NEW DELHI: Recent studies have introduced compelling evidence supporting the existence of a hypothetical ‘Planet Nine‘ in the outer reaches of our solar system, challenging previous skepticism around the topic. This potential planet, first hypothesized in 2016 by Caltech researchers Konstantin Batygin and Michael Brown, is thought to influence the orbits of distant icy bodies … Read more
Last January, the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter made its final flight with a landing that damaged at least one of its rotor blades and left it permanently grounded. But while it can no longer fly, it will continue to operate as a stationary Martian weather station. Ingenuity landed on Mars on February 18, 2021, under the belly of the … Read more
With the discovery of more than 5,600 planets orbiting other stars and images from robots we have sent to all the planets in our solar system, it is becoming abundantly clear that Earth is unique among worlds. Almost all of the exoplanets scientists have discovered since the 1990s fall into four main types: gas giants like Jupiter … Read more
Nasa‘s Hubble Space Telescope, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), has initiated a novel mission targeting small asteroids within the main belt. This effort seeks to deepen our understanding of these celestial objects, which are considered crucial to unraveling the mysteries of the early solar system. Managed by Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center … Read more
Last November, the Voyager 1 spacecraft began sending gibberish radio signals back to Earth. Engineers have now identified the problem, but trying to repair a 46-year-old device on a craft 24 billion kilometres from Earth is not easy. Voyager 1 and its twin Voyager 2 were both launched in 1977 on a reconnaissance mission to … Read more
The citizen science program Active Asteroids is looking for volunteers from the public to sift through astronomical photographs of asteroids to look for signs of tails which may indicate the presence of water. Active asteroids are rare small bodies in our solar system with an asteroid-like orbit and comet-like tail. Spotting them is a bit … Read more
Last week, the Ingenuity Mars helicopter made its final flight, far exceeding the expectations of a mission that began nearly three years ago. Now, NASA may be looking at a fixed-wing aircraft to hit the red planet’s skies next. In 2021 the Perseverance rover landed on Mars carrying a small helicopter under its belly named … Read more
Complete darkness for four months, freezing temperatures all year round and no trees; welcome to North America’s northernmost community. Grise Fiord in Canada is located just 960 miles from the North Pole and while it sounds inhospitable, it has maintained a constant population since it was formed in 1953 and currently there are just over … Read more
At 30 years old, Michelle Kunimoto already has more than 3,000 planet candidates under her belt. Inspired by science fiction and curiosity, the University of British Columbia astronomy graduate is passionate about searching for exoplanets — bodies orbiting stars outside our own solar system. She’s currently leading a team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) hunting for them. … Read more
2023 was a busy year in science. Here are 10 stories worth revisiting as we wind up the year. 1. Canadian Jeremy Hansen chosen to fly to the moon A Canadian astronaut was selected as part of the crew for NASA’s Artemis II mission to the moon. Jeremy Hansen and three crew mates will fly … Read more
