Scientists have been debating for decades whether Mars once held a vast ocean covering a large part of its northern face. To prove the idea, they’ve been looking for a “bathtub ring” – a distinct, level shoreline that shows where water once stood. But, despite years of looking, they’ve only been able to find a …
The search for life beyond Earth has traditionally focused on exoplanets orbiting Sun-like stars, which is a G-type star. However, low-mass stars, which are designated as K-type and M-type stars, have rapidly become a target for astrobiology, primarily due to their much longer lifetimes. This also means the habitable zone (HZ), which is the distance …
Stellar Flares May Expand Habitable Zones Around Small Stars Read More »
As we make our way through the latest solar maximum period, scholars and scientists are looking to similar events in the past to learn more about ancient bouts of solar activity. In particular, they want to know more about solar proton events (SPEs). These outbursts of high-energy particles get triggered by flares and coronal mass …
Scientists Connect Sub-extreme Solar Outbursts to Tree Rings via Poetry Read More »
New research examines 10 different types of global technological civilizations, how they govern themselves, how they use resources, and other factors, to determine which types may endure and which may be doomed to collapse. Simulations show that resource use plays the key role. The simulations also show which types of detectable technosignatures each may generate.This …
Which Types of Civilizations Collapse and Which Can Endure? Read More »
Physical AI is advancing quickly. AI models can now recognize objects, plan actions, and adapt to new tasks. But despite this progress, most systems still struggle to scale in real-world environments. Two core challenges explain why: Limited real-world dexterity High cost and complexity of deployment Until these are solved, Physical AI will remain difficult to …
Why Physical AI isn't scaling yet, and what's holding it back Read More »
So far, America has remained ahead in the new space race. But its biggest rival is making continual steps to catch up. China announced another step in that direction with the unveiling of its first ever reusable five-meter-wide composite propulsion module, announced in a press release on April 11th.This post was originally published on this …
China Unveils a Massive 5-Meter Composite Module for its Next-Generation Reusable Rocket Read More »
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket stands in the vertical launch position at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station ahead of the launch of the GPS III-8 mission for the U.S. Space Force. Image: SpaceX The U.S. Space Force is set to launch its final Global Positioning System (GPS) III satellite …
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch final GPS III satellite for the U.S. Space Force Read More »
Using the eROSITA space telescope, MPE researchers have successfully isolated the X-ray glow from our Solar System, revealing its impact on the soft X-ray sky. The findings, published in Science, underscore the importance of considering Solar System processes when analyzing X-ray data and highlight eROSITA’s role in advancing not only astrophysics but also heliophysics.This post …
Water is critical to life because cells need liquid to function. That’s why scientists focus on finding and studying exoplanets in habitable zones. But even if they’re in habitable zones, exoplanets need lots of water to support their carbon cycles. So without water, exoplanets become inhospitable greenhouse planets, regardless if they’re in habitable zones or …
Exoplanets Without Lots of Water Can't Maintain Their Carbon Cycles Read More »
New missions mean new capabilities – and one particularly interesting new mission is finally up and running. Data is starting to come in from SPHEREx, the medium-class surveyor that is mapping the entire sky every six months. A paper based on some of that early data was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal, mapping ice …
NASA’s SPHEREx Telescope Just Mapped the Cosmic Ices That Will Someday Build Planets Read More »
