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It’s turns out that you don’t need a high-powered quantum experiment to observe Heisenberg’s uncertainty Principle. You just need to go the beach.

Heisenberg’s famous principle tells us that the more precisely we try to measure the position of a subatomic particle, the less we know about its momentum, and vice versa. While the roots of this principle lay in a fundamental mathematical property of quantum mechanics, it’s easy enough to see this play out in a completely different context.

The next time you’re at a beach, check out the waves rolling onto shore. If you happen to see a perfectly even line of wave crests following one after another, you are looking at something called a plane wave. Plane waves have extremely easy to measure wavelengths. You simply break out a ruler and measure the distance from wave crest to wave crest.

But if I were to ask you to pinpoint the location of the wave, you wouldn’t be able to be that precise. You would just look out over the ocean, seeing all those beautiful waves lined up right against each other, and just wave your hand and say that the wave is just kind of all over the place.

So when it comes to plane waves, you can accurately measure their wavelength, but not their position.

Now let’s say that a tsunami wave is coming in. This kind of wave looks more like a pulse. If I asked you where the tsunami wave was, you would be able to point right to it and say it’s right there – it’s highly localized in space.

But what about its wavelength? Well, there’s no successive lines of wave crests to measure. At first there’s nothing, then there’s the big wave, and then there’s nothing again. So how do you define the wavelength of something like that?

It turns out that in order to describe a pulse, you need to combine lots of waves with all sorts of different wavelengths. They all work together to make the pulse happen, canceling each other out at the edges of the pulse in reinforcing each other at the center. So when it comes to a pulse, you know it’s position very well, but you are much less certain about its wavelength.

This relationship holds for all kinds of waves in the universe. And in the early 20th century, we realized that all particles had waves associated with them. These waves are very strange, they are waves of probability that describe where we are likely to see a particle the next time we go looking for it, but it’s still a wave. And as a wave, there is a trade-off we must make when trying to accurately measure one property versus another.

It means, fundamentally, that the precision of our knowledge of the subatomic world is limited. And there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it. It’s not a matter of technology or cleverness – it’s simply the way that nature plays the game.

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It’s not unusual for space probes to complete gravitational flyby manoeuvres en route to their destination. It’s a bit more unusual when the flyby is at the destination planet. ESA’s BepiColombo spacecraft is manoeuvring around Mercury into its final orbit. With each flyby it gets closer and closer and closer until its finally captured by Mercury’s gravity in 2026. During the latest flyby, stunning images of the nearest planet to the Sun were captured from just a few hundred km. Checkout the best and most stunning images of Mercury yet. 

Mercury, the smallest planet in the Solar System and closest to the Sun is a rocky world. It’s surface somewhat resembles the Moon, desolate and heavily cratered. The lack of an atmosphere and the proximity to the Sun means daytime temperatures can reach a whopping 472°C but they plummet to -200°C at night. Mercury’s orbit is highly elliptical taking just 88 Earth days to complete one full orbit around the Sun. From Earth Mercury is never far from the Sun in the sky and so is very difficult to observe in the bright twilight sky. 

Image of Mercury taken by NASA’s MESSENGER mission. Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/ASU/Carnegie Institution of Washington

To date, only two spacecraft have visited Mercury; Mariner 10 and Messenger. There is now another on the way, BepiColombo. It was launched on 20 October 2018 where it began its journey to the innermost planet. Led by ESA, this joint mission with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA.) is made up of two orbiters; ESA’s Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA’s Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter. On arrival, the two orbiters will manoeuvre into their dedicated polar orbits, beginning their operations in early 2027. 

BepiColombo stacked in preparation for launch. ESA

During a press briefing on 9 January 2025, ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher revealed the first images from the spacecraft’s monitoring cameras (M-CAMs) and the results did not disappoint. 

In this first image, BepiColombo passed over Mercury’s terminator, the line between the day and night hemispheres, allowing M-CAM 1 to peer into the permanently shadowed craters of the north pole. The craters Prokofiev, Kandinsky, Tolkien and Gordimer can be seen with their permanently dark floors. Despite Mercury’s proximity to the Sun, the floors of the craters are some of the coldest places in the Sun. In these dark, shadowy places there is even evidence of frozen water!

The second image captures the volcanic plane known as Borealis Planitia. The large smooth plains on Mercury, rather like those on the Moon, formed billions of years ago. In the case of Mercury, it’s thought the plains formed 3.7 billion years ago when volcanic eruptions flooded the surface with molten lava. Any craters that were in the area, such as Henri and Lismer got filled with lava and as the planet cooled, wrinkles formed in the plains much like the wrinkling of an apple skin. 

Many of the smaller craters in this region have been wiped out by the lava but the rim of Mendelssohn crater is still visible along with Caloris Basin, a large impact crater with a diameter of 1,500 km. 

The final image was taken by M-CAM 2 and shows more evidence of volcanic activity and impact events. There is a bright region toward the upper limb and this is known as Nathair Facula. It’s the result of the largest volcanic explosion on Mercury with a central vent 40km across. Evidence has been found for at least 3 major eruptions that have deposited lava over 150km away. In stark contrast, to the left is the much younger Fonteyn Crater, just 300 million years old! 

Source : Top three images from BepiColombo’s sixth Mercury flyby

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According to the most widely held astronomical model (the Nebular Hypothesis), new stars are born from massive clouds of dust and gas (aka. a nebula) that experience gravitational collapse. The remaining dust and gas form a protoplanetary disk that encircles the new star, which slowly accretes to form systems of planets. For the past decade, astronomers have relied on the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to study young stars and their disks and learn more about how this process occurs.

In a recent study, an international team of astronomers used ALMA to capture high-resolution images of eight protoplanetary disks in the Sigma Orionis cluster, a group of stars located in the constellation Orion. During their observations, the team found evidence of gaps and rings in most of the disks, which are potential indications that giant planets are forming. This was surprising, seeing as how these disks are irradiated by intense ultraviolet (UV) radiation from a massive star in the cluster. Their findings suggest that planet formation can occur in conditions that were previously thought to be inhospitable.

The study was led by Jane Huang, an assistant professor in the Department of Astronomy at Columbia University. She was joined by Shangjia Zhang, a NASA Sagan Fellow from Columbia University and the Nevada Center for Astrophysics, and Feng Long (also a NASA Sagan Fellow) from the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL). The team also included researchers from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), the University of St. Andrews, the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and NASA Headquarters. Their research was recently published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Images captured by ALMA’s most extended antenna configuration reveal surprisingly rich disk structures in the sigma Ori cluster. Credit: ALMA (ESO/JAO/NAOJ/NRAO), J. Huang et. al.

The research team used the most extended configuration of ALMA’s 12-meter antennas, which provided a zoom lens effect, allowing them to achieve a resolution of about eight astronomical units (eight times the distance between the Sun and Earth). This allowed them to resolve multiple gaps and rings in images of five of the disks, comparable to what astronomers have observed in other systems where giant planets were forming. The most impressive of these was the disk known as SO 1274, which features five gaps that could be a system of planets in the making.

Whereas previous studies have focused on disks in regions with low ultraviolet radiation, this research provides ALMA’s highest-resolution observations of disks in a more extreme environment. While stars are typically born in much harsher UV environments, astronomers understanding of substructures is primarily based on observations of nearby star-forming regions with mild UV environments. These findings could have implications for our understanding of how the Solar System formed, which may have evolved in a similarly high-radiation environment. As Huang noted in an NRAO press release:

“We expected the high levels of radiation in this cluster to inhibit planet formation in the outer regions of these disks. But instead, we’re seeing signs that planets may be forming at distances of tens of astronomical units from their stars, similar to what we’ve observed in less harsh environments. These observations suggest that the processes driving planet formation are quite robust and can operate even under challenging circumstances. This gives us more confidence that planets may be forming in even more places throughout the galaxy, even in regions we previously thought were too harsh.”

However, the team acknowledges that these structures could also result from interactions between planets in formation and the disk material. Their findings, therefore, illustrate the need and potential for follow-up studies of disks in even more extreme stellar environments. It also demonstrates the ability of ALMA to probe protoplanetary disks in diverse environments throughout the galaxy.

Further Reading: NRAO, The Astrophysical Journal

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The hunt for aliens goes hand in hand with the hunt for habitable planets. Astronomers are on the hunt for exoplanets with atmospheric chemicals that could be a sign of an advanced civilisation. These chemicals, known as technosignatures are found on Earth and are the result of burning fossil fuels. A team of researchers have been exploring Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and whether they could detect them.

Over the decades, researchers have developed a number of different ways to hunt for advanced civilisations. From scanning stars for abnormal radio signals or laser pulses to searching for evidence of water the techniques have so far returned no positive results. Initiatives like SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) have used some of the world’s most powerful radio telescopes to listen for signals. At the same time, the habitable zones of exoplanets have been probed for signs of water suggesting life may exist. 

The Allen Telescope Array searches for alien technosignals. Credit: Seth Shostak, SETI Institute

A team of researchers led by Dwaipayan Dubey explored the viability of using Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) as an alternate way to continue the search. PAH’s sprung into the headlines when they were detected inside a Martian Meteorite. Their discovery received a lot of attention since the hydrocarbons are known to be the byproduct of life and finding them buried in Martian meteorites suggested some form of life at some point in the history of Mars. The debate is still continuing but the team believe searching for the hydrocarbon in planetary atmospheres could give away advanced civilisations.

In 1996 a team of scientists lead by Dr. David McKay of NASA’s Johnson Space Center announced possible evidence of life on Mars. The evidence came from their studies of a Martian meteorite found in Antarctica, called Alan Hills 84001. The researchers found chemical and physical traces of possible life including carbonate globules that resemble terrestrial nanobacteria (electron micrograph shown) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In terrestrial rock, the chemical traces would be considered breakdown products of bacterial life. The findings became the subject of controversy as non-biological explanations for the findings were found. Today, they are no longer regarded as definitive evidence of Martian life. Credits: NASA Johnson Space Center

There are sources of PAH’s in space such as the interstellar medium but they are mostly associated with activities from biological beings. The team focus their attention on hydrocarbons that have available absorption cross sections in the atmosphere of exoplanets like Earth. An absorption cross section is a measure of the probability of an absorption process such as particle scattering being detected by the 8m Habitable Worlds Observatory. The chosen chemicals are Naphthalene, Anthracene, Phenanthrene, and Pyrene. 

A future interstellar probe mission aims to travel beyond the heliosphere to the local interstellar medium to understand where our home came from and where it is going. Credit: John Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

Drawing on evidence from Earth-based PAH concentrations the team knew that they have declined a little since the industrial revolution. Learning from this they ran simulations across a range of concentrations hoping they could prove the detection capabilities of an Earth-like civilisation. Telescope architecture was also explored in the paper and, whilst large mirrors help improve resolution and light gathering capability the result was less positive. 

The analysis relied upon a large telescope mirror being able to resolve detail in the spectral signature of four molecules. They found however that telescopes with 6m, 8m or 10m aperture would have an insufficient signal to noise ratio to be able to resolve the necessary details. The final conclusion of the team was that the detection of PAH signatures between 0.2 and 0.515?m using large Earth-based telescope is infeasible. 

This is a great example of a piece of work that doesn’t yield a positive outcome however a negative result in scientific research is also valuable. Further research and lab based measurements are now needed to help improve the detectability of the molecules and perhaps help us to find our first comic neighbour. 

Source : Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as an Extraterrestrial Atmospheric Technosignatures

The post Could We Detect Advanced Civilisations by their Industrial Pollution? Probably Not. appeared first on Universe Today.

Computers are an integral part of space exploration, keeping them functioning when away from Earth. The space environment however is a far from ideal environment for them to operate in. High energy particles can even flip memory bits effecting storage and damaging the computers. NASA are now testing a Radiation Tolerant Computer (RadPC) which has been designed to handle higher levels of radiation. It’s inaugural flight is booked on a trip to the Moon as part of the Firefly Aerospace Blue Ghost 1 Lunar Lander. 

Modern space missions rely critically upon computers to perform functions like navigation, processing data and communication. The extreme environment of space however makes computer operations challenging as, aside form high levels of radiation they must endure microgravity, vibrations upon launch and high thermal variations. Without the computers to operate life-support for crewed missions or the multitude of scientific experimentation, and variety of data gathering the missions not achieve their goals. Ground based systems complement the onboard computers providing further analytical information, communication and other support functions but as computers advance and space missions become more ambitious, computers will become relied upon even more. 

SpaceX’s Starship lifts off from its Texas pad for the launch system’s sixth flight test. (Credit: SpaceX)

One of the challenges bestowed upon computer operations in space is radiation. On Earth, computers (and human beings, indeed everything on the planet) is largely protected by the planet’s magnetic field and the atmosphere. Journey into space however, and these natural shields are absent, immersing the traveller and their craft to high levels of radiation. The Sun, events on the Sun and cosmic rays are just some of the sources of radiation that our craft are exposed to. Exposure to radiation can damage materials, electronic systems and even data. Ideally advanced shielding materials can be employed but this becomes even more crucial for long duration missions. 

The Solar Orbiter mission is studying the Sun in great detail. It is helping scientists track down the source of the solar wind. Courtesy: ESA.

Even one high-energy dose of radiation can trigger the so called “single event effect.” These can lead to data errors that can lead to a cascading malfunction that can even crash systems. For some time now, NASA has been exploring ways to protect against radiation damage to on board computers. The solution; the Radiation Tolerant Computer known as the RadPC. It’s scheduled to be one of the payloads on board the Commercial Lunar Payload Services mission to the Moon, carried by Blue Ghost 1.

NASA has selected three commercial Moon landing service providers that will deliver science and technology payloads under Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) as part of the Artemis program. Each commercial lander will carry NASA-provided payloads that will conduct science investigations and demonstrate advanced technologies on the lunar surface, paving the way for NASA astronauts to land on the lunar surface by 2024…The selections are:..• Astrobotic of Pittsburgh has been awarded $79.5 million and has proposed to fly as many as 14 payloads to Lacus Mortis, a large crater on the near side of the Moon, by July 2021…• Intuitive Machines of Houston has been awarded $77 million. The company has proposed to fly as many as five payloads to Oceanus Procellarum, a scientifically intriguing dark spot on the Moon, by July 2021…• Orbit Beyond of Edison, New Jersey, has been awarded $97 million and has proposed to fly as many as four payloads to Mare Imbrium, a lava plain in one of the Moon’s craters, by September 2020. ..All three of the lander models were on display for the announcement of the companies selected to provide the first lunar landers for the Artemis program, on Friday, May 31, 2019, at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. ..Read more: https://go.nasa.gov/2Ki2mJo..Credit: NASA/Goddard/Rebecca Roth

The system, which aims to demonstrate recovery from faults caused by radiation events, was developed by a team of researchers at Montana State University. Rather cleverly, it can monitor its own health in real-time using a series of processors known as programmable gate arrays. These logic blocks are easy to repair should they be struck by radiation and that’s the secret behind the success of RadPC. If it detects a strike, it will be able to identify its location and repair the issue in the background. It also has sensors that can measure the varying levels of radiation, known as dosimeters. It will constantly monitor and measure the interactions between the Earth’s magnetosphere and the solar wind on the way to the Moon and generate detailed radiation information about the landing site. 

If RadPC is successful it could lead to a new generation of computers perfectly suited to the harsh environments of space. It could harbour in an era of less damage to systems or minimal data corruption making computers far more resilient

Source: NASA to Test Solution for Radiation-Tolerant Computing in Space

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By the end of this decade, NASA, the Chinese National Space Agency (CNSA), Roscosmos, and other space agencies plan to establish a sustained human presence on the Moon. A crucial aspect of these plans is using local resources (particularly water) to lessen dependence on Earth, a process known as in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). Hence why NASA plans to establish a base of operations around the lunar south pole, a heavily cratered region where water ice exists in abundance in permanently shadowed regions (PSRs).

To harvest water ice and other resources successfully, NASA is investing in technologies that will enable cost-effective sample collection, in-situ testing (with or without astronaut oversight), and real-time data transmission to Earth. One such technology is the Lunar PlanetVac (LPV), a sample acquisition and delivery system designed to collect and transfer lunar regolith to sample containers without reliance on gravity. The LPV is one of 10 payloads that will be flown to the lunar surface as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program.

Developed by Honeybee Robotics, a Blue Origin company, LPV is a pneumatic, compressed gas-powered vacuum cleaner designed to work in low gravity and the near vacuum of space. Once the lander reaches the lunar surface, the LPV sampling head will use its supply of compressed gas to stir up the lunar regolith, which will then be funneled into a transfer tube via the payload’s secondary pneumatic jets and collected in a sample container. The regolith will then be sieved and photographed inside the container, and the findings will be transmitted back to Earth in real-time.

The operation will be entirely autonomous and is expected to take just a few seconds. NASA also claims the operation will be conducted in accordance with planetary protection protocols. According to Dennis Harris, who manages the LPV payload for the CLPS initiative at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, the LPV has the potential to be a game changer. As he stated in a recent NASA press release:

“There’s no digging, no mechanical arm to wear out requiring servicing or replacement – it functions like a vacuum cleaner. The technology on this CLPS payload could benefit the search for water, helium, and other resources and provide a clearer picture of in situ materials available to NASA and its partners for fabricating lunar habitats and launch pads, expanding scientific knowledge and the practical exploration of the solar system every step of the way.”

The LPV will be flown to the Moon aboard the Blue Ghost 1 lunar lander (developed by Firefly Aerospace) no sooner than January 15th. The other payloads include technology demonstrations that will investigate regolith adherence, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) abilities, radiation tolerant computing, and dust mitigation using electrodynamic fields. The lander will also investigate heat flow from the lunar interior, plume-surface interactions, crustal electric and magnetic fields, and take X-ray images of the Earth’s magnetosphere.

Further Reading: NASA

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Could a new, fifth force of nature provide some answers to our biggest questions about dark matter and dark energy? We’re working on it.

The Standard Model is, for all intents and purposes, the supreme accomplishment of modern physics. It describes four forces of nature, a zoo of particles, and how they all interact. It is perhaps the most successful scientific theory of all time.

And it’s fantastically incomplete.

It turns out that the Standard Model is able to account for less than 5% of all the matter and energy in the cosmos. Another 25% or so is Dark Matter, an unknown kind of matter that is for all intents and purposes invisible. The rest is known as Dark Energy, a mysterious entity that is causing the expansion of the universe to accelerate.

One of the first things astronomers noticed when they first discovered dark matter and dark energy was their apparent similarity. Why in the world are the two dark components of our universe roughly the same strength? I know, 25% and 70% don’t sound very similar, but when it comes to astronomy – and especially cosmology – they’re basically the exact same number.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence that they have about the same strength, and we’re overthinking it.

Or maybe it’s something else. Clever physicists have proposed connections within the “dark sector” of the universe, where dark matter and dark energy talk to each other. This would allow them to follow each other’s evolution, ensuring that they have roughly equal contributions to the energy budget of the universe for long periods of time.

To make them talk to each other, you need a force. But this force can’t be any of the known ones, otherwise dark matter and/or dark energy must also interact with normal matter, and we would have seen more directly evidence of them already.

So it has to be a new force, a fifth force of nature, completely different from electromagnetism, gravity, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear.  While ideas like this remain only in the realm of hypothesis, some of the ideas already have names.

One name is quintessence, the fifth essence of the universe. Another is dark photons, a particle that travels the cosmos like a photon but is, as its name suggests, dark.

To test these ideas we have to turn to the cosmos for answers. If a fifth force exists, it must be very subtle. Stronger manifestations of the fifth force have already been ruled out by observations of galaxy clusters, the expansion of the universe, and even the behaviors of neutron stars. So we have our work cut out for us – it will take a truly massive amount of data to tease out some signal that differs from expectations.

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In 2015, the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development—the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—a universal call to action to protect the planet for future generations and ensure that all people will enjoy peace and prosperity. These 17 goals included the elimination of poverty, hunger, and inequalities, the promotion of education, and the promotion of sustainable development worldwide. With the rapid development in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), there are growing concerns that an 18th SDG should be adopted for space.

This goal calls for the sustainable use of Earth’s orbit by space agencies and commercial industry and the prevention of the accumulation of space junk. This has become a growing problem in recent years thanks to the deployment of satellite mega-constellations and the “commercialization of LEO.” In a recent study led by the University of Plymouth, a team of experts outlined how the lessons learned from marine debris mitigation could be applied to space so that future generations can live in a world where space truly is “for all humanity.”

The study was conducted by an international collaboration of experts from the International Marine Litter Research Unit (IMLRU) at the University of Plymouth, the Aukland Space Institute and the Centre for Putaiao at the University of Auckland, the School of Earth and Climate Sciences (SECS) at the University of Maine, PBLWorks Ltd., the Arribada Club, Science StoryLab Ltd., the Centre for Aeronautics at Cranfield University, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and many other universities, institutes, and commercial space companies.

Graph showing how the number of unregistered objects (red) in space has increased in recent years. Credit: ESA/UNOOSA

According to the ESA’s Space Debris Office (SDO), there have been 6,740 rocket launches since the beginning of the Space Age in 1957. The number of satellites these rockets deployed close to 20,000 satellites in orbit, about 13,230 are still in space while about 10,200 are still operational. These satellites have immensely benefited society, providing global communications, high-bandwidth internet, and other services used by billions of people worldwide. They’ve also enabled Earth observation science, allowing scientists to monitor ecological systems, forest fires, natural disasters, and climate change.

However, these launches have also left LEO littered with spent rocket stages, inoperable satellites, and debris from explosions or collisions. According to the SDO, there are currently 40,500 space debris objects greater than 10 cm (~4 inches) in LEO, and over 100 million measuring from 1 mm to 10 cm (~0.04 to 4 inches). This could lead to a scenario known as Kessler Syndrome, where the accumulation of debris increases the likelihood of more collisions, creating a vicious cycle that poses a significant hazard to active satellites and operations in space.

“It’s important because space is a finite resource in dire need of environmental protection, and it’s been neglected thus far because it hasn’t been universally accepted as such. Our collective actions are leading us to a tragedy of the commons,” said co-author Moriba Jah, a Professor of Aerospace Engineering & Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin.

In 2009, Kessler wrote that attempts to model the orbital debris problem indicated the debris environment had already become unstable. With the number of launches dramatically increasing annually, it is clear to many that the time for action is now. Dr. Imogen Ellen Napper, a Visiting Research Fellow with the IMRLU, led the study that recently appeared in One Earth. As she said in a University of Plymouth press release:

“The need to protect and connect our natural environments, from the ocean to Earth’s orbit, has never been more urgent. Both are vital to the health of our planet, yet increasingly under threat from the pressures we place on them. There is growing recognition that marine litter knows no international boundaries, and the same applies to space debris. A UN-backed agreement would be a crucial step in safeguarding Earth’s orbit for the future.”

Their work builds on a previous article titled “Protect Earth’s orbit: Avoid high seas mistakes,” authored by Dr. Napper and many of her colleagues who contributed to this latest paper. In the article, the team cited how insubstantial maritime governance has led to overfishing, habitat destruction, deep-sea mining, and plastic pollution. They further called for a legally binding treaty to ensure that the future expansion of the global industry does not irreparably harm Earth’s orbit. Said co-author Dr. Thomas Dowling, a lecturer in Remote Sensing & Geospatial Science at the University of Auckland:

“Not so long ago, our oceans were regarded as infinite resources to plunder and infinite sinks for our waste. We now know that view was grossly mistaken – many marine environments are now barren wastelands and more than eight million tonnes of plastic debris is estimated to enter the ocean every year. Earth’s orbit is a similar finite environment to the ocean, and mindlessly exploiting the orbital environment is repeating the mistakes of the past.

“It’s time to create policies to regulate what we’re putting in space, and we need to ensure objects entering orbit are safe, sustainable, and serving essential – or at least important – purposes for significant numbers of people around the world.”

“Just like plastic pollution and climate change, space junk is an issue that transcends borders,” added co-author Professor Heather Koldewey, the ZSL’s Head of Ocean and FAIRER Conservation. “Our ongoing efforts to protect the ocean highlight how important UN-backed agreements are for managing this crisis. It’s key we learn from the challenges and solutions in tackling marine debris and act now to protect our planet’s orbit.”

In their article and study paper, the team argues that SDG18 should draw direct inspiration from an existing goal—SDG14: Life Below Water, which calls for a commitment to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” While several organizations have begun to recognize the need for action, the authors say an additional SDG could be the means through which a global call to action could be made. The necessary mechanisms could be developed and enforced.

They also argue that SDG18 would complement the existing SDGs that emphasize how space technology will support an improved understanding of global issues. This includes Earth Observation (EO) satellites for tracking climate change, organizing disaster relief, and providing geolocation through the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). However, the UN acknowledges that space-based research contributes to economic growth, increased food production, medical advances, access to research facilities, and connecting remote and isolated communities to services.

If this study emphasizes one thing above all, it is the interconnected nature of humanity’s efforts in space and life here on Earth. At the same time, it highlights the need for proactive measures and legal frameworks to address issues of global importance before they become unmanageable. Lastly, it reminds us that if humanity is to achieve the “Great Migration” and become an interplanetary species, we need to avoid making the same mistakes in space that we have on Earth.

The study was conducted with funding provided by the National Geographical Society.

Further Reading: University of Plymouth, One Earth

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Astronomers have been battling threats to their clear skies on all fronts lately. One of the most notable battles, which we have reported on repeatedly, is the one against Starlink and other mega-constellations of satellites, which, while they offer high-speed internet in the most far-flung places, also disrupt observations by sensitive telescopes due to their reflectivity and fast movement speed. They also pose a global problem, whereas a more down-to-earth issue is cropping up at one very special observatory. A vast industrial plant threatens the European Southern Observatory’s Paranal telescope planned only a few kilometers from the site.

The ESO recently released a statement calling on the government of Chile, where Paranal is located, to consider moving the project elsewhere. Currently, AES Andes, a subsidiary of AES Corporation, an American power utility, recently submitted a proposal for the environmental review of a 3000-hectare industrial area that includes hydrogen and ammonium factories, electricity-generating machinery, and, importantly, a lot of lights.

Lights are part and parcel of any large industrial project, but they pose a particular threat to Paranal. In a recent study, it was found to be the observational site with the least amount of light pollution. Any significant increase to that baseline over only about .1% of the generic background level could have a massive negative impact on the capabilities of the telescope located there.

Levels of light pollution at observatories around the world.
Credit – ESO, modified from Falchi et al

That telescope has been an essential part of the astronomical community and contributed to research such as the Nobel Prize-winning 2020 studies into the Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. It also represents billions of dollars of investment from the European Southern Observatory member states.

When thinking about natural resources, a clear sky might not come to someone’s mind, but it certainly is for Chile. In addition to Paranal, two other Chilean observatories are in the top three least light-polluted major astronomical observatories – Armazones and Tokyo Atacama. It also has four more in the top 15, making it one of the best contributors in the world to this type of astronomy.

That contribution is planned to grow with the ESO’s ongoing development of the Extremely Large Telescope not far from the Paranal site. While the light pollution from the planned industrial facility might not reach as far as what will be the biggest telescope of its kind in the world, any precedent by the Chilean government to approve projects that would undercut investment by ESO and other astronomical bodies would be detrimental to the long-term outlook of observations in the country.

The night sky over Paranal.
Credit – ESO YouTube Channel

Since the AES Andes proposal is still in the environmental impact assessment phase, it’s still early enough to provide feedback for a potential alternative. ESO’s letter shows support for the project in concept but suggests moving it to a different location so as not to negatively affect the telescope. Whether or not that is feasible and whether or not the Chilean government will support it at all remains to be seen. But this threat to one of the world’s great observatories shouldn’t be ignored.

Learn More:
ESO – World’s darkest and clearest skies at risk from industrial megaproject
UT – The ESO Releases the Most Detailed Infrared Map of our Galaxy Ever Made
UT – Existing Telescopes Could Directly Observe ‘ExoEarths…’ with a Few Tweaks
UT – The Paranal and the Shadow of the Earth

Lead Image:
Touching the Arc of Space – taken at the Paranal Observatory.
Credit – ESO / P. Horálek

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If you were Captain of the first USS Enterprise, where would you go!? Humanity is on the cusp of reaching out among the stars, maybe not just yet, nor in our lifetimes but it is just around the corner cosmologically speaking. A new paper explores the new technology that could make it a reality but also carefully considers the ethical aspects. Before we make the first journeys we need to be clear about the ethical considerations too so that our exploration is sustainable and responsible.

In 1961 Yuri Gagarin completed the first human spaceflight. In the decades that followed human visitors arrived on the Moon and countless probes have visited the planets. Exploring the stars is a challenge of another level but with theoretical concepts like nuclear propulsion and even warp drive it may not be so far away. Project Orion proposed nuclear powered spacecraft while Project Breakthrough Starshot proposed sending small spacecraft to the stars. The challenges are still vast but no longer insurmountable. 

Yury Gagarin before a space flight aboard the Vostok spacecraft. April 12, 1961 Credit: RIA Novosti

The human drive for exploration has meant the prospect of interstellar travel has always been the obvious next step. As the desire and technology finally start to make this a reality, the ethical debate must also begin as we consider the complex moral implications as we step out among the stars. 

In a fascinating paper authored by Florian Neukart, Professor of Quantum Computing from the Institute of Computer Science in the Netherlands, the focus is to explore the multitude of different elements to interstellar travel. This includes factual elements such as propulsion systems, habitat construction and life support and also sociological, ethical and philosophical issues too. Humans travelling to and exploring planets in our Solar System is one thing but just imagine travelling to and arriving at a world with alien inhabitants. Seems perhaps the stuff of science fiction but once we start travelling across the gulf between the stars, it becomes a real possibility. The paper underlines the deep need to consider all facets of interstellar travel. 

This artist’s impression depicts the exomoon candidate Kepler-1625b-i, the planet it is orbiting and the star in the centre of the star system. Kepler-1625b-i is the first exomoon candidate and, if confirmed, the first moon to be found outside the Solar System. Like many exoplanets, Kepler-1625b-i was discovered using the transit method. Exomoons are difficult to find because they are smaller than their companion planets, so their transit signal is weak, and their position in the system changes with each transit because of their orbit. This requires extensive modelling and data analysis.

Among the questions posed by the paper is the deeply emotive; Should we pursue interstellar travel given the unknowns, or might our resources be better spent addressing urgent Earth-bound challenges? To answer questions like this demands insights from physics, engineering, biology, ethics and social sciences.

The paper includes insight into the current technological capabilities in consideration of the current theoretical frameworks of interstellar travel. It discusses multiple possible technologies such as the Magnetic Fusion Plasma Drive, nuclear thermal propulsion, ion drives and even warp drives. Life support systems and habitat protection technology are also considered and discussed. 

Artist impression of a starship with warp drive (Credit : Alorin)

I feel however that, whilst the technology will undoubtedly get us to the stars, the debates about whether we should will continue for some time. One thing is for sure, the many different aspects of interstellar travel must be carefully weighed up and considered with suitable frameworks being established. Not only will this protect us as we extend our travels into deep space but it will protect environments and life that we come across along the way.

Source : Toward the stars: Technological, ethical, and sociopolitical dimensions of interstellar exploration

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Now is the best time to observe Mars in 2025.

Mars from 2014. Credit: Paul Stewart.

January has an amazing parade of evening planets, well worth braving the cold for. We have brilliant Venus, high to the west after sunset, reaching greatest elongation on January 10th. Fainter Saturn sits just above Venus as the two meet on January 19th. Meanwhile, Jupiter dominates the eastern sky, fresh off of opposition in December. But stay awake just a bit longer after dusk, and you can see Mars rising in the east.

As a special treat, observers in most of North America will also see the nearly Full Moon pass in front of Mars Monday night.

Mars Opposition 2025

This works because Mars reaches opposition in January 2025, rising ‘opposite’ to the setting Sun. Think of the Red Planet as a slower runner on the outside track of the solar system, with the faster Earth approaching on the inside lane.

This also marks the center season to observe Mars. As Earth approaches the Red Planet, the apparent disk swells in the view of a telescope from a tiny dot to a larger globe where features can be discerned.

Dates to watch for involving Mars in 2025 include:

-Sunday, January 12th: Mars is closest to the Earth at 0.642 AU (96 million kilometers) distant;

-Wednesday, January 15th: Mars is brightest, shining at magnitude -1.5

-Thursday, January 16th: The planet Mars reaches opposition for 2025

-Monday, February 10th: Mars reaches its northernmost point at declination 26 degrees, 14’ north

-Wednesday, April 16th: Mars reaches aphelion at 1.6 AU from the Sun

-Monday, April 21st: Reaches eastern quadrature, 90 degrees from the Sun.

This serves as a prelude to checking out all naked eye planets in the evening sky in 2025, once Mercury joins the evening scene in late March.

Mars and Jupiter, rising to the east at dusk. Credit: Stellarium.

Mars Spends late January near Pollux, and then heads to Cancer and transits the open cluster Messier 44 on May 4th. On June 16th the planet passes just over a degree from Regulus, and the planet loiters in the evening for the remainder of 2025, until reaching solar conjunction on January 9th, 2026.

An Aphelion Opposition

Not all oppositions are created equal. This is because the orbits of both the Earth and Mars are elliptical, but its mainly the fault of the Red Planet: the planet can vary from 207 million kilometers from the Sun at perihelion, to 249 million kilometers away at aphelion. Oppositions for Mars occur every 26 months on average, roughly once every other calendar year. Perihelic oppositions are favorable with Mars reaching an apparent size of 25” across, while an opposition near aphelion sees the planet only reaching a measly 14” across. Moreover, these trend in cycles. 2003 saw an historic near-perihelion apparition of Mars, which then diminished on every pass to a paltry aphelion appearance in 2012. In 2025, we’re still headed towards unfavorable aphelic passes. Earth just reached perihelion in early January—while Mars reaches aphelion in mid-April. 2027 sees the nadir of the 15 year cycle, while 2033 sees us reaching favorable oppositions once again.

At its maximum, Mars will appear 15” across in 2025. The planet reaches -1.5 magnitude at opposition this year, rivaling nearby Jupiter in brightness.

Mars reappears from behind the Moon Monday night. Credit Stellarium. The ‘Great North American Occultation’

North American observers are in for a treat on the night of January 13th when the near Full Moon actually occults (passes in front of) Mars. This is the best lunar-planetary occultation for the region for 2025. This occurs just five hours after Full, and two days prior to opposition. The Moon will take about 30 seconds to fully cover and then later reveal the Red Planet, in what promises to be a fine event.

The visiblity footprint for Monday night’s occultation. Credit: Occult 4.2

Note that, contrary to the old internet meme, Mars will not appear ‘as large as a Full Moon’ on this—or any other—year. This does, however, give you the rare chance to see the planet in the daytime just before sunset or immediately after sunrise on January 13-14th, using the nearby Full Moon as a guide.

The Moon occults Mars in 2022. Credit: Roger Hutchison.

The Moon occults Mars three more times in 2025: Once for northern Asia and Scandinavia on February 9th, again for the eastern Pacific and the west coast of South America on June 30th, and one last time for the remote Antarctic on July 28th.

Check or the IOTA’s dedicated site for ingress/egress times for select locations.

Mars on January 2nd. Credit: Thad Szabo. Observing Mars Near Opposition

It’s fascinating to examine Mars near opposition… it’s the one planet that presents an actual surface to explore at the eyepiece. The white northern polar cap (currently tipped into view) is the most prominent feature. Settling in, darker swathes of terrain such as Syrtis Major may become apparent.

Fun fact: if you’re watching Mars at the same time every evening, you’re seeing nearly the same swatch of the planet turned Earthward, just rotated slightly in longitude from one night to the next. This happens because Mars rotates somewhat slower than the Earth, once every 24 hours and 38 minutes.

The ever-present possibility of a global dust storms can always make opposition season interesting. You can actually notice that something is afoot on Mars in terms of global dust storms, simply by noting the color of the planet, as a sickly yellow versus the healthy traditional red.

Finding Phobos and Deimos Phobos and Deimos in the glare of Mars. Credit: Shahrin Ahmad.

Opposition is also a good time to try and cross the Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos off of your observing ‘life list.’ Discovered by astronomer Asaph Hall using the U.S. Naval Observatory’s then-new 26” refractor in 1877, the faint moons never stray far from dazzling Mars. +11.5th magnitude Phobos orbits the planet once every 7.7 hours and reaches a max separation of 14”, while outer 12.4th magnitude Deimos orbits once every 30.3 hours and reaches 45” away. Use an occulting bar eyepiece or nudge the planet just out of view to help you in your quest. Use a planetarium program such as Stellarium to see if a moon is currently visible.

The U.S. Naval Observatory refractor. USNO/Public Domain Image

Rovers on Mars actually catch sight of the Martian moons on occasion, including this fine transit of Phobos in front of the Sun from late 2024:

These transits actually help to refine the orbits of the two moons.

If skies are clear, be sure to check out Mars while you can, and don’t miss the best occultation of the year.

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Scheduled for launch in 2027, the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope is slowly being readied for operation. This week, NASA announced that they have started to joined the mission’s telescope, instrument carrier and instruments onto the spacecraft. Having completed the construction, they will now move to the testing phase where the instrument will be subjected to more tests. These will include exposure to electromagnetic radiation expected during launch along with vibration and thermal changes too. If it passes these tests, the new space telescope will be on the home straight. 

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is often referred to as the Roman Space Telescope. It’s been developed by NASA and was named after former chief astronomer Nance Grace Telescope. It has a mirror 2.4m in diameter so is similar in size to the Hubble Space Telescope but has a wider field of view. On board are instruments that enable it to explore exoplanets and the large scale structure of the universe. It will also investigate the nature of dark energy and try to understand more about the accelerated expansion of the universe through the study of gravitational lenses. 

NASA’s Wide Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) is now named the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, after NASA’s first Chief of Astronomy. Credits: NASA

It’s fitting that the telescope has been named after Roman who was a leading American astronomer and astrophysicist. She was instrumental in the development of the Hubble Space Telescope so has often been called the ‘Mother of Hubble.’ She was born on 16 May 1925 and became one of the first female executives of NASA, including a role as Chief of Astronomy. 

In a recent press release, NASA confirmed that a team of technicians have successfully integrated the telescope with instrument carrier, known as the Instrument Payload Assembly. Two instruments have been installed, the Coronagraph Instrument which will be used to block starlight to reveal and study exoplanets, the Optical Telescope Assembly  and the Wide Field Instrument. The Wide Field Instrument is made up of 18 detectors that will give the telescope images with a field 100 times larger than Hubble’s but with the same resolution. I really can’t wait to see the images it produces. The whole assemble is now safely connected to the spacecraft that will take the observatory into its orbit. 

This image of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope was taken on May 19, 2009 after deployment during Servicing Mission 4. NASA

Mark Clampin, acting Deputy Associate Administrator for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said “With this incredible milestone, Roman remains on track for launch and we’re a big step closer to unveiling the comos as never before.”

Launch is a little way off but before then, the instrumentation will under its next testing phase. There has been a significant amount of testing so far but this next test phase is designed to to ensure the individual components operate when integrated. By subjecting it to simulated launch conditions, the tests will check that the vibrations will not cause problems, that the communications equipment won’t create electromagnetic interference and to check, across a range of conditions, that the optics and instrumentation can cope with the predicted thermal variations. 

NASA engineers and technicians position the James Webb Space Telescope (inside a large tent) onto the shaker table used for vibration testing. Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn

On completion of these tests, which are expected to last a few months, the aperture cover will be added to the outer barrel assembly with the solar panels soon after. Once this has been completed, the structure will be added to the spacecraft during autumn. To date though, all is going well with the testing and all is on track for launch no later than May 2027.

Source : NASA Joins Telescope, Instruments to Roman Spacecraft

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Few places in the solar system are better suited to a balloon than Titan. The combination of low gravity and high atmospheric density makes Saturn’s largest moon ideal for a lighter than “air” vehicle, and the idea to put one there has been around for at least two decades. So why haven’t we yet? The simple answer is the size of the necessary balloon is too large for the existing launch platforms. But a team from Boeing, the prime contractor on the Space Launch System (SLS), believes their new launch platform will be capable of getting a large balloon into orbit, along with its necessary scientific payload – and start unlocking the mysteries of this intriguing moon.

We’ve reported various balloon missions to Titan, including some that would “walk,” but Boeing’s design is more akin to a traditional blimp. It would have a balloon filled with helium and two ballast tanks that, combined with a cruciform tail, would allow the balloon to control its roll, pitch, and yaw. 

The balloon would intake local atmospheric gases to descend or expel them to rise to control its altitude. The Boeing engineers offered two different altitude configurations: a 150m3 balloon for a 5km altitude or a 400m3 balloon for a 20km altitude orbit. When compressed, both balloon sizes can fit into an SLS payload fairing.

Fraser discusses why a mission to Titan would be interesting.

The gondola is where the real magic happens, and the paper the authors released was scant on details of what precisely this science would be. They mention various tools, including RADAR and LIDAR systems to scan the surface of Titan and, in particular, keep track of any changes from geological activity. There could also be atmospheric sensors that could detect whether there were any organic molecules in the area that would give an indication of what kind of liquid methane cycle there is, if any.

Another important point about the mission design is that it would last a long time—the team expects such a balloon to last in Titan’s atmosphere for years. During that time, it would be able to notice long-term trends, like seasonal variability, and possibly why the night side of Titan appears to be warmer than the day side.

The mission was designed for a launch in the 2034-2036 time frame, with several different windows of opportunity during those years that would take advantage of a lower delta-v requirement to get to the Saturnian system. However, the SLS has had its own difficulties that could delay that timeline. While it has launched once, in 2022, its second launch is not planned until 2026 – almost four years later. It is also not reusable, and given the requirements it has to meet NASA’s demand for Artemis launches to the Moon, it is unlikely that any additional SLS launches will be available in that time frame. 

There are plenty of ideas for missions to Titan, as Fraser explains here.

That’s not to mention the cost, which is estimated at $2.5bn per launch at the time of writing. While that might eventually come down in price, it still has to compete with Starship, which has a higher launch capacity and has flown four times since the SLS took its first trip to the sky over two years ago.

Dragonfly, NASA’s helicopter mission to Titan, is already using a Falcon Heavy to launch in 2028. While the Falcon Heavy doesn’t have as much payload capacity as the SLS, it could still potentially get a smaller version of the same mission to Titan. Ultimately, as access to space gets cheaper, and there are more and more launch platforms capable of sending a balloon to this unique world, someday, a mission will likely be approved – it remains to be seen how it will get there.

Learn More:
Donahue et al. – Titan Atmospheric Current Rider: An SLS Launched Titan Balloon Mission
UT – What About a Mission to Titan?
UT – Exploring Titan with Balloons and Landers
UT – A Walking Balloon Could One Day Explore Titan – Or Earth’s Sea Floor

Lead Image:
Artist’s depiction of a balloon on Titan.
Credit – Donahue et al.

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We reported before about a NIAC-funded project known as the Lofted Environment and Atmospheric Venues Sensors (LEAVES) mission to study Venus’ atmosphere. While the technology behind the idea is still under development, it has already inspired a team of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) undergraduates to develop a supporting satellite mission to launch and communicate with the leaves. Their paper, part of their B.S. Thesis, details how to use these new sensors and the challenges ahead.

As a refresher – the main unique selling point of LEAVES is that they are inexpensive ways to collect data about Venus’ atmosphere – at least from the height of about 100km down to 30km, where a lot of interesting atmospheric physics is taking place. They are designed without a propulsion system and, as such, glide down on their own accord, sending back data about the local pressure, temperature, atmospheric composition, and the probe’s orientation via an inertial measurement unit like those used on drones.

They aren’t intended to last long, but the short time they will be present in the atmosphere could provide insights into several outstanding questions about Venus, such as what compound is absorbing near-ultraviolet light in the upper atmosphere or the local carbon monoxide concentration. However, their distribution over the planetary surface is a critical part of any such effort – which is where the mission design from the team at WPI comes in.

Venus’ environment is harsh on technology, as Fraser discusses in this video.

Their mission design revolves around two spacecraft joined together for launch and approach to Venus but then breaking apart into wildly different orbits. One of them, Demeter, is responsible for launching the LEAVES. The other, Persephone, is named after Demeter’s daughter, whom Venus’ Greek equivalent had taken away to the underworld. It is left at a higher orbit and responsible for transmitting the data collected by the LEAVES back to Earth.

Demeter had two important design decisions—one was where to deploy the LEAVES, and the second was how to. The team came up with a deployment strategy of eight LEAVES every 20 meters of latitude the entire way around the planet, for a total of 144 probes. Importantly, these would be deployed on the day/night light to examine how the difference between day and night might play a role in the sulfur dioxide cycle on Venus. 

How to deploy them offered a different challenge – the team settled on 18 miniature housings, each attached to a small solid rocket booster using hydrazine. Demeter would orbit around the planet at an altitude of about 235km and would launch eight LEAVES every 20 degrees around the planet. Those LEAVES would descend through the atmosphere – some around the equator, some around the poles – and would deploy their glide form at about 150km from the surface. At around 100 km, they would start sending back data to Persephone, waiting overhead. After its deployment mission was complete, Demeter itself would deorbit and start burning up in Venus’ atmosphere.

Cosmic Voyages discusses the LEAVES project.
Credit – Cosmic Voyages YouTube Channel

Persephone has a much simpler job—it uses a rocket booster to reach a 2000km orbit and patiently waits until the LEAVES are deployed. It then uses a high-gain antenna to pick up signals from the LEAVES’ relatively weak communications systems and stores them on its local hard drive. Once all the data has been gathered, Persephone transmits it back to Earth.

All the components except one on both satellites have very high Technology Readiness Levels (TRL-9). The single exception is the deployment tubes for the LEAVES, which have an expected TRL of 1-2, meaning they would require more development and testing before being ready for prime time.

There is no deadline for that development and testing for now as LEAVES is still just a NIAC project and has not been selected for a mission opportunity to Venus. Given the increasing interest in exploring our sister planet, it seems likely that a similar mission will someday launch – and maybe some of the team that spent so much of their senior year working on this project will have a hand in working on the version that finally does make it there.

Learn More:
Baxter et al. – Design and Analysis of a SmallSat as a Communication Relay for Venus Atmospheric Probes
UT – Floating LEAVES Could Characterize Venus’s Atmosphere
UT – Atmosphere of Venus
UT – Venus has Clouds of Concentrated Sulfuric Acid, but Life Could Still Survive

Lead Image:
Mockup of the Demeter spacecraft, including the deployment tubes for the LEAVES.
Credit – Baxter et al.

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The InSight Lander arrived on Mars in 2018 to study the planet’s interior. Its mission ended prematurely in December 2022 after its solar panels were covered in the planet’s ubiquitous dust. NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter captured an image of InSight recently and will continue to do so as the Martian dust slowly and inexorably reclaims the lander.

NASA and the DLR sent the InSight lander to Mars to study the planet’s interior. Though the lander’s mole instrument wasn’t able to complete its work, the mission is still considered a success. It detected more than 1,000 Marsquakes, which helped scientists understand Mars’ crust, mantle, and core. It also measured the frequency of meteoroid impacts and uncovered some information on the planet’s thermal evolution.

While the mission was pronounced finished in December 2022, mission personnel continued listening for signals from InSight in case the wind cleared dust from its panels. That effort will also soon end.

Now, the 358-kilogram (789 lb) spacecraft sits in its final resting place in Elysium Planitia. Barring some hyper-futuristic, impossible-to-foresee archaeological rescue expedition, the lander will never move. It’s stranded there, waiting to be imaged repeatedly by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) and its HiRISE camera.

However, perhaps unexpectedly, InSight still has more to offer. Researchers say that by monitoring the way dust collects on the lander and moves around it, they can learn about Mars’ ubiquitous dust. That will help researchers better understand the planet and prepare more thoroughly for future missions.

“It feels a little bittersweet to look at InSight now.”

Ingrid Daubar, InSight Science Team Member, Brown University This image was taken shortly before the end of the mission. It shows InSight’s landing spot and its SEIS instrument, covered with its protective windshield. Note the layer of dust accumulating on SEIS’s shield. Image Credit: NASA/JPL

“Even though we’re no longer hearing from InSight, it’s still teaching us about Mars,” said science team member Ingrid Daubar of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. “By monitoring how much dust collects on the surface — and how much gets vacuumed away by wind and dust devils — we learn more about the wind, dust cycle, and other processes that shape the planet.”

Martian dust is full of iron oxides, which give the planet its red appearance. It’s very fine and can be lifted high into the atmosphere during Mars’ global dust storms. It affects the planet’s weather and climate.

It’s a hazard for landers and rovers. InSight isn’t the only mission to succumb to it. Spirit and Opportunity also struggled with Martian dust before being defeated by it. Landers and rovers need to be protected from it. It can cover solar panels, rendering them ineffective. It can foul unprotected moving parts, contaminate science instruments, and cause problems with electronics and thermal control.

Martian dust is slightly magnetic due to its iron content, making it quite different from Earth dust. Scientists are concerned that its electrostatic properties might make it stick to surfaces and be difficult to remove. It could cling to some components in unanticipated ways.

There are unanswered questions about Mars’ dust. For instance, scientists don’t know exactly how it all formed or when. Are we seeing only ancient dust? Or is some of it newly created? Scientists aren’t certain how it becomes electrically charged during storms, whether it’s toxic and to what degree, or how exactly it’s transported around the planet during storms.

While monitoring InSight from space likely won’t answer all these questions, it can still teach scientists some things. One of the things they can observe is dust devil tracks. Back when the lander was still active, scientists matched MRO images of dust tracks near the lander with its wind data. They found that the whirling wind patterns that produce the dust devils subside in the winter and pick up again in the summer.

via GIPHY

InSight is also helping scientists understand how quickly surface craters can be obscured by dust. When the lander touched down in 2018, its retrorockets left marks on the surface akin to craters. By knowing exactly when they were created and watching from orbit as they’re obscured by dust, researchers can learn how quickly impact craters can be erased.

These HiRISE images from MRO show the InSight lander after it landed with obvious rocket blast marks (L). The blast marks are becoming obscured in the image on the right, taken in 2022. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UArizona

The people behind missions like InSight put a lot of time and energy into them. They’re not only career-defining; each mission advances our collective understanding of nature, including other planets in our Solar System. InSight ended because of dust, not because we had learned all we could from it. So even though watching it from orbit and learning what they can is somewhat satisfying, it no doubt reminds the mission personnel of what went left undiscovered.

“It feels a little bittersweet to look at InSight now. It was a successful mission that produced lots of great science. Of course, it would have been nice if it kept going forever, but we knew that wouldn’t happen,” Daubar said.

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It has been thought that the existence of plate tectonics has been a significant factor in the shaping of our planet and the evolution of life. Mars and Venus don’t experience such movements of crustal plates but then the differences between the worlds is evident. The exploration of exoplanets too finds many varied environments. Many of these new alien worlds seem to have significant internal heating and so lack plate movements too. Instead a new study reveals that these ‘Ignan Earths’ are more likely to have heat pipes that channel magma to she surface. The likely result is a surface temperature similar to Earth in its hottest period when liquid water started forming. 

Plate tectonics explains the movement and interaction of the Earth’s upper layers. More accurately, the lithosphere which is composed of the crust and upper layer of the mantle. It is divided into a number of pieces known as tectonic plates which float around on the semi-fluid layer below called the asthenosphere. Where the plates meet, various geological features form such as mountains, volcanoes and trenches. 

Location of the Mariana Trench. Credit: Wikipedia Commons/Kmusser

The process has been a crucial factor in the evolution of life on our planet. The shifting of landmasses has created new habitats and caused populations to become isolated allowing for individual ecosystems to form. Collisions of plates led to mountain range development which influenced the weather patterns and climate. Volcanic activity driven by plate movement led to soils becoming fertile, plant life to flourish and the release of gasses like carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that helped the planet regulate its climate. It really has been a crucial process in the evolution of our planet. 

A typical “black smoker” volcanic vent here on E

In some respects the process also stops a planet’s internal environment from overheating. There is a train of thought that if Earth didn’t have such plate movement then it may be too hot internally for a stable environment to evolve. This was the subject of the paper by Matthew Reinhold and Laura Schaefer that was published in Advancing Earth and Space Sciences. 

They explored the liklihood that such a world might have so much internal heating that instead, it would resemble bodies like Jupiter’s moon Io. Here we see intense levels of volcanism where laval violently erupts hundreds of kilometres into the atmosphere which is full of toxic gasses. It’s not just a lack of plate tectonics that can lead to high levels of internal heating. Tidal effects can cause worlds to have one face constantly pointing to the Sun giving a wide range of surface temperatures.

These are JunoCam images of Jupiter’s moon Io from its 3 February 2024 encounter. The first two images show Io illuminated by Jupiter-shine, and the rest are lit up by sunlight. The new volcano was captured in the second image in the sequence. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS.

Collectively these worlds are known casually as Ignan Earth’s and they are the target of the paper, to explore whether they are habitable. Exploring the geology of the bodies in our Solar System gives great insight. The team demonstrate that it is likely that worlds with high internal temperatures will develp a solid mantle. The crust will remain largely stable as a result with the only likely activity, heat-pipe tectonics – where some of the internal heat is transferred to the surface for example from volcanic activity. 

The team were able to model the the likely surface temperature range based upon a number of different types of world and found that, contrary to previous expectations, a wide range of internal heating rates may well lead to worlds where the environment is conducive to habitability.

Source : Ignan Earths: Habitability of Terrestrial Planets With Extreme Internal Heating

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When was the last time you looked up into the night sky and saw the Milky Way? If you happen to live in one of the truly remote areas of the world, your answer might be “last night.” If you live in one of the generally “rural” areas of your country, you might remember how you used to see the Milky Way regularly, but the rise of LEDs, particularly the blue/white ones, has gradually erased the Milky Way from your nights. For the large majority of humans on our small world, the answer is “never.”

Light pollution has gradually stolen the night from us. Once powerful observatories such as Griffith Observatory have been blinded by our nocturnal illuminations, and modern telescopes must be built in the most remote areas of the world where light pollution is still manageable. Although we don’t notice it in the same way, the same is true for radio telescopes. Our days are filled with radio light, from mobile phones and Wi-Fi to the tire pressure sensors of a modern call. They all shine as bright in radio as an LED flashlight in the visible. But in recent years, both optical and radio telescopes have seen growing light pollution from another source: constellation satellites.

Companies such as Starlink have launched so many satellites that even in the most remote areas of the world, you can regularly see them near the horizon, particularly during dusk and dawn. For optical telescopes, the trails they create can be mitigated to a degree by making them less reflective. For radio telescopes, however, they pose a more serious and complex challenge.

Since Starlink and other constellations are communication satellites, they actively beam radio signals to Earth. Imagine if satellites had powerful floodlights shining over your house all the time, and you get the problem for radio observatories. One way to limit radio light pollution is to create forbidden zones where satellites don’t operate. For example, Starlink satellites go quiet over key regions of the National Radio Quiet Zone, as well as other large observatories across the world. But while this reduces the amount of light pollution, it doesn’t eliminate it.

An image of the NGC 5353/4 galaxy group made with a telescope at Lowell Observatory in Arizona, USA on the night of Saturday 25 May 2019. The diagonal lines running across the image are satellite trails of reflected light from more than 25 Starlink satellites as they passed through the telescope’s field of view. Credit: Victoria Girgis/Lowell Observatory

As a recent study points out, radio signals from Starlink satellites aren’t narrowly focused. Even when they go quiet over an observatory, they are active in areas near the observatories, and stray radio light can contaminate observations. As satellite constellations become more common, this stray radio light will gradually wash out the radio sky, in much the same way that LED lights from neighboring towns diminish your view of the Milky Way.

The situation has gotten serious enough that the IAU Centre for the Protection of the Dark, Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference (CPS) has called for specific steps to be taken to save the night sky. They urge the international community to implement regulations so that ground-based astronomy can remain viable in the future.

It’s clear that satellite constellations such as Starlink are a benefit to many people in the world. For some regions, it is the only way to have a connection to the internet. In the same way, inexpensive night lighting has allowed us to have safer, more comfortable lives. But it is worth being mindful of what we can lose. Our view of the heavens has deep roots in human culture, and it is worth preserving. Balancing our history with our future is something we can all strive to do better.

Reference: Dark, I. A. U., et al. “Call to Protect the Dark and Quiet Sky from Harmful Interference by Satellite Constellations.” arXiv preprint arXiv:2412.08244 (2024).

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Of all the unanswered questions in modern science, perhaps the most talked about is whether we are alone in the Universe. A new paper looks at another way we might be able to detect advanced civilisations and at its centre is the need for energy! The more advanced a civilisation becomes, the greater their need for energy and one of the most efficient ways, according to current theories, is to harness the energy from an actively feeding black hole. The paper suggests a civilisation feeding matter into a black hole could harvest energy from it, more excitingly perhaps, the process could be detectable within 17,000 light years! 

The search for intelligent life beyond Earth has been of fascination to scientists, philosophers and even inspired artists over the centuries. With hundreds of millions of stars in our Galaxy and billions of other galaxies across the cosmos, it seems the odds are in our favour of finding some other civilisations out there. 

Planets everywhere. So where are all the aliens? Credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser

The discovery of thousands of exoplanets in recent decades adds to the excitement so, researchers have directed radio telescopes and space probes on the search for aliens. Projects like SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence has been scanning the sky looking for unusual patterns or messages that could reveal an advanced civilisation but despite the effort, there is a distinct lack of success, yet.

A different approach is to search for advanced civilisations based upon their energy signatures. It’s an innovative idea that seeks to identify civilisations based upon artificial patterns in the electromagnetic spectrum. We have certainly seen how human energy demand has increased as we have become more advanced and so theoretically any more advanced civilisations would need to harness energy on a scale far in excess of what we currently use. It may be that civilisations use giant megastructures like Dyson spheres to harness energy from stars and it’s the output from these or their impact on the light from a star that may be detectable.

Artist’s impression of a Dyson Sphere, an proposed alien megastructure that is the target of SETI surveys. Finding one of these qualifies in a “first contact” scenario. Credit: Breakthrough Listen / Danielle Futselaar

In a paper authored by Shant Baghram and published in the Astrophysical Journal, the team begin by categorising civilisations on the Kardashev Scale. It categorises advanced civilisations by measuring their technological advancement based upon the amount of energy they are capable of harnessing and using. They also propose an alternate scale based upon the Kardashev scale and the distance a civilisation is able to explore space, suggesting more advanced can explore further from host planet. 

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Credit: C. Padilla, NRAO/AUI/NSF

As a paper based purely on a theoretical model, they take the advanced civilisation’s category and explore the idea that they may use Dyson sphere’s around primordial black holes as an energy source. The team also propose observational techniques that may be employed to detect such structures using infrared and sub-millimetre signatures. They do assert however that telescopes like ALMA (the Atacama Large Millimetre/Sub-millimetre Array) is well placed to make observations and even to detect signatures and maybe even megastructures at distances of approximately 5.4 kiloparsecs (178 light years.)

Source : In Search of Extraterrestrial Artificial Intelligence Through Dyson Sphere–like Structures around Primordial Black Holes

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On July 14th, 2015, the New Horizons probe made history by accomplishing the first flyby of Pluto and its largest satellite, Charon. The stunning images this mission took of these icy worlds have helped scientists address some of the key questions about Pluto and its massive moon, which have been shrouded in mystery for decades (owing to their great distance from Earth). One of the biggest mysteries that scientists have contemplated since Charon was first discovered in 1978 is how it came together with Pluto in the first place.

For decades, astronomers suspected that Pluto and Charon formed through a process similar to Earth and the Moon. This theory, known as the Giant Impact Hypothesis, states that roughly 4.5 billion years ago, primordial Earth was struck by a Mars-sized body named Theia. In a new study, a team of researchers from the University of Arizona challenged this assumption and offered an alternate theory known as “kiss and capture.” Their findings could help scientists better understand how planetary bodies in the outer Solar System form and evolve.

The study was led by Adeene Denton, a NASA postdoctoral fellow at the University of Arizona’s Lunar and Planetary Laboratory and the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). She was joined by Erik Asphaug, a Planetary Science Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) and the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL) at the University of Arizona; Robert Melikyan, an LPL Graduate Student, and Alexandre Emsenhuber, a Postdoctoral Researcher from the Space Research and Planetary Science (SRPS) at the University of Bern. The paper that describes their findings, “Capture of an Ancient Charon around Pluto,” was published in the journal Nature Geoscience. 

Previously, scientists believed that Pluto and Charon formed from a massive collision, similar to the Giant Impact Hypothesis. According to this theory, a Mars-sized planet named Theia collided with a primordial Earth roughly 4.5 billion years ago. This impact turned both bodies into molten debris that eventually coalesced to form the Earth and Moon, eventually settling into the Earth-Moon system. According to the team’s study, this theory does not fit when it comes to Pluto and Charon because it fails to take into account the structural strength of cold, icy worlds.

Using the University of Arizona’s high-performance computing cluster, the team conducted advanced impact simulations. This showed that when Pluto and a proto-Charon collided, they became temporarily stuck together and formed a single snowman-shaped object – not unlike Arrokoth, the first Kuiper Belt Object (KBO) that New Horizons surveyed on December 31st, 2018. Over time, they separated to become the binary system we observe there today. Said Denton in a U of A News story:

“Pluto and Charon are different – they’re smaller, colder and made primarily of rock and ice. When we accounted for the actual strength of these materials, we discovered something completely unexpected. Most planetary collision scenarios are classified as ‘hit and run’ or ‘graze and merge.’ What we’ve discovered is something entirely different – a ‘kiss and capture’ scenario where the bodies collide, stick together briefly, and then separate while remaining gravitationally bound.”

Their results also suggest that Pluto and Charon remained largely intact during their collision and retained much of their original composition. This challenges previous models that suggest that colliding bodies will exchange material during the impact. This is based on studies of the Apollo moonrocks, which indicated that the Earth and Moon are similar in composition, a finding that led scientists to conclude that the Earth-Moon system formed together. What’s more, their research offers a potential explanation for how Pluto may have developed an internal ocean.

View from the surface of Pluto, showing its large moon Charon in the distance. Credit: New York Times

The collision process, they state, combined with the tidal friction caused by the separation of Pluto and Charon, would have caused considerable internal heating for both bodies. This could have provided the necessary mechanism for creating a subsurface ocean, contrary to a previous theory where scientists have argued that Pluto formed during the very early Solar System when there were far more radioactive elements. However, scientists have expressed doubts about this theory because of the timing constraints it imposes.

Denton and her colleagues are now planning follow-up studies to explore several related questions about this system of icy bodies. This includes how tidal forces influenced Pluto and Charon’s early evolution when they were much closer together, how this formation scenario aligns with Pluto’s current geological features, and whether similar processes could explain the formation of other binary systems. Said Denton:

“We’re particularly interested in understanding how this initial configuration affects Pluto’s geological evolution. The heat from the impact and subsequent tidal forces could have played a crucial role in shaping the features we see on Pluto’s surface today.”

Further Reading: University of Arizona, Nature

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How old is the Moon? Astronaut-gathered samples from the lunar surface put its age at about 4.35 billion years. However, other evidence suggests it’s much older, around 4.53 billion years old. A team of scientists published a recent paper that suggests the Moon’s surface age was “reset” in a melting event.

The generally accepted theory about the Moon’s formation goes like this: about 4.5 billion years ago and about 200 million years after the solar system began to form, something happened. A single Mars-sized object named Theia (or possibly a series of objects) collided with or was somehow captured by infant Earth. That tumultuous crash sent a lot of molten rock and debris into space. Eventually, most of it coalesced to form the infant Moon, which settled into orbit around Earth. Debris from the inner solar system bombarded the pair for millions of years thereafter.

Fast-forward to the present day, where we can study rocks collected from the lunar surface during the Apollo missions. Scientists analyzed those samples and found them to be about 4.35 billion years old. That suggests the Moon is NOT 4.53 billion years old. Which is true? It turns out there’s strong evidence for an older Moon. It exists in some zircon minerals on the lunar surface. They’re at least 4.51 billion years old. thermal models and simulations also suggest a lunar age somewhere between 4.43 and 4.53 billion years. So, why are lunar surface rocks almost 200 million years younger?

Dating the Moon

As it turns out, both numbers could be true. The Moon could have formed very early, but it experienced something that changed its geological clock. According to UC Santa Cruz professor Francis Nimmo and a team of researchers, the Moon likely did form 4.51 million years ago in that catastrophic collision with baby Earth. But, 180 million years later, it may have experienced a “remelting”. That reset the ages of lunar rocks to around 4.35 billion years. That’s why the surface samples collected by the Apollo astronauts show a younger age.

Sample collection on the lunar surface. Apollo 16 astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr. is shown collecting samples with the Lunar Roving Vehicle in the left background. Image: NASA

“We predict that there shouldn’t be any lunar rocks that are older than 4.35 billion years because they should have experienced the same resetting,” said Nimmo. “Because this heating event was global, you shouldn’t find rocks anywhere on the Moon that are significantly older than that.”

Nimmo and his colleagues suggest that a global remelt of lunar rocks could account for the existence of younger surface rocks. The Apollo rocks suggest something happened, and the return of rocks from China’s Chang’e 6 mission could offer more evidence for that theory. For their paper, the authors used modeling to show that the Moon may have experienced sufficient tidal heating to cause this remelting approximately 4.35 billion years ago, which could “reset” the apparent formation age of these lunar samples.

Chang’e-6 lander on the lunar surface, as seen by a mini-rover nearby. (Credit: CLEP / CNSA) Modeling a Lunar Surface Reset

What could cause a global melting strong enough to reset the age of the Moon’s rocks? Nimmo suggest that the Moon experienced tidal heating due to the evolution of its orbit around Earth. This happened because the Moon was closer to Earth, and the orbit was pretty unstable during certain epochs. Thanks to the immense tidal pull from Earth, the Moon could have been heated, which led to the alteration of its geology and the “age reset” of its rocks.

It turns out that the Moon isn’t the only place in the solar system where this could happen. The volcanic moon Io in orbit around Jupiter experiences the same type of tidal attraction as it orbits. That helps explain Io’s extensive volcanic activity and surface “paving” by the frequent eruptions from its volcanic features. It also explains why we don’t see widespread craters on Io.

If the same thing happened to the infant Moon after its original formation, cooldown, and subsequent bombardment, we wouldn’t see any of its original craters. They’d have been covered by subsequent eruption and melting when the Moon’s orbit was stabilizing.

Why is the Lunar Surface Age Important?

The formation and evolution of the solar system and its many different bodies is still a hot area of study. Among other things, scientists want to understand the timing of events that shaped solar system objects. For that, they need a better understanding of the geology of each object. More data leads to better models of every aspect of solar system formation—from the first “push” in the protosolar nebula to such events as collisions, tidal heating, orbital dynamics, and surface evolution of different worlds. That’s where planetary science missions come in handy. They provide “in situ” data about each world (or object, in the case of asteroids, moons, comets, and rings), and they fill in gaps in the history of each place.

“As more data becomes available—particularly from ongoing and future lunar missions—the understanding of the Moon’s past will continue to evolve,” Nimmo said. “We hope that our findings will spark further discussion and exploration, ultimately leading to a clearer picture of the Moon’s place in the broader history of our solar system.”

For More Information

A “Remelting” of Lunar Surface Adds a Wrinkle to Mystery of Moon’s True Age
Tidally Driven Remelting Around 4.35 billion Years Ago Indicates the Moon is Old
Moon Formation

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