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In recent days we have had great emotions in the “big world” of science, especially in the matter of space. Have no idea what we’re talking about? Because this is precisely how you, who have little time to follow the news, can keep yourself well informed by taking little time for it, is that Canaltech every week prepares a summary with the main astronomy news of the moment.
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Psyche, a “failed planet” near us
The asteroid Psyche, discovered in 1852, is nothing new, but has been the subject of growing interest for being so peculiar. Is that it is a “failed planet” and, for this reason, NASA plans to send a probe there in 2022, reaching its destination in 2026. The idea is to better study the intriguing object, located between Mars and Jupiter, which is about 250 km in diameter and, in fact, is made up of iron – indicating that it is a protoplanet that has failed in its development.
And a new study on it provides hard data on the object, showing that it may be the only known asteroid entirely composed of iron and nickel. This further strengthens the suspicion that it is indeed a planet that has gone wrong, ie what remains of what would be the metal core of a “normal” planet.
Learn more about Psiquie by clicking here.
NASA probe that collects asteroid samples
Shortly after the apparent success in the operation in which NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft touched the surface of the asteroid Bennu, releasing a pressurized jet to “raise dust,” which allowed for the collection of samples, the space agency has released video, recorded by a camera aboard the probe, showing exactly how it happened over 330 million kilometers.
One of the videos you already watch above and click here to see more images.
Traveling on Titan in just two years
If it takes off, it will be very interesting: scientists and engineers are proposing a conceptual engine based on nuclear fusion, which is a renewable energy source. With this engine, a trip to Titan, Saturn’s moon, could take less than two years. For now the concept continues to improve and, who knows, it may not see the light in the not too distant future.
Find out more by clicking here.
Cloud with flying saucer format
The cloud shown in the image above is real! She was one of the participants in a meteorological photography contest, being among the finalists. The cloud in the shape of that classic flying saucer is a beautiful lenticular cloud. The phenomenon of lenticular clouds is relatively common in mountainous regions, where winds blow at high speed at the top of the mountains, thus creating clouds with this disc shape.
Do you want to know more about this curiosity? Click here.
Dark matter appearing in “bubbles” at the beginning of the universe?
Dark matter is still full of mysteries, with science tasked with interpreting it as a major challenge. According to the most accepted cosmological models, it constitutes about 23% of the density of the universe and no one yet knows how it was formed.
But a new article offers an explanation: Scientists describe how the expansion of bubbles at the beginning of the universe can help understand the origin of dark matter, something that would have happened shortly after the Big Bang. At the beginning of the universe, there were a series of transitions between one phase and another, each of which transforms the cosmos in a radical way as the universe expanded rapidly. The team envisions that these transitions could be similar to the gas bubbles that form in boiling water. “We have shown that it is natural to expect dark matter particles to have difficulty entering these bubbles, which provides a new explanation for the amount of dark matter observed in the universe.”
To understand more about dark matter, its mysteries and the study we talked about above, just click here.
Investigating the exoplanet TOI-700d
Discovered by NASA’s TESS space telescope, the exoplanet TOI-700d is only 100 light-years away and was the first detected by this equipment not only to be similar in size to the Earth, but also to be in the habitable zone of its star. Now, new studies have tried to analyze the characteristics of the climate and atmosphere there.
If its surface contains liquid water, there must also be clouds in its atmosphere, and the team behind the studies used models of the climate system to estimate possible properties and what other more sensitive measures they might find.
You can find out more here.
Volcanoes that collaborate with the atmosphere of Io, the moon of Jupiter
Jupiter’s moon Io is the most volcanically active place in the entire Solar System. There, there are no less than 400 volcanoes, with this world likely dominated by sulfur dioxide. Now, new research indicates that active volcanoes in Io produce 30% to 50% of the atmosphere there, which is about a billion times thinner than Earth’s.
Are you curious about this process? Click here and find out more!
Confirmed the existence of water on the illuminated side of the Moon
The big breakthrough of the week came at the hands of NASA’s SOFIA observatory, which discovered the existence of water in a lunar crater on its positive side, i.e. where the sun always hits. In addition, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) orbital probe has also found other large areas where water could exist, suggesting that water is actually distributed over the entire lunar surface, and not limited to cold places, where there is constant shade. .
The data shows that water is concentrated in 100-412 parts per million – equivalent to a 300ml bottle of water – and trapped in one cubic meter of soil scattered across the lunar surface. For comparison, consider the Sahara Desert, which has 100 times the amount of water found in the lunar soil. Since the Moon has no atmosphere, this water in the sunlight should have been lost in space, but interestingly, it’s still there. This raises some questions: water could be trapped in small structures in the soil that form from the heat generated by the impact of micrometeorites, or it could be hidden among the grains of lunar soil and protected from sunlight.
Learn more about this milestone in our natural satellite studies by clicking here.
Starlink public beta test begins on the Internet
Elon Musk continues to deliver: his Starlink project has just entered public beta testing. That is, people from regions where the signal already exists (such as the United States, for example) can request to test the novelty. Interested parties must purchase all connection equipment for $ 499 and pay a $ 99 monthly fee for the service. However, just like during the private beta test, SpaceX asks for confidentiality about the program – attendees are not allowed to share information on the subject.
Do you want to know more about Internet Starlink? Just click here.
Crew-1 will be launched on November 14th
NASA and SpaceX have marked the big day in which they will launch their first real operational mission on the International Space Station. The Crew-1 mission is expected to launch on November 14, taking four astronauts (three Americans and one Japanese) into Earth orbit. They will join the current ISS crew, which will eventually house seven people simultaneously for a few months, one more than usual.
By clicking here, you can see more details.
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