Over the past 25 years, more than 40 percent of Antarctica’s ice shelves have diminished, potentially accelerating sea level rise by allowing more land ice to flow into the ocean, according to new research. The extent of ice shelf thinning is more widespread than previously thought, suggesting that the continent is feeling the effects of…
Astronomers have observed a remarkable event in the cosmos: the sudden brightening of a star in infrared light followed by an optical fade, all caused by a massive collision between two enormous planets. The star, previously unremarkable and known as 2MASS J08152329-3859234, became significantly dimmer in visible light in December 2021. While such events have…
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has provided an unprecedented, high-resolution view of a distant cosmic neighbor located 210,000 light-years away. This celestial neighbor is NGC 346, a star-forming region within the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. The recently released JWST image showcases intricate details of this region, with…
On October 8, a Vega rocket accomplished a successful launch, deploying twelve small satellites into orbit. This mission took off from the European spaceport located in Kourou, French Guiana, at 9:36 p.m. Eastern. Initially scheduled for October 6, the launch was postponed in the final minute of the countdown due to a measurement issue slightly…