A star of about eight percent the Sun’s mass has been caught emitting an enormous ‘super flare’ of X-rays – a dramatic high-energy eruption that poses a fundamental problem for astronomers, who did not think it possible on stars that small. J0331-27 The culprit, known by its catalogue number J0331-27, is a kind of star […]
H2020. Space traffic management
The combination of cheaper technology and new investors led by the internet sector is lowering the threshold for access to space. Specific Challenge The number of space actors, public and private, is increasing, and with them comes the development of new space technologies and markets (such as reusable launchers, mass produced small satellites, in-orbit servicing […]
Seeking answers to the great questions of the Universe
The ANGRAM project studied a new method for more efficiently detecting antimatter in order to help resolve questions like why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe and how antimatter falls. Antimatter fuels unanswered questions about the universe, which EU project ANGRAM set out to probe, trialling a new method for detecting antimatter, and […]
Discs of newborn stars related to the formation of new planets
Protoplanetary discs surround newborn stars in the galaxy. EU project DIGDEEP, thanks to a cutting-edge instrument, discovered,that these discs expel matter through winds, potentially key to planets remaining in the zone where habitation is possible. Roughly one new star forms per year in our galaxy, the Milky Way, and planet formation follows. Astronomers on EU […]
Isotopic makeup of meteorites sheds light on the early solar system
The isotopic analysis of elements found in meteorites provides key clues to understanding the formation and evolution of the solar system. It could also help scientists investigate the potential habitability of other solar systems. The most interesting aspect of a meteorite might seem to be the spectacular light show it creates when it breaks through […]
Trending Science: Planets out there more habitable than Earth?
A new study claims that alien planets could have a greater variety of life than Earth. Earth is the only planet we know that teams with life, but that may change soon enough. According to findings presented at the recent Goldschmidt Geochemistry Conference in Barcelona, Earth may not be the best planet for life. “This […]