A new analysis of data collected by NASA’s InSight mission suggests there may be enough water beneath the surface of Mars to cover the planet.
Category: space – Page 63
Astronomers from the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and elsewhere have observed an X-ray binary system known as CXOU J005245.0–722844. They detected an X-ray outburst from this binary and found that it harbors a white dwarf star. The findings were presented in a research paper published August 2 on the pre-print server arXiv.
Using seismic activity to probe the interior of Mars, geophysicists have found evidence for a large underground reservoir of liquid water—enough to fill oceans on the planet’s surface.
“Establishing that there is a big reservoir of liquid water provides some window into what the climate was like or could be like,” said Dr. Michael Manga.
While Mars is incapable of having liquid water on its surface, what about underground, and how much could there be? This is what a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated how liquid water might be present beneath the Martian surface. This study holds the potential to help researchers not only better understand the current conditions on the Red Planet, but also if these same conditions could have led to life existing on the surface in the past.
For the study, the researchers analyzed seismic data obtained by NASA’s now-retired InSight lander, which landed on Mars in 2018 and sent back valuable data regarding the interior of Mars until the mission ended in 2022. This was after mission planners determined the amount of dust that had collected on the lander’s solar panels did not allow for sufficient solar energy to keep it functioning. However, despite being expired for two years, scientists continued to pour over vast amounts of data regarding the interior of Mars.
Now, after combining this seismic data with models used on Earth to map underground oil fields and aquifers, the researchers determined that igneous rocks (cooled magma) are drenched in liquid water between 11.5 and 20 kilometers (7.15 and 12.4 miles) beneath the Martian surface. Additionally, they ascertained the volume of this liquid water could cover the entire surface of Mars up to approximately one-mile deep. The presence of liquid water beneath the surface could help scientists better understand the water cycle on Mars, but accessing this water for future astronauts or colonists is out of the question given its depth.
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A team of applied physicists at Columbia University, working with a colleague from Henry M. Gunn High School, and another from the University of California, Los Angeles, has found that using corrugated siding on outdoor building walls can passively reduce wall temperatures.
In their paper published in the journal Nexus, the group describes how they added corrugated siding to a small test building and found that doing so lowered the wall temperatures.
Prior research has shown that covering the tops of buildings with radiative cooling materials can reduce the amount of heat that makes its way inside by up to 20%. This is because they are made in such a way as to reflect sunlight and radiate heat into outer space.
A recent study reveals new insights into aurorae across Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn, highlighting the role of magnetic fields and solar winds in shaping these phenomena, with significant implications for space weather forecasting and planetary exploration.
The breathtaking aurorae, commonly known as the Northern and Southern Lights, have captivated human imagination for centuries. From May 10th to 12th, 2024, the most powerful aurora event in 21 years showcased the extraordinary beauty of these celestial light displays.
Recently, space physicists from the Department of Earth Sciences at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), including Professor Binzheng Zhang, Professor Zhonghua Yao, and Dr Junjie Chen, along with their international collaborators, have published a paper in Nature Astronomy that explores the fundamental laws governing the diverse aurorae observed across planets, such as Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. This work provides new insights into the interactions between planetary magnetic fields and solar wind, updating the textbook picture of giant planetary magnetospheres. Their findings can improve space weather forecasting, guide future planetary exploration, and inspire further comparative studies of magnetospheric environments.
Jupiter and Mars are about to get up close and personal to one another.
Look up to the sky early Wednesday morning and you’ll see what astronomers call a planetary conjunction. This is what is projected to happen when the bright giant gas planet gets a visit from the rocky red planet and the two celestial bodies appear to be close to one another, according to NASA.
“They’ll appear just a third of a degree apart, which is less than the width of the full Moon,” the U.S. space agency said in a skywatching roundup published July 31.
Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to create a comprehensive weather report for two brown dwarfs located about six light years from Earth.
Researchers have created the most detailed weather report ever for two distant worlds beyond our own solar system.
The international study – the first of its kind – reveals the extreme atmospheric conditions on the celestial objects, which are swathed in swirling clouds of hot sand amid temperatures of 950°C (1750°F).