planets
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Environment
Q&A: A system approach to preserving planets
Boone’s interest in systems thinking is reflected in his hobby of astrophotography. His photo of the Roset Nebula in the Monoceros constellation – “approximately 5,000 light years, 130 light years in diameter (gigantic)” was taken from his backyard in Arizona, stacking 40 five-minute images to produce this final result. Credit: Chris Boone Chris Boone leads USC Price Public Policy as…
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Space & Cosmos
Four small planets discovered around one of the closest stars to Earth – experts explain what we know
Top Panel: Planetary Phase Folding Plots Bernards B, C, D, and E are based on joint fit between the Maroon X red channel and the espresso radial velocity. Bottom panel: Residuals as a function of time in the 4-planet model. Credit: The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2025). doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ADB8D5 Bernard’s star is a small, dim star of what astronomers call the Red…
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Earth
Quantifying the way rivers bends may identify the origin of channels on other planets.
Credit: Lee Patrick of Pexel Whether it’s a river that blocks the earth, a lava that melts rocks, or water that slices ice, it twists and bends in a similar, reciprocating way. However, a new study led by scientists at the University of Texas at Austin found that the channels carved into the river had curves that were actually cut…
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Environment
Why Freetown’s famous tree planting scheme doesn’t work in other African cities and planets
Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Since 2020, more than 1 million trees have been planted in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Known as “Freetownthetreetown,” the planting plan is celebrated with an ambitious plan to plant another five million trees by 2030 and another five million by 2050. The mayor’s global network known as C40 cities and other urban development experts calls it a…
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Space & Cosmos
Does the evolution of planets support human-like lives? Study the odds of ups that we are not alone
The new model overturns decades-old “hard step” theory that intelligent life is an incredibly unlikely event, suggesting that it was not that difficult or impossible. The team of researchers said a new interpretation of human origin would increase the probability of intellectual life elsewhere in the universe. Credit: NASA Humanity is not extraordinary, and rather, according to a new model…
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Space & Cosmos
Planets can form even in the harshest conditions
An artist’s concept of planet formation occurring in a harsh stellar environment. Credit: AUI/NSF NRAO/S.Dagnello According to the most widely held astronomical model (the nebular hypothesis), new stars are born from giant clouds of dust and gas (also known as nebulae) that undergo gravitational collapse. The remaining dust and gas forms a protoplanetary disk surrounding the new star and slowly…
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Space & Cosmos
Here’s how interstellar objects and rogue planets get trapped in our solar system
Illustration of an interstellar object approaching the solar system. Credit: Rubin Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. DaSilva When ‘Oumuamua crossed the solar system in 2017, it was the first confirmed interstellar object (ISO). And in 2019, Comet 2l/Borisov did the same thing. These are the only ISOs confirmed to visit our solar system. There have been many more ISOs in our solar system’s long…
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Space & Cosmos
Indicators of possible life on other planets can be created in the lab
Diagram of the general methodology. “Sorg” stands for “organic sulfur gases,” “GC” for “gas chromatography,” and “SCD” for “sulfur chemiluminescence detection.” Credit: The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2024). DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ad74da One way to understand the possibility of life on distant planets — planets in other solar systems orbiting other stars — is to study their atmospheres. Images taken with telescopes often…
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