Great Space

Another Earth-size exoplanet discovered in habitable zone of nearby star
The planet, named TOI 700 e, is one of four known planets orbiting a cool star approximately 100 light-years away. The planet was discovered by NASA’s planet-hunting telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite.

NASA’s planet-hunting telescope, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), has discovered a second Earth-size planet within the habitable zone of a nearby star.

Named TOI 700 e, the planet is one of four known planets orbiting a cool star approximately 100 light-years away. The system was already known to host one planet, called TOI 700 d, in the habitable zone, but recent research that will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters reveals it is joined by another planet inside its orbit. The other two planets in the system, TOI 700 b and TOI 700 c, orbit closer to the star and, as such, are likely to have higher temperatures, putting them outside of the habitable zone.

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How the James Webb Space Telescope changed astronomy in its first year.
After decades of planning and billions of dollars spent, here’s how the new space observatory is already transforming the way we study the cosmos.

Despite the debates over the telescope’s naming and history, one thing has become abundantly clear this year — the scientific ability of JWST is remarkable. Beginning its science operations in July 2022, it has already allowed astronomers to get new views and uncover mysteries about a huge range of space topics.

The most pressing aim of JWST is one of the most ambitious projects in the recent history of astronomy: to look back at some of the first galaxies, which formed when the universe was brand new.

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The UK’s first-ever rocket launch ends in failure
The LauncherOne rocket was successfully released from the modified 747 but later experienced an anomaly.

What should have been a historic moment for the UK ended in failure last night after an undisclosed “anomaly” prevented the country’s satellite mission from reaching orbit. The Virgin Orbit “Start Me Up” mission was the first-ever rocket launched from British soil.

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Amazing photos of gorgeously green Comet C/2022 E3 (ZFT)
Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF is already putting on a show as it makes its way through our solar system.

The Comet C/2022 E3 (ZFT) could put on an amazing show for skywatchers January and February 2023, when it could become visible to the unaided eye in the night sky.

Discovered in March 2022 by the Zwicky Transient Facility, the comet is making its first close pass by Earth in 50,000 years and has not been seen since the time of the Neanderthals. Since its discovery, stargazers and astrophotographers have captured amazing images of the gorgeous green comet.

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Massive eruption explodes from the sun

A massive eruption of magnetized particles burst from the sun on Tuesday (Jan.3), accompanied by a powerful six-hour-long solar flare.

The eruption, a so-called coronal mass ejection (CME), emerged from a sunspot on the far side of the sun, and will not hit Earth, experts say. CMEs are clouds of highly charged particles from the sun's upper atmosphere, the corona. If directed at Earth, they reach the planet within a few days. Interactions of the charged solar particles with Earth's magnetic field trigger beautiful aurora displays but also cause all sorts of problems such as power blackouts, GPS disruptions and satellite malfunctions. Solar flares, on the other hand, are bright flashes of light that arrive at the planet within eight minutes and can briefly disrupt radio communications.

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The first launch of 2023 for a SpaceX Falcon 9 was the booster's record-tying 15th flight.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched into a brilliant blue sky this morning (Jan. 3) from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, carrying 114 satellites to orbit — the second-most spacecraft ever lofted on a single mission.

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Keep your eyes peeled for this comet in 2023
This could be the first comet visible to the unaided eye since 2020.

Here’s something to look forward to in the new year: 2023 could give us a once-in-a-generation chance to see a new comet grace our skies.

Stargazers can keep their eyes peeled for Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) throughout January and early February, although they’ll need a telescope or binoculars to spot it at first. As the comet races closer to Earth, however, there’s a chance the comet could become visible to the naked eye under dark skies. If that happens, it’ll be the first comet to reveal itself to the unaided eye since NEOWISE passed us by in 2020.

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The most distant spacecraft in the solar system — Where are they now?

Humans have been flinging things into deep space for 50 years now, since the 1972 launch of Pioneer 10. We now have five spacecraft that have either reached the edges of our solar system or are fast approaching it: Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, Voyager 2 and New Horizons.

Most of these probes have defied their expected deaths and are still operating long beyond their original mission plans. These spacecraft were originally planned to explore our neighboring planets, but now they're blazing a trail out of the solar system, providing astronomers with unique vantage points in space — and they've been up to a lot in 2022.

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15 times black holes surprised us in 2022
An image of the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, a behemoth dubbed Sagittarius A*, revealed by the Event Horizon Telescope on May 12, 2022.

Black holes are giant warps in space and time whose pitch-black nature keeps them mysterious. Yet scientists continue to push their understanding of the objects in deep space.

Over the past year, astronomers have gleaned new insights into black holes across the universe. Here is a list of 15 times black holes surprised us in 2022

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​​Winter on Mars looks beautiful in this festive NASA video

"We see spider-shaped features, fans, geysers, Dalmatian spots, fried eggs, all kinds of unique objects," NASA says.

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