Astronomy / Astrophysics

Electron magnetic reconnection's scheme

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An article published in the journal “Nature” describes the discovery of a new type of magnetic reconnection. A team of researchers used data collected by NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) space probes to discover this phenomenon occurring in a boundary layer between the supersonic solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field called magnetosheath. What was called electron magnetic reconnection is very different from the standard phenomenon and converts magnetic energy into high speed electron jets.

Artist's impression of 2004 EW95 (Image ESO/M. Kornmesser)

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An article published in the journal “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” describes the study of an asteroid cataloged as 2004 EW95 which confirmed it has anomalous characteristics, being the first in the Kuiper belt to show a considerable carbon content. A team of astronomers used ESO’s VLT to study an asteroid that probably formed in the belt between Jupiter and Mars before being pushed to the outer solar system.

Diagram of solar Rossby waves (Image courtesy MPS/NASA/HormesDesign)

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An article published in the journal “Nature Astronomy” describes the evidence of the presence of gigantic waves called Rossby waves on the Sun’s surface. A team of scientists led by the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) and the University of Göttingen discovered these vortices that have sizes comparable to those of the Sun itself, confirming a hypothesis that was proposed decades ago because they exist naturally in rotating fluids.

Artist's representation of WASP-96b (Image courtesy Engine House. All rights reserved)

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An article published in the journal “Nature” describes a research on the exoplanet WASP-96b. It’s a hot Saturn, meaning a gas giant with a Saturn-like mass and an orbit close to its star which has as a consequece a high temperature on its surface. A team of researchers led by Nikolay Nikolov of the British University of Exeter used the FORS2 spectrograph mounted on ESO’s VLT to study WASP-96b discovering strong traces of sodium, an observation possible only in the absence of clouds in its atmosphere.

The Grand Canyon and Mars

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An article published in the journal “Nature Geoscience” describes a research on the possible rainfall that occurred on the planet Mars when it was young. Ramses Ramirez and Robert Craddock, two scientists who have been studying the red planet’s geological and climatic history for years, claim that about 4 billion years ago the climate could be warm and semi-arid with rainfall.