US Navy tests orbiting solar panel that could one day beam power anywhere on Earth

A pizza box sized solar panel in orbit is producing enough electricity to power an iPad, according to a succesful test of the technology by the US Navy.  The Photovoltaic Radiofrequency Antenna Module (PRAM) was launched in May 2020 attached to a drone that loops around the Earth every 90 minutes and is designed to harness … Read more

NASA confirms object orbiting the Earth is a rocket booster from ill-fated 1966 Surveyor 2

It is a mystery that puzzled scientists for months, but NASA has officially confirmed the object temporarily orbiting Earth is a discarded piece of the 1966 Surveyor 2 rocket. Dubbed 2020 SO, the object was first spotted by the Pan-STARRS survey in Hawaii on September 17 and initially classified as an asteroid. However, NASA’s top asteroid expert, … Read more

Jupiter-sized planet found orbiting distant white dwarf star

Astronomers have discovered a Jupiter-sized planet orbiting a distant white dwarf star.  The planet, christened ‘WD 1856 b’ is located about 80 light years away in the northern constellation Draco.   White dwarfs are the incredibly dense remains of sun-sized stars after they exhaust their nuclear fuel, shrunk down to roughly the size of Earth.  WD … Read more

Exo-planets orbiting carbon-rich stars may be made of DIAMONDS

Exo-planets orbiting carbon-rich stars may be made of DIAMONDS due to extreme heat and pressure on these distant worlds Exoplanets circling carbon-rich stars could be mainly diamond and silica, scientists say They subjected silicon carbide and water to extreme heat and pressure The sample turned into diamond, confirming their theory Because they lack geological activity, … Read more

AI algorithm discovers FIFTY new exoplanets orbiting far-off stars by analyzing NASA data

AI algorithm discovers FIFTY new exoplanets orbiting far-off stars by analyzing NASA data – with some larger than Neptune Scientists developed a machine learning algorithm to find exoplanets The system scoured through thousands of candidates and validated 50 planets This is the first time artificial intelligence has validated exoplanets The team says the new planets … Read more

Exoplanet the size of Saturn orbiting a faint ‘ultracool dwarf’ star

An exoplanet the size of Saturn orbiting a small faint star 35 light years away has been discovered after a radio telescope spotted a wobble in the stars motion. This is the first time a radio telescope has been used to detect an exoplanet using the ‘wobble’ technique – the wobble is caused by the … Read more

Astronomers capture first photo of two giant planets orbiting a Sun-like star

The first ever photo of two exoplanets orbiting a young Sun-like star 309-light years from the Earth has been captured by astronomers using a ground-based telescope.  The European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile was used to capture the image of the two giant exoplanets orbiting a very young star.  Astronomers say this image … Read more

Two ‘super-Earths’ are discovered orbiting in the habitable zone of a bright red dwarf star

A pair of ‘super Earth’ planets orbiting ‘just within the habitable zone’ of a nearby red dwarf star half the size of the Sun have been discovered by astronomers.  The star these potentially rocky world’s orbit is called Gliese 887 – it is 11 light years away from the Earth and one of the brightest … Read more

Neptune-sized planet found orbiting a young star 32 light years from Earth

A Neptune sized gas giant orbiting a star 180 times younger than the Sun has been discovered by astronomers and it could shed light on the evolution of the Earth. The exoplanet was found in a system 32 light-years away and its host star is only 20 to 30 million years old – compared to … Read more

Bizarre ‘asteroid’ with a TAIL of gas spotted orbiting the Sun ‘a simple comet’

Bizarre ‘asteroid’ with a TAIL of gas spotted orbiting the Sun at the same distance as Jupiter turns out to be a comet ‘in disguise’ The asteroid was first spotted in 2019 and the tail was confirmed in April 2020  2019 LD2 is letting off gas which is trailing behind the space rock like a … Read more