Comet 3I/ATLAS “really did arrive with fantastic timing.”
matthew hopkins, How an Interstellar Interloper Spurred Astronomers into Action
SPACE & PLANETS ARCHIVE
Is Convection Wobbling Venus?
Venus’s rotation axis is not where it should be – but atmospheric torques, not mantle convection, are likely responsible.
Using Lightning-Induced Precipitation to Estimate Electron Belt Decay Times
A long-term study of MeV electron burst events detected in the inner radiation belt and slot region was used to determine the electron belt decay times.
Planet-Eating Stars Hint at Earth’s Ultimate Fate
A sampling of aging Sun-like stars demonstrates that they likely eat their closest planets.
Fungi, Fertilizer, and Feces Could Help Astronauts Grow Plants on the Moon
A new study offers tantalizing evidence that filamentous fungi extending from roots, along with treated astronaut waste, could provide sufficient scaffolding to help plants grow in planetary regolith.
Uranus’s Small Moons Are Dark, Red, and Water-Poor
…Except for Mab, which is even weirder than expected.
Maybe That’s Not Liquid Water on Mars After All
A “very large roll” of a radar instrument offers new insight into a highly reflective area near the Martian south pole.
Sediments Hint at Large Ancient Martian Moon
Regular, alternating layers in Gale Crater may have been deposited as the result of tides raised by a moon at least 18 times the mass of Phobos, a study says.
Speedy Flyby Adds New Organics to Enceladus’s “Primordial Soup”
A new analysis of old Cassini data has also verified past detections of complex organics in Saturn’s E ring, strengthening the chemical ties between the ring and its progenitor.
A Weak Spot in Earth’s Magnetic Field Is Going from Bad to Worse
This could be bad news for satellites and spacefarers.
What Tumbling Asteroids Tell Us About Their Innards
Data from the Gaia space observatory reveal that many slowly spinning asteroids rotate chaotically. A new theory links that chaos to their inner structure and history.
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