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Astronomers Discover One of the Oldest and Densest Brown Dwarfs Orbiting an Ancient Milky Way Star Harvard-Smithsonian Team Reports Rare Brown Dwarf Discovery Astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics (CfA) , together with international partners, have announced the discovery of a powerful new brown dwarf roughly 60 times heavier than Jupiter . The object, named TOI-7019 b , orbits a star belonging to the Milky Way's ancient thick disk . The discovery is outlined in a study published on 5 December on the arXiv preprint server. Readers following major breakthrough in astronomy and space science can find related discoveries and cosmic research coverage at FSNews365 , which regularly reports on astrophysics and exoplanet science. In Between Planets and Stars Why Brown Dwarfs Are So Unusual Brown dwarfs (BDs) occupy a curious middle ground between planets and stars , with masses ranging from 13 to 80 times that of Jupiter , or roughly 0.012 to 0.076 solar masses...

Satellite Mega-Constellations Are a 'House of Cards' Scientists Warn in Alarming News Study A Classic Phrase for a Modern Space Crisis "House of cards" is a classic English phrase, though today it is often linked with a popular Netflix political drama. Its original meaning, however, describes a structure that is inherently unstable — a definition that fits uncomfortably well with today's satellite mega-constellations. That is the phrase used by Sarah Thiele , formerly a PhD student at the University of British Columbia and now at Princeton , and her co-authors in a new preprint paper on arXiv . Their choice of words is well supported by the numbers. Across all low-Earth-orbit (LEO) mega-constellations, a "close approach" — defined as two satellites passing within one kilometer of each other — occurs every 22 seconds . Starlink Alone Faces Constant Collision Threats Starlink satellites encounter close approaches roughly every 11 minutes Each satellite p...

Revolutionary Lunar Origin Theory Challenges Decades-Old Planetary Science Models Long-Standing Mystery: How the Moon Really Formed One of the longest-standing mysteries in planetary science is how the Moon came into being. More than a century ago, George Darwin suggested that powerful tidal and centrifugal forces acting on a rapidly spinning proto-Earth caused the Moon to break away and settle into orbit around the planet. However, the idea later conflicted with the laws of conservation. A proto-Earth rotating with a day lasting just two to three hours would have possessed roughly four times the angular momentum of the present Earth-Moon system, raising the question of where that excess momentum went. Theia Impact: The Dominant Modern Hypothesis The leading explanation that emerged instead proposes that a Mars-sized object, dubbed Theia, collided with the proto-Earth. The impact ejected material from both bodies into orbit, where it eventually clumped together to form the Moon. When ...

Earth-Like Rocky Planets May Be Far More Common Across the Galaxy, Scientists Say Rocky planets similar to Earth could be far more widespread than astronomers once believed, opening new possibilities in the search for life beyond our solar system. New findings suggest a powerful cosmic process may have played a critical role in shaping dry, habitable worlds throughout the Milky Way. For more space and planetary science updates, visit FSNews365 Supernova Shockwaves May Have Shaped Earth-Like Worlds Rocky planets similar to Earth may be far more widespread than once believed, according to new research published in Science Advances . The study suggests that, during the formation of our solar system, a nearby supernova flooded the region with cosmic rays carrying radioactive elements capable of creating dry, rocky worlds. If correct, this process may be common throughout the galaxy. How Earth-Like Planet Formed in a Radioactive Environment Earth-like planets are thought to form from plane...

Astronomers Capture First-Ever Spacetime Vortex Caused by a Spinning Black Hole Scientists Report Breakthrough Observation in Rare Cosmic Event The cosmos has delivered a remarkable surprise to a team of researchers long in pursuit of one of the night sky's most elusive events. Their findings, published in Science Advances, reveal the first-ever recorded sighting of a spiraling vortex within spacetime, generated by a rapidly spinning black hole. This phenomenon — known as Lense-Thirring precession, or frame-dragging — explains how a black hole twists the fabric of spacetime around it, pulling nearby stars along and causing their orbits to wobble. Discovery of the Swirling Vortex Effect How AT2020afhd Revealed a Hidden Spacetime Distortion The research team, led by the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, analyzed AT2020afhd — a tidal disruption event in which a star was ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. The violent encounter created a swi...

Rare Optical Flare AT2022zod May Be an Unusual Tidal Disruption Event, Astronomers Say International Team Investigates a Powerful and Mysterious Flare Study Posted on arXiv Reveals New Clues to a Rare Phenomenon An international team of astronomers has examined a brief but intense optical flare known as AT2022zod, uncovering evidence that it may represent an unusual tidal disruption event. Their results, posted on 1 December on the arXiv pre-print server, shed new light on this rare phenomenon. A tidal disruption event (TDE) occurs when a star wanders too close to a supermassive black hole and is torn apart by immense tidal forces. The shredded stellar material then spirals inward, producing radiation from the innermost regions of the accreting debris — a telltale hallmark of a TDE. A Mysterious Flare Observed in 2022 Optical Outburst Lasted Just Over a Month AT2022zod was observed as an optical flare lasting just over a month, from 13 October to 18 November 2022, with a rise of rough...

New Study Reveals Fresh Insights Into Milky Way's Chemical Evolution Research Published in MNRAS Sheds Light on Chemical Bimodality Fresh insights into how galaxies such as our Milky Way form, evolve and develop unexpected chemical signatures have emerged from a new study. Published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society , the research investigates the origins of a long-standing mystery in our galaxy: the existence of two chemically distinct populations of stars, a phenomenon known as "chemical bimodality." Astronomers Identify Two Distinct Stellar Populations When astronomers examine stars in the Sun's neighbourhood, they consistently uncover two major groups distinguished by the relative amounts of iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg) they contain. These groups trace separate sequences on chemical plots, even though they overlap in overall metallicity — an enduring puzzle that has intrigued researchers for decades. Simulations Reveal How Milky Way-Type Galaxi...