John Wenz, Author at Astronomy.com | Page 2 of 18

This is a color illustration of what exoplanet 55 Cancri e might look like. A rocky planet on the left and a portion of a much-larger star on the right. About three-quarters of the lit side of the planet is visible; the other quarter is in shadow. The surface of the planet has gray, orange, and yellow mottling. Most of the orange and yellow is in the region that is facing the star directly. The grayer portions are toward the poles and shadowed side of the planet. The edge of the disc of the planet appears to be glowing, suggesting a thin atmosphere. The star is bright orange-yellow, with a turbulent appearance similar to the Sun."

Exoplanets, Science

At last! JWST finds signs of a thick atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet

An illustration of what Venus might have looked like with large oceans. Credit: NASA.

What happened to all the water on Venus?

An artist's conception of the young Earth being bombarded by asteroids. Scientists think these impacts could have delivered significant amounts of organic matter and water to Earth. Credit: NASA.

Alien Life, Science, Solar System

Evidence grows that meteorites, comets could have brought essentials of life to early Earth

Jupiter's moon Io

Jupiter’s moon Io has likely been active for our solar system’s entire history

Europa was captured by JunoCam, during the mission's close flyby on Sept. 29, 2022. The circular dark feature at the lower right is Callanish Crater.

Alien Life, Science, Solar System

Circular patterns on Europa suggest how deep a lively ocean may be

Scientists have found a large black hole that “hiccups,” giving off plumes of gas. Analysis revealed a tiny black hole was repeatedly punching through the larger black hole’s disk of gas, causing the plumes to release. Powerful magnetic fields, to the north and south of the black hole and represented by the orange cone, slingshot the plume up and out of the disk. Each time the smaller black hole punches through the disk, it would eject another plume, in a regular, periodic pattern. Credit: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT

Exotic Objects, Science

A galaxy’s bright flicker turned out to be two black holes dancing in the night

This artist’s concept shows a planet gradually spiraling into its host star. Credit: R. Hurt & K. Miller (Caltech/IPAC)

More than a few nearby stars show signs they ate young planets

An artist's conception of the pair of supermassive black holes.

Exotic Objects, Science

These supermassive black holes, equal to 28 billion Suns, are the heaviest ever measured

The Orion nebula as seen by the JWST, appears like a pillowy, colorful, massive cloud of gas and dust.

JWST data show intense bursts of radiation are vaporizing parts of a young star’s disk in the Orion Nebula

An illustration of the dwarf planets Makemake and Eris.

Alien Life, Science, Solar System

Distant worlds Eris and Makemake unveil surprisingly active natures to the world’s largest space telescope

Supernova 1987A, imaged by the Hubble and JWST. The faint blue source in the centre is the emission detected with the JWST/NIRSpec instrument. The bright stars to the left and right of the inner ring are unrelated to the supernova. Credit: Hubble Space Telescope WFPC-3/James Webb Space Telescope NIRSpec/J. Larsson

Exotic Objects, Stars

JWST’s new look at Supernova 1987A reveals a neutron star

Saturn’s moon Mimas shows off its heavily cratered surface — including the large impact crater Herschel — in this rendering. Credit: Frédéric Durillon, Animea Studio | Observatoire de Paris – PSL, IMCCE

Robotic Spaceflight, Science, Solar System, Space Exploration

Evidence grows for a young ocean lurking under Mimas’ surface