GoKawiil
Tech News
Researchers studying the chemical composition of Uranus and Neptune have concluded that despite their similar size and color, the two ice giants likely formed through different processes. The findings suggest their resemblance is largely superficial rather than evidence of a shared origin.
New research models how the Sun's eventual transformation into a red giant and loss of mass will loosen its gravitational grip, potentially destabilizing the orbits of outer solar system bodies much sooner than previous estimates suggested. The findings indicate that as the Sun sheds mass, gravitational interactions between surviving planets could trigger chaotic orbital shifts.
A scientific study reported by Nature finds the Solar System could become unstable and effectively 'die' far sooner than previous estimates suggested, revising timescales downward by roughly a billion times. The findings stem from new calculations about the long-term dynamical stability of planetary orbits.
Researchers from Caltech have modeled the future of our solar system, indicating that planetary orbits may become chaotic within a billion years after the Sun becomes a white dwarf. The study suggests that before the Sun’s transformation, gravitational disturbances could cause planets to cross paths, leading to potential destruction of the system much sooner than previously expected. These findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters and rely on advanced supercomputer simulations of stellar evolution.
Researchers analyzing samples returned by NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission have identified a specific zone between the inner and outer solar system as Bennu's likely birthplace. The finding narrows down where the asteroid formed before it migrated to its current near-Earth orbit.
Astronomers led by Pablo Santos-Sanz used the James Webb Space Telescope to re-observe a stellar occultation by Chariklo, a small icy body about 250 kilometers wide orbiting between Saturn and Uranus. Compared to the rings first detected in 2013, one of Chariklo's two narrow rings has become denser while the other has nearly disappeared, and the cause remains unclear.
Researchers analyzing Mercury's surface features have found that the planet has been shrinking at a faster rate than earlier models suggested, as its interior cools and contracts. The findings come from renewed analysis of geological formations like fault scarps that record the planet's contraction over billions of years.
Data from the Voyager, Galileo and Cassini missions, combined with modeling and observations from Hubble and Webb, has revealed that at least six moons and dwarf planets in the outer solar system—including Europa, Enceladus, Titan, Mimas and Callisto—harbor liquid water oceans beneath their icy surfaces. Even Pluto is now considered a candidate ocean world, suggesting many undiscovered Kuiper Belt objects could conceal similar hidden seas.
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft, currently nearing the outer boundary of the solar system as it heads toward interstellar space, risks losing two of its scientific instruments at this critical juncture. The timing is significant because the probe is approaching a region where continuous data collection is essential for understanding the transition beyond the sun's influence.