New Atlas

Space

Hayabusa 2 spacecraft survives second touchdown on asteroid Ryugu

Anthony Wood July 11, 2019

The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa 2 has successfully pulled off a second touchdown on the surface of the distant asteroid Ryugu. The risky dive saw the probe collect material that had been exposed during the creation of an artificial crater on April 5.

An image captured 4 seconds after touchdown, showing material flying from the surface of the asteroid ...

Space

Thermal vision highlights Uranus's rarely-seen rings

Michael Irving June 23, 2019

Saturn sports an impressive ring system, but Uranus also has some, although they’re usually too faint to see without a powerful telescope. Striking new images shows these rings in very clear detail thanks to thermal imaging, allowing astronomers to measure their temperature for the first time.

Thermal images taken of Uranus, showing the planet's rings clearly

Space

Dusty, gassy origins of giant planets observed at last

Matt Kennedy June 4, 2019

An international team of physicists has finally found proof of circumplanetary disks, adding substantial weight to current theoretical models of planet formation. These disks of gas surrounded by dust have eluded detection, until now.

Detail of an infrared image of the newborn planet, PDS 70 b and its circumplanetary disk

Space Audio available

Close encounter with alien star could explain ’Oumuamua, debunk Planet Nine

Michael Irving May 29, 2019

New research suggests some asteroids could actually be alien, captured during close flybys with other star systems. These close encounters could also explain objects like Oumuamua and might even provide an alternative to the “Planet Nine” hypothesis.

An artist's impression of 'Oumuamua, the first interstellar asteroid

Space

Most of Earth's water came from a cosmic collision that formed the Moon

David Szondy May 22, 2019

According to research by planetologists at the University of Münster, the collision with a Mars-sized planetoid that formed the Moon 4.4 billion years ago brought with it almost all the water that makes our planet habitable.

Isotope analysis indicates that Earth's water may have arrived when the Moon was formed

Space Audio available

Grain of dust found from dead star that predates the Sun

Michael Irving April 29, 2019

Meteorites can tell us stories of ancient stars and long-lost planets. One of these stories has now been uncovered in a piece of space rock retrieved from Antarctica, containing grains from a stellar explosion that predates the Sun.

An illustration of a nova, which is believed to be responsible for the presolar grain LAP-149

Space Audio available

Antarctic meteorite tells the tale of an asteroid that ate a comet

Michael Irving April 15, 2019

Scientists have discovered a tiny fragment of a comet in a meteorite. The bulk of the rock itself was once an asteroid, but when the team cracked it open and analyzed the inside, they found that the growing asteroid must have swept up the seed of a comet billions of years ago.

Scientists have discovered the seeds of a comet inside a meteorite from an asteroid

Space Audio available

Early asteroids may have had iron-spewing volcanoes

David Szondy April 8, 2019

Metallic asteroids in the early days of the solar system may have had volcanoes spewing molten iron instead of lava. Based on models of how metallic asteroids form and cool, a new study by planetary scientists at UC Santa Cruz opens the window on such a spectacular possibility.

As a metallic asteroid such as Psyche cooled and solidified, iron volcanoes may have erupted onto ...

Space Audio available

Jupiter may have formed much farther from the Sun than we thought

Michael Irving March 24, 2019

As the largest planet in the solar system by a wide margin, Jupiter has a lot of sway, but its history is still a bit of a mystery. Now astronomers have put forward a new theory, suggesting that the gas giant formed much farther away from the Sun and then migrated into its current position.

A new theory suggests that Jupiter formed five times further from the Sun than its current ...

Space Audio available

Astronomers spot a new planetary system forming nearby

Michael Irving March 17, 2019

Roughly 4.6 billion years ago, all the planets in our solar system began to form in a huge disk of dust and gas that swirled around the Sun. Now astronomers have spotted the same kind of thing happening around a nearby young star, which could give us a better understanding of planet formation.