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Scientists Propose Space Missions to Chase Down Interstellar Comets
A Southwest Research Institute study reveals that chasing interstellar comets like 3I/ATLAS is achievable with current rockets and instruments. Such missions could collect data on comet nuclei and comae, providing clues to the formation of other star systems. International collaborations make these rare, high-value missions increasingly realistic.
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Asteroids vs Comets vs Meteors vs Meteorites: What Are They and How Are They Different From Each Other?
Asteroids, comets, meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites may seem similar, but each plays a unique role in the Solar System. Asteroids are rocky remnants, comets are icy wanderers, meteors are shooting stars, and meteorites are fragments that survive the plunge to Earth.
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Mercury Has Shrunk by Several Kilometers Over Billions of Years, Scientists Report
Mercury’s surface reveals it has been shrinking for billions of years due to cooling and faulting. A new study estimates the planet’s radius has contracted by 2.7–5.6 kilometers, offering the most precise figures yet. The findings sharpen understanding of Mercury’s thermal evolution and could help scientists apply the same techniques to tec...
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Hubble Delivers Best View Yet of Rare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Through Solar System
Hubble has captured its sharpest image of 3I/ATLAS, a rare interstellar comet speeding through the solar system at 130,000 mph. The view reveals a dust-filled coma, a faint tail, and activity similar to native comets. Astronomers aim to study its composition before it vanishes forever, offering insight into objects formed around other stars.
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Mysterious Planet Nine May Still Lurk in the Outer Solar System
Astronomers have long speculated about a hidden planet—Planet Nine—lurking beyond Neptune. First proposed in 2016, the theory explains the strange orbits of distant Kuiper Belt objects through the gravitational pull of a massive, unseen world. Caltech researchers remain confident, while others suggest alternatives like debris rings or even a bl...
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NASA’s IMAP Spacecraft Gears Up for Mission to Explore Solar System’s Edge
NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) has begun final preparations at Kennedy Space Center for a launch no earlier than September 2025. The mission will position IMAP at Lagrange Point 1, a million miles from Earth, to study the solar wind and the edge of the heliosphere. The spacecraft, built by Johns Hopkins APL, will fly al...
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Asteroid Vesta May Be a Fragment of a Lost Planet, Say Scientists
Vesta, once believed to be a stalled protoplanet, may be a fragment of a long-lost differentiated planet. Using refined gravity data from NASA’s Dawn mission, scientists found it lacks a dense core, suggesting it was ejected during a primordial impact. This revised view may apply to other asteroids and reshape planetary formation theories.
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Most Promising "Hints" Of Potential Life Detected On Distant Planet
Astronomers announced Thursday that they had detected the most promising "hints" of potential life on a planet beyond our solar system, though other scientists expressed skepticism.
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NASA Study Finds Solar Wind Could Be Key to Water Formation on the Moon
A recent study indicates that water on the lunar surface may come from the solar wind. The results suggest that other airless bodies in the solar system may also have water on their surfaces, therefore highlighting the possibility of finding such water on the surface of other such objects.
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First Future Type 1a Supernova Detected: White Dwarf Pair to Collide in 23 Billion Years
Astronomers have discovered a pair of white dwarf stars located about 150 light-years from Earth that are on course to collide and produce a Type 1a supernova in approximately 23 billion years. This is the first such system identified near our region of the galaxy. With a combined mass of 1.56 solar masses, the stars are slowly spiralling toward ea...
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Researchers Propose New Methods to Spot Atom-Sized Primordial Black Holes Moving Across Solar System
Recent studies suggest that microscopic primordial black holes may exist within the solar system, potentially impacting planetary orbits and satellite movements. These small, early-universe black holes could also contribute to the mystery of dark matter, which makes up 85% of the universe's mass. Methods are being developed to detect their gravitat...
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Super-Earth In the Solar System Could Have Rendered Our Planet Uninhabitable, Says Study
A recent study explores a hypothetical super-Earth between Mars and Jupiter, revealing its severe impact on Earth's orbit and climate. Conducted by Florida Institute of Technology scientists Emily Simpson and Howard Chen, the simulation demonstrates how such a planet’s gravity could destabilise neighbouring planets, causing erratic orbits and ext...
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Mars' Moons Might Have Been Created From Asteroids Coming Too Close to the Red Planet
A study published in Icarus explores the possibility that Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, formed from asteroid debris torn apart by the planet’s gravitational forces. Researchers ran advanced simulations to propose this scenario, which fits the moons’ circular orbits better than previous theories. Japan’s upcoming MMX mission is expected to...
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Evidence of Hot Water on Mars Found in Ancient Meteorite From Early Days of Solar System
Evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars has been found in a 4.45-billion-year-old zircon grain from the NWA7034 meteorite. The findings, detailed in Science Advances, reveal that hydrothermal systems were active on Mars during the Pre-Noachian period. Researchers suggest these systems, essential for life on Earth, could have made Mars habita...
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New Lunar Map Attempts to Identify the Origin Impact Craters of Rock Samples
A new map of the moon’s Mare Orientale basin highlights areas containing original impact melt. These findings could help date the basin’s formation, which is estimated to be 3.8 billion years old. Scientists believe this research may reveal Earth’s early impact history while guiding future lunar sample-return missions. The map also distinguis...
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Scientists Propose Space Missions to Chase Down Interstellar Comets
A Southwest Research Institute study reveals that chasing interstellar comets like 3I/ATLAS is achievable with current rockets and instruments. Such missions could collect data on comet nuclei and comae, providing clues to the formation of other star systems. International collaborations make these rare, high-value missions increasingly realistic.
-
Asteroids vs Comets vs Meteors vs Meteorites: What Are They and How Are They Different From Each Other?
Asteroids, comets, meteoroids, meteors, and meteorites may seem similar, but each plays a unique role in the Solar System. Asteroids are rocky remnants, comets are icy wanderers, meteors are shooting stars, and meteorites are fragments that survive the plunge to Earth.
-
Mercury Has Shrunk by Several Kilometers Over Billions of Years, Scientists Report
Mercury’s surface reveals it has been shrinking for billions of years due to cooling and faulting. A new study estimates the planet’s radius has contracted by 2.7–5.6 kilometers, offering the most precise figures yet. The findings sharpen understanding of Mercury’s thermal evolution and could help scientists apply the same techniques to tec...
-
Hubble Delivers Best View Yet of Rare Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Racing Through Solar System
Hubble has captured its sharpest image of 3I/ATLAS, a rare interstellar comet speeding through the solar system at 130,000 mph. The view reveals a dust-filled coma, a faint tail, and activity similar to native comets. Astronomers aim to study its composition before it vanishes forever, offering insight into objects formed around other stars.
-
Mysterious Planet Nine May Still Lurk in the Outer Solar System
Astronomers have long speculated about a hidden planet—Planet Nine—lurking beyond Neptune. First proposed in 2016, the theory explains the strange orbits of distant Kuiper Belt objects through the gravitational pull of a massive, unseen world. Caltech researchers remain confident, while others suggest alternatives like debris rings or even a bl...
-
NASA’s IMAP Spacecraft Gears Up for Mission to Explore Solar System’s Edge
NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) has begun final preparations at Kennedy Space Center for a launch no earlier than September 2025. The mission will position IMAP at Lagrange Point 1, a million miles from Earth, to study the solar wind and the edge of the heliosphere. The spacecraft, built by Johns Hopkins APL, will fly al...
-
Asteroid Vesta May Be a Fragment of a Lost Planet, Say Scientists
Vesta, once believed to be a stalled protoplanet, may be a fragment of a long-lost differentiated planet. Using refined gravity data from NASA’s Dawn mission, scientists found it lacks a dense core, suggesting it was ejected during a primordial impact. This revised view may apply to other asteroids and reshape planetary formation theories.
-
Most Promising "Hints" Of Potential Life Detected On Distant Planet
Astronomers announced Thursday that they had detected the most promising "hints" of potential life on a planet beyond our solar system, though other scientists expressed skepticism.
-
NASA Study Finds Solar Wind Could Be Key to Water Formation on the Moon
A recent study indicates that water on the lunar surface may come from the solar wind. The results suggest that other airless bodies in the solar system may also have water on their surfaces, therefore highlighting the possibility of finding such water on the surface of other such objects.
-
First Future Type 1a Supernova Detected: White Dwarf Pair to Collide in 23 Billion Years
Astronomers have discovered a pair of white dwarf stars located about 150 light-years from Earth that are on course to collide and produce a Type 1a supernova in approximately 23 billion years. This is the first such system identified near our region of the galaxy. With a combined mass of 1.56 solar masses, the stars are slowly spiralling toward ea...
-
Researchers Propose New Methods to Spot Atom-Sized Primordial Black Holes Moving Across Solar System
Recent studies suggest that microscopic primordial black holes may exist within the solar system, potentially impacting planetary orbits and satellite movements. These small, early-universe black holes could also contribute to the mystery of dark matter, which makes up 85% of the universe's mass. Methods are being developed to detect their gravitat...
-
Super-Earth In the Solar System Could Have Rendered Our Planet Uninhabitable, Says Study
A recent study explores a hypothetical super-Earth between Mars and Jupiter, revealing its severe impact on Earth's orbit and climate. Conducted by Florida Institute of Technology scientists Emily Simpson and Howard Chen, the simulation demonstrates how such a planet’s gravity could destabilise neighbouring planets, causing erratic orbits and ext...
-
Mars' Moons Might Have Been Created From Asteroids Coming Too Close to the Red Planet
A study published in Icarus explores the possibility that Mars’ moons, Phobos and Deimos, formed from asteroid debris torn apart by the planet’s gravitational forces. Researchers ran advanced simulations to propose this scenario, which fits the moons’ circular orbits better than previous theories. Japan’s upcoming MMX mission is expected to...
-
Evidence of Hot Water on Mars Found in Ancient Meteorite From Early Days of Solar System
Evidence of ancient hot water activity on Mars has been found in a 4.45-billion-year-old zircon grain from the NWA7034 meteorite. The findings, detailed in Science Advances, reveal that hydrothermal systems were active on Mars during the Pre-Noachian period. Researchers suggest these systems, essential for life on Earth, could have made Mars habita...
-
New Lunar Map Attempts to Identify the Origin Impact Craters of Rock Samples
A new map of the moon’s Mare Orientale basin highlights areas containing original impact melt. These findings could help date the basin’s formation, which is estimated to be 3.8 billion years old. Scientists believe this research may reveal Earth’s early impact history while guiding future lunar sample-return missions. The map also distinguis...
