9 d. ago James Webb telescope captures its first direct image of a glowing exoplanet the size of Saturn

For the first time ever, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured an unprecedented image of an exoplanet outside our solar system.

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1 week ago James Webb telescope captures unprecedented direct images of exoplanet

About the mass of Saturn and 110m light years from Earth, TWA 7 b provides insights into an infant planetary systemThe James Webb space telescope has captured unprecedented direct images of a planet beyond our own solar system in its first exoplanet discovery.The observations reveal a planet, called TWA 7 b, carving its way through a disc of glowing dust and rocky debris in orbit around a star 110m light years from Earth. About the mass of Saturn, the planet is 10 times less massive than any previous exoplanet to be directly observed with a telescope and provides fresh insights into a planetary system in its infancy. Continue reading...

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1 week ago Can a revolutionary new telescope solve the mystery of planet nine? – podcast

Ever since Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet in 2006, astronomers have been wondering whether Neptune really is the most distant planet from the sun. Now, a new telescope could uncover what lies in the farthest reaches of the solar system. The Vera C Rubin Observatory released its first images this week, and soon the world’s most powerful digital camera will be pointing across the whole of the night sky. Scientists are hopeful that if planet nine exists, the telescope will find it within its first year of operation. Ian Sample is joined by Dr Scott Sheppard, an astronomer at the Carnegie Institution for Science, to find out how Pluto lost its planetary status, why scientists think there could be another super-Earth, and why planet nine has been so hard to findClips: BBC, NBC, CBCFirst images of distant galaxies captured by ‘ultimate’ telescope Continue reading...

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3 w. ago NASA's Voyager spacecraft captures stunning 'wall of fire' images at Solar System's edge

NASA's Voyager spacecraft made a landmark discovery when it ventured beyond the Solar System to reveal a searing 'wall' of high temperature located outside our cosmic neighbourhood

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3 w. ago Solar Orbiter offers first glimpse of the Sun’s poles in breakthrough mission

The European Space Agency released images from the robotic Solar Orbiter spacecraft

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3 w. ago Sun’s south pole revealed for first time, in images from Solar Orbiter spacecraft

Groundbreaking observations map chaotic patchwork of magnetic activity, said to be key to understanding how sun’s field flipsThe sun’s uncharted south pole has been revealed for the first time in striking images beamed back from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft.The joint European Space Agency (ESA) and Nasa mission swooped below the planetary plane and, for the first time, captured the sun’s mysterious polar regions. The groundbreaking observations also mapped a chaotic patchwork of magnetic activity at the sun’s pole that scientists say is key to understanding how the sun’s field flips roughly every 11 years. Continue reading...

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