The oldest known star, officially called HD 140283 but nicknamed Methuselah, lies 190.1 light years away. Britain’s Schmidt Telescope at the Anglo-Australian Observatory (AAO) photographed the star in blue light for the…
Category: Science
Our brain uses quantum computing
According to recent theories of quantum gravity, if the mediator is a non-classical system, the entanglement between two known quantum systems can be mediated by unknown systems. This strategy could be applied…
Plants that ‘come back from the dead’ could be key to growing on the moon
Unique plants that can “come back from the dead” and survive extreme weather conditions could be the key to growing in space. Known as resurrection plants, these rare organisms can survive without…
Will Mars finally answer, “Are we alone?
We recently looked at how and why the planet Venus could answer the long-standing question: Are we alone? Despite its hostile surface environment, its atmosphere could be hospitable to life as we…
Astronomers discover a ‘marshmallow world’: the lowest-density gas giant ever discovered
The exoplanet discovery space hosts all kinds of interesting “super” worlds. There are super-Earths, super-Neptunes and, of course, super-Jupiters. Recently, the WIYN telescope on Kitt Peak in Arizona made a follow-up observation…
Electrical discharges from plants can change air quality in unexpected ways
When lightning strikes overhead, plants on the ground may react in the same way. Scientists have long known that plants and trees can emit small visible electrical discharges from the tips of…
ESA’s mission to Venus should crack the code on the planet’s past
Artist’s impression of ESA’s EnVision mission to Venus ESA/VR2Planets/Damia Bouic Venus is a hard-to-crack planetary nut. Decades after ground-based radar readings first pierced our sister planet’s dense, carbon dioxide-dominated atmosphere, we still…
Mars could have been hot and humid, while Earth was still a glowing ball of molten rock
Since the 1970s, continued exploration of Mars has revealed that the planet has had a most interesting history. Although conditions there are not suitable for life today, scientists know that Mars was…
Telescope shows dancing stars making beautiful dust ripples
The stunning images produced so far by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have captured the media. They are easy to find online; just search for images from the James Webb Space…
‘Made in Europe’ solution could save beleaguered ExoMars rover mission
Artistic conception of the ExoMars rover on Mars.Image: ESA The ExoMars rover could have a second chance to go to Mars. The European Space Agency (ESA) wants to swap a Russian-built entry…