. 

Using NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, the Auburn University team determined 3I/ATLAS is releasing water at a rate of roughly 40 kilograms per second, comparable to a fire hose running at full blast, while positioned nearly three times farther from the Sun than Earth.

What makes this finding particularly remarkable is the distance at which this activity was observed: 2.90 astronomical units, well beyond the region where most solar system comets show any significant signs of such activity.

“When we detect water—or even its faint ultraviolet echo, OH—from an interstellar comet, we’re reading a note from another planetary system,” explained Dennis Bodewits, professor of physics at Auburn University and principal investigator of the study, in a press release. “It tells us that the ingredients for life’s chemistry are not unique to our own.”

According to their paper, the scientists used ultraviolet light to detect water molecules coming off the comet. The team found that there is a specific signal water gives off as it breaks apart in space, and the water the comet was releasing grew significantly between late July and mid-August 2025.

To make this discovery, they relied on NASA’s Swift telescope, which orbits high above Earth. Even though Swift only has a 12-inch mirror, it can see ultraviolet light much better than telescopes on the ground because it’s beyond our atmosphere, which normally blocks most ultraviolet light from reaching telescopes on the surface. From its location in space, Swift has the same power as a much larger 13-foot telescope would have on Earth for this type of observation.

Since its discovery on July 1, 2025, by the NASA-funded ATLAS survey telescope in Chile, 3I/ATLAS has consistently defied expectations. Previous research reported by The Debrief has revealed that this interstellar visitor is “anomalously massive” compared to its predecessors, with recent studies suggesting a minimum nucleus diameter of roughly five kilometers and a mass of at least 33 billion tons.

This extraordinary size places 3I/ATLAS several orders of magnitude more massive than the first two known interstellar objects, 1I/’Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov. As Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb noted in previous correspondence with The Debrief, “We should have detected an order of 100,000 ‘Oumuamuas before discovering an object as big as 3I/ATLAS”.

The comet’s massive nature helps explain its ability to maintain course despite significant outgassing activity. Unlike smaller objects that would be deflected by gas jets from their sun-facing surfaces, 3I/ATLAS has shown remarkable orbital stability, with non-gravitational acceleration measured at less than 15 meters per day squared.

The discovery of water emanating from the comet only adds to its complexity and mystique.

Rather than simple nuclear sublimation, the research suggests water production originates from extended sources, most likely large icy grains in the comet’s coma that sublimate as they’re heated by sunlight. This mechanism, observed in only a handful of distant comets, points to complex, layered ice structures that preserve their ancient formation clues.

The water detection adds another chapter to the evolving story of interstellar objects in our solar system. As lead researcher Zexi Xing noted, “Every interstellar comet so far has been a surprise. ‘Oumuamua was dry, Borisov was rich in carbon monoxide, and now ATLAS is giving up water at a distance where we didn’t expect it.”

“Each one is rewriting what we thought we knew about how planets and comets form around stars,” Xing said. 

Moreover, recent observations by ESA’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter during 3I/ATLAS’s close approach to Mars provided additional imaging opportunities. While the challenging observation conditions highlighted the technical difficulties of studying these rare visitors, it was still considered a unique opportunity to use the orbiter for something outside of its mission parameters.

“Though our Mars orbiters continue to make impressive contributions to Mars science,” ESA project scientist Colin Wilson said at the time. “It’s always extra exciting to see them responding to unexpected situations like this one.”

3I/ATLAS will become observable again after mid-November 2025, offering additional opportunities to track its evolution as it approaches perihelion on October 30. The comet’s trajectory will take it within 1.4 astronomical units of the Sun, just inside Mars’s orbit, before it exits our solar system forever, traveling at a speedy 130,000 miles per hour.

The discovery has profound implications for our understanding of planetary system formation across the galaxy. The presence of water activity in an interstellar comet demonstrates that the basic chemical ingredients for life are not unique to our solar system. Moreover, the complex ice structures indicated by extended water sources preserve information about formation conditions in distant stellar environments billions of years ago.

As 3I/ATLAS continues on its journey through our solar system, astronomers worldwide are seizing this rare opportunity to study material that has drifted through interstellar space for potentially billions of years. Each observation brings new insights into the diversity of planetary systems and the cosmic processes that shape the building blocks of life throughout our galaxy.

• MJ Banias covers space, security, and technology with The Debrief. You can email him at mj@thedebrief.org or follow him on Twitter @mjbanias.

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{ https://thedebrief.org/category/space/ }

10-10-2025 om 17:11 geschreven door peter  

Soar through a 1,000-mile-long maze on Mars in this mesmerizing new satellite video

Watch OIf you've ever wanted to get lost on Mars, now's your chance: You can fly over a maze-like canyon on the Red Planet in a stunning new video from the European Space Agency (ESA).

The animation, based on data from ESA's Mars Express spacecraft, brings viewers on a "mesmerising flight over curving channels carved by water, islands that have resisted erosion, and a maze of hilly terrain," using images from the spacecraft's high-resolution stereo camera, ESA officials said in a statement.

"Central to the tour is a 1300 km [808-mile]-long outflow channel called Shalbatana Vallis," they explained. "It cascades down from the highland region of Xanthe Terra to the smoother lowlands of Chryse Planitia. Billions of years ago, water surged through this channel, creating many of the features we see today. The tour culminates in a spectacular view of a 100 km [62-mile]-wide impact crater, smashed out of Mars's surface when it collided with a space rock."

Xanthe Terra was the name the International Astronomical Union gave to this region in 1979, following high-resolution mapping of Mars by spacecraft of that era. The name means something like "golden-yellow land," according to DLR, the German space agency, which funded the camera equipment.

Keen-eyed video viewers will see the flight cross the "Martian dichotomy boundary," where the craters of the southern highlands gradually smooth into flatter plains in the northern lowlands, DLR stated in a separate statement. Researchers are still not sure why this dichotomy exists.

The video also features outflow channels that "are wide, deeply incised valley structures that likely formed in Mars' geological past during catastrophic flood events involving enormous quantities of water," DLR officials said. This carving may have happened as volcanoes melted underground ice deposits.

The Mars Express camera scours Mars' geology as part of the larger mission's search for life, DLR officials added the statement.

Mars Express has been at the Red Planet since 2003, for what was supposed to be a two-year mission. The spacecraft is still healthy after more than 20 years of service, and it has received multiple mission extensions based on its scientific return.

"While it may be feeling its age, it continues to lift the lid on the Red Planet, with implications for our understanding of our own home," ESA officials wrote of the long-running mission in 2023.

{ https://www.livescience.com/space }

09-10-2025 om 22:20 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

09-10-2025 om 20:29 geschreven door peter  

{ https://www.universetoday.com/ }

09-10-2025 om 20:19 geschreven door peter