It’s Official: Astronomers and NASA Scientists have discovered another Earth

Astronomers have discovered a planet nearly the same size as Earth that orbits in its star’s habitable zone, where liquid water could exist on its surface, a new study said.

The presence of liquid water also indicates the planet could support life.

This newly found world, Kepler-1649c, is 300 light-years away from Earth and orbits a star that is about one-fourth the size of our sun.

What’s exciting is that out of all the 2,000 plus exoplanets that have been discovered using observations from the Kepler Space Telescope, this world is most similar to Earth both in size and estimated temperature, NASA said.

This exoplanet is...

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Monsters lurk in the cores of all galaxies: supermassive black holes millions or billions of times the mass of our Sun. And as galaxies merge, so, too, do these black holes, which gradually approach each other over millions of years.

During that time, the gravitational effects of merging galaxies and black holes funnel stars, planets, gas, and dust to the center. That material begins to swirl into the black holes, forming a hot, bright accretion disk around each one that can be seen from anywhere in the universe.

Such a brightly shining disk around a supermassive black hole is called a quasar.\

Normally, quasars hang out by themselves, absorbing material from the young galaxies in which they form. When the galaxy settles, the quasar shuts down as the black hole consumes all nearby matter and runs out of food. However, chaotic events such as galaxy mergers can reignite quasars, resulting in a one-of-a-kind double quasar pair that eventually merges into a single, brighter, and even more massive black hole. Astronomers estimate that one in every 1,000 quasars is a double quasar, though some are too close to one another to be visibly separated at such great distances.

Double quasars, such as the two pairs recently imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope (shown directly above and depicted in the artist’s concept at the top of this page), are common in the distant universe. However, future residents of our galaxy will have a front-row seat to such a spectacular event in about 4 billion years. When the nearby Andromeda Galaxy gets close enough to the Milky Way, the black holes in both galaxies will light up as quasars, shining at least as bright as the Full Moon and blocking out many of the stars. When these quasars eventually merge, they will emit intense radiation that could cause problems for any inhabited planets in the resulting Milkomeda galaxy.

Imaged by the Gemini Observatory in Hawaii, the galaxies NGC 5394 (the smaller one, on the right) and NGC 5395 (the larger one, on the left) are in the middle of colliding over the span of millions of years.

It can take millions of years for galaxies to collide. One such ambling encounter is between the galaxies NGC 5394 and NGC 5395.

According to astronomers, the pair, which is around 160 million light-years away from Earth, has collided at least once. Because the stars in each galaxy are so far apart, any stellar collisions are extremely unlikely. However, the collision may have generated turbulent motions in the galaxies’ gases, triggering additional bursts of star formation.

New star formation appears in the spiral arms of both galaxies as reddish aggregates in this new view from the Gemini Observatory’s telescope in Hawaii.

During the collision, the galaxies gravitationally pull on one other, warping their shapes. This galaxy pair has been nicknamed the "Heron Galaxy" because of its shape. The larger galaxy is thought to symbolize the bird’s body, while the smaller galaxy is said to depict the bird’s head and beak.

Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also colliding with its nearest large neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). The merger will change the structure of both galaxies billions of years from now, resulting in a new arrangement of stars known as Milkomeda ("milk-AHM-mee-da"). The night sky will be drastically altered as a result of the merger. But into what, exactly?

Currently, the Milky Way’s thin disk of stars and gas appears as a nebulous strip arching across the summer sky. As Andromeda grazes the Milky Way, a second lane of stars will join the one that presently graces the night sky.

Using data from the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have developed this simulation of the head-on collision of our Milky Way galaxy and the Andromeda galaxy. Estimated to occur in 4 billion years.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has given us an otherworldly skywatching treat — the minuscule Mars moon Deimos, twinkling in the dusty Red Planet skies.

"Skywatching is fun no matter where you are. I took this short time-lapse movie to watch for clouds and caught something else: look closely and you’ll see Deimos, one of two moons of Mars," Perseverance team members wrote via the mission’s official Twitter account Friday (Aug. 20).

Perseverance, which landed in February inside the 45-kilometer-wide Jezero Crater, usually keeps its head down, studying the Red Planet’s rocks and dirt. After all, the rover’s primary tasks include searching for signs of ancient Martian life and collecting dozens of samples for eventual return to Earth.

The rover does, however, raise its head from time to time, and not just to observe the clouds. Perseverance, for example, assisted in documenting the first few flights of its traveling companion, NASA’s 4-pound (1.8 kilogram) Ingenuity helicopter. Ingenuity is still going strong — the pioneering little chopper recently aced its 12th Martian sortie — but Perseverance began focusing on its own science work a few months ago.

The 7.7-mile-wide (12.4 kilometers) Deimos orbits 14,576 miles (23,458 km) above Mars, completing one nearly circular lap around the planet every 30 hours. Mars’ other moon, Phobos, is about 14 miles (22 km) in diameter and orbits at an altitude of just 5,738 miles (9,234 km). Most astronomers think both satellites are asteroids that were captured by Mars’ gravity.

Earth’s moon, for example, is 2,159 miles (3,475 kilometers) wide and lies at a distance of 238,900 miles (384,470 kilometers) from our planet on average. According to experts, our moon formed from material blasted into space by a massive collision between the proto-Earth and a Mars-sized planet called Theia more than 4.4 billion years ago.

The two small moons of Mars had previously been seen by NASA rovers. Since landing on the floor of Gale Crater in August 2012, Curiosity has obtained many images of Phobos and Deimos. Curiosity’s observations include incredible time-lapse movies of each moon passing in front of the sun, generating partial solar eclipses.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope recently captured a stunning image of the lenticular galaxy NGC 3489. Lenticular galaxies, which occupy a unique middle ground between spiral and elliptical galaxies, possess a central bulge of densely packed stars and a flat, circular disk containing stars, gas, and dust—resembling spiral galaxies but lacking their distinctive arms. Similar to elliptical galaxies, lenticular galaxies feature older star populations and limited ongoing star formation.

What sets NGC 3489 apart is its active galactic nucleus (AGN), positioned at the galaxy’s core. This AGN shines brilliantly and emits radiation across the entire electromagnetic spectrum as it engulfs nearby matter. NGC 3489 is classified as a Seyfert galaxy, a type of AGN that is relatively dim compared to others, allowing the surrounding galaxy to remain visible. In contrast, some AGNs emit such intense radiation that it obscures the host galaxy.

Located approximately 30 million light-years away in the Leo constellation, NGC 3489 provides a fascinating glimpse into the intricate and dynamic nature of galaxies in our universe.

Saturn, the stunning ringed planet, isn’t alone in its cosmic dance. It has a fascinating companion: Titan, its largest moon. Titan stands out because it’s the only moon in our solar system that has a thick atmosphere and clouds. Let’s take a closer look at this intriguing moon and its incredible features.

A Mysterious Discovery

Imagine looking through a telescope in the year 1655. That’s when a scientist named Christiaan Huygens saw something amazing: Titan, a moon of Saturn. Unlike our moon, Titan has a brownish-red color and a thick layer of haze that hides its surface. It was the first moon discovered around a planet other than Earth.

An Atmosphere Like No Other

Most moons have little or no atmosphere, but Titan is different. It has a thick atmosphere made mostly of nitrogen. This atmosphere creates clouds, which is very rare for a moon. You can learn more about these clouds in the article here.

Liquid Lakes and Seas

Picture this: lakes and seas, not of water, but of liquid hydrocarbons like methane and ethane. That’s what covers parts of Titan’s surface. This makes Titan even more special because no other moon has liquid on its surface. Dive into more details about Titan’s hydrocarbon oceans here, where scientists wonder if these unique environments could host life.

A Dance with Saturn

As Titan goes around Saturn, it does a graceful dance. It turns on its axis at the same speed it orbits Saturn, so one side always faces the planet. This kind of dance is called "synchronous rotation." It’s like Titan and Saturn are partners in a cosmic waltz.

Hidden Secrets in Titan’s Core

Beneath Titan’s surface, there’s a mystery waiting to be solved. Its insides are a mix of rocky and icy materials. Scientists think there might be liquid layers beneath its surface, perhaps a mixture of water, methane, and ammonia. This makes Titan similar to other moons like Ganymede, Callisto, and Triton.

Closing Thoughts

Titan, Saturn’s moon, is a world of wonders. With its thick atmosphere, clouds, and liquid lakes, it’s a place of unique beauty. Exploring Titan teaches us more about the incredible variety of worlds in our solar system. If you’re curious to learn more, check out the articles here and here for deeper insights into this extraordinary moon.

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