Some exoplanets have characteristics totally alien to our Solar System. Hot Jupiters are one such type. They can have orbital periods of less than 10 days and surface temperatures that can climb to well over 4,000 K (3,730 °C or 6,740 °F). Unlike any planets in our system, they’re usually tidally locked. Astronomers probed the … Continue reading "Strange Winds Blow Through this Exoplanet’s Atmosphere" The post Strange Winds Blow Through this Exoplanet’s Atmosphere appeared first on Universe Today.

Stars form in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), vast clouds of mostly hydrogen that can span tens of light years. These stellar nurseries can form thousands of stars. Astronomers know this because they observe these regions in the Milky Way and the Magellanic Clouds and watch as stars take shape. But the Universe is more than … Continue reading "Fluffy Molecular Clouds Formed Stars in the Early Universe" The post Fluffy Molecular Clouds Formed Stars in the Early Universe appeared first on Universe Today.

Let’s dive into one of those cosmic curiosities that’s bound to blow your mind: how we might chat with aliens. And no, I’m not talking about elaborate coded messages or flashy signals. We’re talking about something incredibly fundamental—21cm radiation. If you’re planning on having a conversation across the vastness of space, using light waves (electromagnetic … Continue reading "If You’re Going to Call Aliens, Use This Number" The post If You’re Going to Call Aliens, Use This Number appeared first on Universe Today.

The majority of the universe remains unmapped, but we have a potential window into it through a peculiar light emitted by nothing other than neutral hydrogen. Before stars and galaxies lit up the universe, the cosmos was a dark place filled mostly with neutral hydrogen. This was right after the Big Bang and the formation … Continue reading "Neutral Hydrogen: The Next Big Game in Cosmology" The post Neutral Hydrogen: The Next Big Game in Cosmology appeared first on Universe Today.

NASA engineers are pressing ahead with preparations for the Artemis II mission unless someone tells them otherwise. The ambitious flight will send four astronauts on a trajectory similar to Apollo 8’s historic lunar journey, with the crew traveling around the Moon in an Orion Capsule before returning to Earth. A crucial milestone in the mission … Continue reading "The Artemis II Boosters are Stacked" The post The Artemis II Boosters are Stacked appeared first on Universe Today.

It’s not uncommon for space missions to be tested here on planet Earth. With the plethora of missions that have been sent to Mars it  is becoming increasingly likely that the red planet was once warmer, wetter and more habitable than it is today. To find evidence of this, a new paper proposes that Deception … Continue reading "Antarctica’s Deception Island is the Perfect Place to Practice Exploring Mars" The post Antarctica’s Deception Island is the Perfect Place to Practice Exploring Mars appeared first on Universe Today.

Some of our Solar System’s moons have become very enticing targets in the search for life. There’s growing evidence that some of them have oceans under layers of ice and that these oceans are warm and rich in prebiotic chemistry. NASA’s Europa Clipper is on its way to examine Jupiter’s moon Europa, and the ESA’s … Continue reading "Does Jupiter’s Moon Callisto Have an Ocean? The Evidence is Mounting" The post Does Jupiter’s Moon Callisto Have an Ocean? The Evidence is Mounting appeared first on Universe Today.

Gateway’s HALO module heads to the U.S., on its long path to orbiting the Moon. Preparations for Lunar Gateway are starting to come together. Thales Alenia Aerospace engineers recently began a series of checks on the HALO (Habitation Logistics Outpost) core module. Currently at the company’s Turin, Italy facility, the module is set to head … Continue reading "Lunar Gateway’s Core HALO Module Enters the Clean Room" The post Lunar Gateway’s Core HALO Module Enters the Clean Room appeared first on Universe Today.

What if I told you there was a secret window, and if you looked through this window you could see the entire history of the universe unfold before your very eyes? It sounds too good to be true. But this is science, and if we’ve learned anything in our four centuries of scientific exploration of … Continue reading "How Humble Hydrogen Lights Up the Universe" The post How Humble Hydrogen Lights Up the Universe appeared first on Universe Today.

Every Martian year (which last 686.98 Earth days), the Red Planet experiences regional dust storms that coincide with summer in the southern hemisphere. Every three Martian years (five and a half Earth years), these storms grow so large that they encompass the entire planet and are visible from Earth. These storms are a serious hazard … Continue reading "Should Astronauts Be Worried About Mars Dust?" The post Should Astronauts Be Worried About Mars Dust? appeared first on Universe Today.