Astronomers Propose New Definition of Planet
Established in 2006 by the International Astronomical Union, the current definition specifies that to qualify as a planet, a celestial body must orbit the Sun within our Solar System. But…
SOHO Observatory Discovers Its 5,000th Comet
On March 25, 2024, Hanjie Tan, an astronomy Ph.D. student in Prague, Czech Republic, spotted a comet in an image from the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which…
Mars Drives Deep-Ocean Circulation in Earth’s Oceans, Study Suggests
Geoscientists from Australia and France have used the geological record of Earth’s deep oceans to discover a connection between the orbits of our home planet and Mars. They’ve discovered a…
Severe Space Weather Events Disrupt Nocturnal Bird Migrations, Researchers Find
Earth’s magnetic field is occasionally but regularly impacted by bursts of energy from the Sun (space weather), such as coronal mass ejections. Birds and other animals depend on the geomagnetic…
Auroral Mechanisms May Be Universal throughout Our Solar System
An analysis of data obtained during the ESA/JAXA BepiColombo spacecraft’s first Mercury flyby reveals that Mercury’s southern magnetosphere aurorae are similar to those seen on Earth and Mars. An artist’s…
Parker Solar Probe Identifies Mechanism Driving Fast Solar Wind
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has flown close enough to the Sun to detect the fine structure of the solar wind close to where it is generated at the solar surface,…
Impact Glass Beads from the Moon Contain Solar Wind-Derived Water, Study Shows
Scientists from China and the United States have analyzed the impact glass beads from a lunar soil sample returned by China’s Chang’e-5 mission. Asteroid and comet impacts are the major…
Curiosity Rover Images Sun Rays and Feather-Shaped Clouds on Mars
‘Sun rays’ are also known as crepuscular rays, from the Latin word for twilight. It was the first time sun rays have been so clearly viewed on Mars. This feather-shaped…
Ancient Mexicans Had Very Accurate Agricultural Calendar, Study Says
The accurate agricultural calendar allowed the ancient inhabitants of the Basin of Mexico to plan their agricultural cycle to feed one of the largest population densities on Earth, as well…