View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, captured this filtered image of the sun on July 17, 2024. Thank you, Mario! According to new research, the next solar cycle is already beginning, despite the fact that it’s only halfway through its current cycle.
The sun is at the peak of Solar Cycle 25. We’re at solar maximum, when the sun has the most sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections.
But researchers say they already see Solar Cycle 26 beginning. Using helioseismology, they’re able to see a pattern of bands moving toward the sun’s equator along with the sunspots, which echoes what they’ve seen in earlier solar cycles.
And even though they’re seeing the first traces of Cycle 26, that cycle won’t officially start until about 2030.
The Royal Astronomical Society published this original article on July 18, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.
The next solar cycle is already beginning
Scientists have detected the first rumblings of the sun’s next 11-year solar cycle in sound waves inside our home star … even though it is only halfway through its current one.
This existing cycle is now at its peak, or solar maximum. Solar maximum is when the sun’s magnetic field flips and its poles swap places. This solar max will continue until mid-2025.
Solar max affects activity on the sun’s surface. Sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections are all more rampant at solar maximum. This leads to a surge in electromagnetic energy hurtling toward Earth, making auroras visible more often and at lower altitudes.
The current solar cycle – Cycle 25 – started in 2019. It has the name Cycle 25 because it’s the 25th since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began.
Spotting the beginnings of Cycle 26
It is not expected to end for another six years, but researchers have spotted the first signs that the next solar cycle is beginning. Researchers from the University of Birmingham presented their findings at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting in Hull on July 18, 2024.
Astronomers use the sun’s internal sound waves to measure how it rotates, making visible a pattern of bands (solar torsional oscillation) that rotate slightly faster or slower. These move toward the sun’s equator and its poles during the activity cycle.
The faster-rotation belts tend to show up before the next solar cycle officially begins.
Dr. Rachel Howe of the University of Birmingham and her international collaborators have discovered a faint indication that the next solar cycle is starting to show up in the data they have been analyzing from the rotation bands. Howe said:
If you go back one solar cycle – 11 years – on the plot, you can see something similar that seems to join up with the shape that we saw in 2017. It went on to be a feature of the present solar cycle, Cycle 25.
We’re likely seeing the first traces of Cycle 26, which won’t officially start until about 2030.
This map shows which latitudes on the sun were rotating faster (shown in red and yellow) or slower (shown in blue and green) than average over the last 29 years, as inferred by helioseismology (the analysis of solar sound waves). For each solar cycle, there is a band of faster rotation that moves down toward the equator. The yellow lines show the areas where the magnetic fields are most concentrated. It is possible to see the whole of Solar Cycles 23 and 24, and the first half of Cycle 25. For each cycle, the band of faster rotation starts well before the magnetic activity for that cycle. On the far right of the figure, a bit of red marks what the team believes is the beginning of the fast-rotating band for Cycle 26. Image via Rachel Howe/ Royal Astronomical Society.
Using helioseismic data to see inside the sun
Astronomers have been studying solar torsional oscillation signals using helioseismic data from the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory since 1995.
The data now covers the first four years of Solar Cycles 23, 24 and 25. This allows researchers to compare the rising phases of these cycles.
Howe has been following the changes in the sun’s rotation for about 25 years, when scientists only had a portion of data from Solar Cycle 23 from GONG and MDI.
They could see the pattern of faster-moving material drifting toward the equator along with the sunspots. Since then, they have watched the pattern repeat (but not exactly) as Cycle 24 came and went and again as Cycle 25 grew. Howe said:
It’s exciting to see the first hint that the pattern will repeat again in Cycle 26, which is due to start in about six years.
With more data, I hope we can understand more about the part these flows play in the intricate dance of plasma and magnetic fields that form the solar cycle.
Bottom line: Astronomers using helioseismology have peered into the sun to see a pattern indicating the next solar cycle – Solar Cycle 26 – is already beginning.
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Mario Rana in Hampton, Virginia, captured this filtered image of the sun on July 17, 2024. Thank you, Mario! According to new research, the next solar cycle is already beginning, despite the fact that it’s only halfway through its current cycle.
The sun is at the peak of Solar Cycle 25. We’re at solar maximum, when the sun has the most sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections.
But researchers say they already see Solar Cycle 26 beginning. Using helioseismology, they’re able to see a pattern of bands moving toward the sun’s equator along with the sunspots, which echoes what they’ve seen in earlier solar cycles.
And even though they’re seeing the first traces of Cycle 26, that cycle won’t officially start until about 2030.
The Royal Astronomical Society published this original article on July 18, 2024. Edits by EarthSky.
The next solar cycle is already beginning
Scientists have detected the first rumblings of the sun’s next 11-year solar cycle in sound waves inside our home star … even though it is only halfway through its current one.
This existing cycle is now at its peak, or solar maximum. Solar maximum is when the sun’s magnetic field flips and its poles swap places. This solar max will continue until mid-2025.
Solar max affects activity on the sun’s surface. Sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections are all more rampant at solar maximum. This leads to a surge in electromagnetic energy hurtling toward Earth, making auroras visible more often and at lower altitudes.
The current solar cycle – Cycle 25 – started in 2019. It has the name Cycle 25 because it’s the 25th since 1755, when extensive recording of solar sunspot activity began.
Spotting the beginnings of Cycle 26
It is not expected to end for another six years, but researchers have spotted the first signs that the next solar cycle is beginning. Researchers from the University of Birmingham presented their findings at the Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting in Hull on July 18, 2024.
Astronomers use the sun’s internal sound waves to measure how it rotates, making visible a pattern of bands (solar torsional oscillation) that rotate slightly faster or slower. These move toward the sun’s equator and its poles during the activity cycle.
The faster-rotation belts tend to show up before the next solar cycle officially begins.
Dr. Rachel Howe of the University of Birmingham and her international collaborators have discovered a faint indication that the next solar cycle is starting to show up in the data they have been analyzing from the rotation bands. Howe said:
If you go back one solar cycle – 11 years – on the plot, you can see something similar that seems to join up with the shape that we saw in 2017. It went on to be a feature of the present solar cycle, Cycle 25.
We’re likely seeing the first traces of Cycle 26, which won’t officially start until about 2030.
This map shows which latitudes on the sun were rotating faster (shown in red and yellow) or slower (shown in blue and green) than average over the last 29 years, as inferred by helioseismology (the analysis of solar sound waves). For each solar cycle, there is a band of faster rotation that moves down toward the equator. The yellow lines show the areas where the magnetic fields are most concentrated. It is possible to see the whole of Solar Cycles 23 and 24, and the first half of Cycle 25. For each cycle, the band of faster rotation starts well before the magnetic activity for that cycle. On the far right of the figure, a bit of red marks what the team believes is the beginning of the fast-rotating band for Cycle 26. Image via Rachel Howe/ Royal Astronomical Society.
Using helioseismic data to see inside the sun
Astronomers have been studying solar torsional oscillation signals using helioseismic data from the Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG), the Michelson Doppler Imager (MDI) onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory, and the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory since 1995.
The data now covers the first four years of Solar Cycles 23, 24 and 25. This allows researchers to compare the rising phases of these cycles.
Howe has been following the changes in the sun’s rotation for about 25 years, when scientists only had a portion of data from Solar Cycle 23 from GONG and MDI.
They could see the pattern of faster-moving material drifting toward the equator along with the sunspots. Since then, they have watched the pattern repeat (but not exactly) as Cycle 24 came and went and again as Cycle 25 grew. Howe said:
It’s exciting to see the first hint that the pattern will repeat again in Cycle 26, which is due to start in about six years.
With more data, I hope we can understand more about the part these flows play in the intricate dance of plasma and magnetic fields that form the solar cycle.
Bottom line: Astronomers using helioseismology have peered into the sun to see a pattern indicating the next solar cycle – Solar Cycle 26 – is already beginning.
Sarah Parcak is a modern-day Indiana Jones. Only her searches for antiquities in Egypt start in space. Sarah is an archaeologist and Egyptologist at the University of Alabama. She explains how using different wavelengths of light from satellite imagery to peer at Earth reveals otherwise hidden structures. For example, in infrared light, we’re able to see chemical signatures on the landscape due to the building materials used in ancient civilizations. Sarah says:
I analyze different satellite data sets – Google Earth is one you’re probably familiar with – to find and map otherwise hidden archaeological sites and features.
And while Egyptology is her specialty, Sarah takes you on a grand tour of archaeological sites across Earth, to show where discoveries from space are being made. Sarah explains what exactly they can see in the satellite imagery:
We can see neither potsherds nor individual occupation levels on satellite imagery. But we can see walls, entire buildings, geoglyphs like the Nazca lines, vanished landscapes and relationships between site and site, and between site and landscape, in ways we could not 40 years ago, in places we would never have thought to check.
Sarah shares her discoveries with excitement, mom humor and imagination. She even spends a chapter telling the possible story of what a woman’s life would have been like during turmoil in ancient Egypt.
If you’re a fan of the Indiana Jones movies, then you might already know that his quest to find the Ark of the Covenant focused on the Egyptian city of Tanis. This lost city was supposedly buried in a year-long sandstorm. In reality, Tanis was an Egyptian city that, today, looked like an unremarkable stretch of desert in regular satellite imagery. But by merging different types of satellite imagery and using a technique called pansharpening, the hidden city came into view. Sarah says:
An entire ancient city leapt off the screen. Ambiguous, faint streaks that had appeared in the multispectral image now emerged as clear buildings, streets, suburbs … everything.
Space archaeology has also helped identify many more Mayan ruins in Central America. It’s also helped explain how the heads on Easter Island were “walked” into their final positions. And Sarah believes there are many, many more discoveries from space to make:
I believe there are more than 50 million unknown archaeological sites, from major settlements to small campsites, left to discover globally, above and below water. And that’s on the conservative end of my calculations.
We’ve been recognizably human for around 13,800 generations, and 108 billion people may have lived in the last 50,000 years. That’s a lot of human activity to trace.
They’ve also been able to track looting of ancient archaeological site from space. Archaeologists have been able to see how looting got exponentially worse after the 2009 global recession. And it picked up again after the 2011 Arab Spring. Sarah says:
Looters, we are watching you.
Bottom line: Archaeology from Space by Sarah Parcak explains how satellite imagery can reveal hidden antiquities from the Egyptians, Mayans, Vikings and more.
Sarah Parcak is a modern-day Indiana Jones. Only her searches for antiquities in Egypt start in space. Sarah is an archaeologist and Egyptologist at the University of Alabama. She explains how using different wavelengths of light from satellite imagery to peer at Earth reveals otherwise hidden structures. For example, in infrared light, we’re able to see chemical signatures on the landscape due to the building materials used in ancient civilizations. Sarah says:
I analyze different satellite data sets – Google Earth is one you’re probably familiar with – to find and map otherwise hidden archaeological sites and features.
And while Egyptology is her specialty, Sarah takes you on a grand tour of archaeological sites across Earth, to show where discoveries from space are being made. Sarah explains what exactly they can see in the satellite imagery:
We can see neither potsherds nor individual occupation levels on satellite imagery. But we can see walls, entire buildings, geoglyphs like the Nazca lines, vanished landscapes and relationships between site and site, and between site and landscape, in ways we could not 40 years ago, in places we would never have thought to check.
Sarah shares her discoveries with excitement, mom humor and imagination. She even spends a chapter telling the possible story of what a woman’s life would have been like during turmoil in ancient Egypt.
If you’re a fan of the Indiana Jones movies, then you might already know that his quest to find the Ark of the Covenant focused on the Egyptian city of Tanis. This lost city was supposedly buried in a year-long sandstorm. In reality, Tanis was an Egyptian city that, today, looked like an unremarkable stretch of desert in regular satellite imagery. But by merging different types of satellite imagery and using a technique called pansharpening, the hidden city came into view. Sarah says:
An entire ancient city leapt off the screen. Ambiguous, faint streaks that had appeared in the multispectral image now emerged as clear buildings, streets, suburbs … everything.
Space archaeology has also helped identify many more Mayan ruins in Central America. It’s also helped explain how the heads on Easter Island were “walked” into their final positions. And Sarah believes there are many, many more discoveries from space to make:
I believe there are more than 50 million unknown archaeological sites, from major settlements to small campsites, left to discover globally, above and below water. And that’s on the conservative end of my calculations.
We’ve been recognizably human for around 13,800 generations, and 108 billion people may have lived in the last 50,000 years. That’s a lot of human activity to trace.
They’ve also been able to track looting of ancient archaeological site from space. Archaeologists have been able to see how looting got exponentially worse after the 2009 global recession. And it picked up again after the 2011 Arab Spring. Sarah says:
Looters, we are watching you.
Bottom line: Archaeology from Space by Sarah Parcak explains how satellite imagery can reveal hidden antiquities from the Egyptians, Mayans, Vikings and more.
Exoplanets are worlds orbiting distant stars. Astronomer Néstor Espinoza of Space Telescope Science Institute spoke with EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd on Monday, May 20, 2024, about this diversity of worlds beyond our sun and planets. He talked about the nearby, fascinating TRAPPIST-1 system, located some 40 light-years away. He talked about Proxima Centauri b, the closest exoplanet at 4 light-years. And he touched on some current and future exoplanet missions.
Since the first exoplanet was discovered in 1992, thousands of planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system have been confirmed through a myriad of different methods, including direct imaging, gravitational microlensing, measuring transits, and astrometry. Over the years, techniques have evolved to study these exoplanets, with astronomers learning details about the atmospheric compositions of these far-off worlds.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is continuing to advance this field of study and deepen our understanding about the diversity of exoplanets and their atmospheres.
The latest? Webb has allowed astronomers to parse out the atmospheric differences between the morning and evening on a tidally locked exoplanet – an incredible achievement for a distant world 700 light-years away from Earth like WASP-39b.
Webb finds differences between eternal sunrises and sunsets
Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have finally confirmed what models have previously predicted: An exoplanet has differences between its eternal morning and eternal evening atmosphere. WASP-39b – a giant planet also known officially as Bocaprins, with a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter, but similar mass to Saturn, orbiting a star about 700 light-years away from Earth – is tidally locked to its parent star. This means it has a constant dayside and a constant nightside – one side of the planet is always exposed to its star, while the other is always shrouded in darkness.
Using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), astronomers confirmed a temperature difference between the eternal morning and eternal evening on WASP-39 b, with the evening appearing hotter by roughly 300 Fahrenheit degrees (about 200 Celsius degrees). They also found evidence for different cloud cover, with the forever morning portion of the planet being likely cloudier than the evening.
Probing WASP-39b’s ‘puffy’ atmosphere with starlight
Astronomers analyzed the 2- to 5-micron transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b, a technique that studies the exoplanet’s terminator, the boundary that separates the planet’s dayside and nightside. A transmission spectrum is made by comparing starlight filtered through a planet’s atmosphere as it moves in front of the star, to the unfiltered starlight detected when the planet is beside the star. When making that comparison, researchers can get information about the temperature, composition, and other properties of the planet’s atmosphere.
Néstor Espinoza, an exoplanet researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and lead author on the study, explained why this exoplanet is of particular interest:
WASP-39b has become a sort of benchmark planet in studying the atmosphere of exoplanets with Webb. It has an inflated, puffy atmosphere, so the signal coming from starlight filtered through the planet’s atmosphere is quite strong.
View larger. | Artist’s concept of what WASP-39b might look like. NASA’s Webb telescope already completed the most detailed analysis of this planet’s atmosphere – or any exoplanet – so far. A new study looks at the planet’s eternal sunrises and sunsets to examine their differences. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ Joseph Olmsted (STScI).
Previous observations ID’d gasses but lacked details of eternal sunrises, sunsets
Previously published Webb spectra of WASP-39b’s atmosphere, which revealed the presence of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, water vapor, and sodium, represent the entire day/night boundary – there was no detailed attempt to differentiate between one side and the other.
Now, the new analysis builds two different spectra from the terminator region, essentially splitting the day/night boundary into two semicircles, one from the evening, and the other from the morning. Data reveals the evening as significantly hotter, a searing 1,450 degrees Fahrenheit (800 degrees Celsius), and the morning a relatively cooler 1,150 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius).
Espinoza said the fine quality of Webb and its instruments made the observations possible:
It’s really stunning that we are able to parse this small difference out, and it’s only possible due Webb’s sensitivity across near-infrared wavelengths and its extremely stable photometric sensors. Any tiny movement in the instrument or with the observatory while collecting data would have severely limited our ability to make this detection. It must be extraordinarily precise, and Webb is just that.
3D model lets astronomers study windy exoplanetary atmosphere’s structure
Extensive modeling of the data obtained also allows researchers to investigate the structure of WASP-39b’s atmosphere, the cloud cover, and why the evening is hotter. While future work by the team will study how the cloud cover may affect temperature, and vice versa, astronomers confirmed gas circulation around the planet as the main culprit of the temperature difference on WASP-39b.
On a highly irradiated exoplanet like WASP-39b that orbits relatively close to its star, researchers generally expect the gas to be moving as the planet rotates around its star: Hotter gas from the dayside should move through the evening to the nightside via a powerful equatorial jet stream. Since the temperature difference is so extreme, the air pressure difference would also be significant, which in turn would cause high wind speeds.
Using general circulation models, three-dimensional models similar to the ones used to predict weather patterns on Earth, researchers found that on WASP-39b the prevailing winds are likely moving from the night side across the morning terminator, around the dayside, across the evening terminator and then around the nightside. As a result, the morning side of the terminator is cooler than the evening side. In other words, the morning side gets slammed with winds of air that have been cooled on the nightside, while the evening is hit by winds of air heated on the dayside. Research suggests the wind speeds on WASP-39b can reach thousands of miles an hour!
This analysis is also particularly interesting because you’re getting 3D information on the planet that you weren’t getting before. Because we can tell that the evening edge is hotter, that means it’s a little puffier. So, theoretically, there is a small swell at the terminator approaching the nightside of the planet.
Study eternal sunrises, sunsets leads to investigation of other ‘hot Jupiters’
The researchers will now look to use the same method of analysis to study atmospheric differences of other tidally locked hot Jupiters, as part of Webb Cycle 2 General Observers Program 3969.
WASP-39b was among the first targets analyzed by Webb as it began regular science operations in 2022. The data in this study was collected under Early Release Science program 1366, designed to help scientists quickly learn how to use the telescope’s instruments and realize its full science potential.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
Bottom line: The Webb Space Telescope probed eternal sunrises and sunsets on exoplanet WASP-39b. They found differences in the atmospheres.
Exoplanets are worlds orbiting distant stars. Astronomer Néstor Espinoza of Space Telescope Science Institute spoke with EarthSky’s Deborah Byrd on Monday, May 20, 2024, about this diversity of worlds beyond our sun and planets. He talked about the nearby, fascinating TRAPPIST-1 system, located some 40 light-years away. He talked about Proxima Centauri b, the closest exoplanet at 4 light-years. And he touched on some current and future exoplanet missions.
Since the first exoplanet was discovered in 1992, thousands of planets orbiting stars outside of our solar system have been confirmed through a myriad of different methods, including direct imaging, gravitational microlensing, measuring transits, and astrometry. Over the years, techniques have evolved to study these exoplanets, with astronomers learning details about the atmospheric compositions of these far-off worlds.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is continuing to advance this field of study and deepen our understanding about the diversity of exoplanets and their atmospheres.
The latest? Webb has allowed astronomers to parse out the atmospheric differences between the morning and evening on a tidally locked exoplanet – an incredible achievement for a distant world 700 light-years away from Earth like WASP-39b.
Webb finds differences between eternal sunrises and sunsets
Researchers using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have finally confirmed what models have previously predicted: An exoplanet has differences between its eternal morning and eternal evening atmosphere. WASP-39b – a giant planet also known officially as Bocaprins, with a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter, but similar mass to Saturn, orbiting a star about 700 light-years away from Earth – is tidally locked to its parent star. This means it has a constant dayside and a constant nightside – one side of the planet is always exposed to its star, while the other is always shrouded in darkness.
Using Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph), astronomers confirmed a temperature difference between the eternal morning and eternal evening on WASP-39 b, with the evening appearing hotter by roughly 300 Fahrenheit degrees (about 200 Celsius degrees). They also found evidence for different cloud cover, with the forever morning portion of the planet being likely cloudier than the evening.
Probing WASP-39b’s ‘puffy’ atmosphere with starlight
Astronomers analyzed the 2- to 5-micron transmission spectrum of WASP-39 b, a technique that studies the exoplanet’s terminator, the boundary that separates the planet’s dayside and nightside. A transmission spectrum is made by comparing starlight filtered through a planet’s atmosphere as it moves in front of the star, to the unfiltered starlight detected when the planet is beside the star. When making that comparison, researchers can get information about the temperature, composition, and other properties of the planet’s atmosphere.
Néstor Espinoza, an exoplanet researcher at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) and lead author on the study, explained why this exoplanet is of particular interest:
WASP-39b has become a sort of benchmark planet in studying the atmosphere of exoplanets with Webb. It has an inflated, puffy atmosphere, so the signal coming from starlight filtered through the planet’s atmosphere is quite strong.
View larger. | Artist’s concept of what WASP-39b might look like. NASA’s Webb telescope already completed the most detailed analysis of this planet’s atmosphere – or any exoplanet – so far. A new study looks at the planet’s eternal sunrises and sunsets to examine their differences. Image via NASA/ ESA/ CSA/ Joseph Olmsted (STScI).
Previous observations ID’d gasses but lacked details of eternal sunrises, sunsets
Previously published Webb spectra of WASP-39b’s atmosphere, which revealed the presence of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, water vapor, and sodium, represent the entire day/night boundary – there was no detailed attempt to differentiate between one side and the other.
Now, the new analysis builds two different spectra from the terminator region, essentially splitting the day/night boundary into two semicircles, one from the evening, and the other from the morning. Data reveals the evening as significantly hotter, a searing 1,450 degrees Fahrenheit (800 degrees Celsius), and the morning a relatively cooler 1,150 degrees Fahrenheit (600 degrees Celsius).
Espinoza said the fine quality of Webb and its instruments made the observations possible:
It’s really stunning that we are able to parse this small difference out, and it’s only possible due Webb’s sensitivity across near-infrared wavelengths and its extremely stable photometric sensors. Any tiny movement in the instrument or with the observatory while collecting data would have severely limited our ability to make this detection. It must be extraordinarily precise, and Webb is just that.
3D model lets astronomers study windy exoplanetary atmosphere’s structure
Extensive modeling of the data obtained also allows researchers to investigate the structure of WASP-39b’s atmosphere, the cloud cover, and why the evening is hotter. While future work by the team will study how the cloud cover may affect temperature, and vice versa, astronomers confirmed gas circulation around the planet as the main culprit of the temperature difference on WASP-39b.
On a highly irradiated exoplanet like WASP-39b that orbits relatively close to its star, researchers generally expect the gas to be moving as the planet rotates around its star: Hotter gas from the dayside should move through the evening to the nightside via a powerful equatorial jet stream. Since the temperature difference is so extreme, the air pressure difference would also be significant, which in turn would cause high wind speeds.
Using general circulation models, three-dimensional models similar to the ones used to predict weather patterns on Earth, researchers found that on WASP-39b the prevailing winds are likely moving from the night side across the morning terminator, around the dayside, across the evening terminator and then around the nightside. As a result, the morning side of the terminator is cooler than the evening side. In other words, the morning side gets slammed with winds of air that have been cooled on the nightside, while the evening is hit by winds of air heated on the dayside. Research suggests the wind speeds on WASP-39b can reach thousands of miles an hour!
This analysis is also particularly interesting because you’re getting 3D information on the planet that you weren’t getting before. Because we can tell that the evening edge is hotter, that means it’s a little puffier. So, theoretically, there is a small swell at the terminator approaching the nightside of the planet.
Study eternal sunrises, sunsets leads to investigation of other ‘hot Jupiters’
The researchers will now look to use the same method of analysis to study atmospheric differences of other tidally locked hot Jupiters, as part of Webb Cycle 2 General Observers Program 3969.
WASP-39b was among the first targets analyzed by Webb as it began regular science operations in 2022. The data in this study was collected under Early Release Science program 1366, designed to help scientists quickly learn how to use the telescope’s instruments and realize its full science potential.
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s premier space science observatory. Webb is solving mysteries in our solar system, looking beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probing the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it. Webb is an international program led by NASA with its partners, ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).
Bottom line: The Webb Space Telescope probed eternal sunrises and sunsets on exoplanet WASP-39b. They found differences in the atmospheres.
Up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets. Dark comets are mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system. They likely contain or previously contained ice and could have been a route for delivering water to Earth. That’s according to Aster Taylor of the University of Michigan, lead author of a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Icarus on July 6, 2024.
The findings suggest that asteroids in the asteroid belt – a region between Jupiter and Mars that contains much of the solar system’s rocky asteroids – have subsurface ice. According to Taylor, scientists have suspected this since the 1980s. The study also shows a potential pathway for delivering ice into the near-Earth solar system, Taylor says. How Earth got its water is a longstanding question.
We don’t know if these dark comets delivered water to Earth. We can’t say that. But we can say that there is still debate over how exactly the Earth’s water got here. The work we’ve done has shown that this is another pathway to get ice from somewhere in the rest of the solar system to the Earth’s environment.
The research further suggests that one large object may come from the Jupiter-family comets, comets whose orbits take them close to the planet Jupiter.
A comet mixed with an asteroid
Dark comets are a bit of a mystery, because they combine characteristics of both asteroids and comets. Asteroids are rocky bodies with no ice that orbit closer to the sun, typically within what’s called the ice line. This means they’re close enough to the sun for any ice the asteroid may have been carrying to sublimate, or change from solid ice directly into gas.
Comets are icy bodies that show a fuzzy coma, a cloud that often surrounds a comet. Sublimating ice carries dust along with it, creating the cloud. Additionally, comets typically have slight accelerations propelled not by gravity, but by the sublimation of ice, called nongravitational accelerations.
The study examined seven dark comets and estimates that between 0.5% and 60% of all near-Earth objects could be dark comets, which do not have comae but do have nongravitational accelerations. The researchers also suggest that these dark comets likely come from the asteroid belt. And because these dark comets have nongravitational accelerations, the study findings suggest asteroids in the asteroid belt contain ice. Taylor said:
We think these objects came from the inner and/or outer main asteroid belt, and the implication of that is that this is another mechanism for getting some ice into the inner solar system. There may be more ice in the inner main belt than we thought. There may be more objects like this out there. This could be a significant fraction of the nearest population. We don’t really know, but we have many more questions because of these findings.
A new study from the University of Michigan said dark comets may make up 60% of near-Earth objects. Image via University of Michigan/ Nicole Smith/ Made with Midjourney.
Dark comets come from the asteroid belt
In previous work, a team of researchers including Taylor identified nongravitational accelerations on a set of near-Earth objects, naming them dark comets. They determined the dark comets’ nongravitational accelerations are likely the result of small amounts of sublimating ice.
In the current work, Taylor and colleagues wanted to discover where the dark comets came from. The researchers said:
Near-Earth objects don’t stay on their current orbits very long, because the near-Earth environment is messy. They only stay in the near-Earth environment for around 10 million years. Because the solar system is much older than that, that means near-Earth objects are coming from somewhere … that we’re constantly being fed near-Earth objects from another, much larger source.
To determine the origin of this dark comet population, Taylor and co-authors created dynamical models that assigned nongravitational accelerations to objects from different populations. Then, they modeled a path these objects would follow given the assigned nongravitational accelerations over a period of 100,000 years. The researchers observed many of these objects ended up where dark comets are today. And they found that out of all potential sources, the main asteroid belt is the most likely place of origin.
But not all …
One of the dark comets – called 2003 RM – passes in an elliptical orbit close to Earth, then out to Jupiter and back past Earth. 2003 RM follows the same path that would be expected from a Jupiter-family comet. That is, its position is consistent with a comet that was knocked inward from its orbit.
Ice in the asteroid belt
Meanwhile, the study finds the rest of the dark comets likely came from the inner band of the asteroid belt. Since the dark comets likely have ice, this shows ice is present in the inner main belt.
Then, the researchers applied a previously suggested theory to their population of dark comets to determine why the objects are so small and quickly rotating. Comets are rocky structures bound together by ice. Picture a dirty ice cube, Taylor said. Once they get bumped within the solar system’s ice line, that ice starts to off-gas. This causes the object’s acceleration. But it can also cause the object to spin quite fast … fast enough for the object to break apart. Taylor said:
These pieces will also have ice on them, so they will also spin out faster and faster until they break into more pieces. You can just keep doing this as you get smaller and smaller and smaller. What we suggest is that the way you get these small, fast rotating objects is you take a few bigger objects and break them into pieces.
As this happens, the objects continue to lose their ice, get even smaller, and rotate even more rapidly.
The researchers believe that while the larger dark comet, 2003 RM, was likely a larger object that got kicked out of the outer main belt of the asteroid belt, the six other objects they were examining likely came from the inner main belt and were made by an object that had gotten knocked inward and then broke apart.
Bottom line: Dark comets are icy bodies that likely come from the inner band of the asteroid belt. Approximately 60% of near-Earth objects may be dark comets.
Up to 60% of near-Earth objects could be dark comets. Dark comets are mysterious asteroids that orbit the sun in our solar system. They likely contain or previously contained ice and could have been a route for delivering water to Earth. That’s according to Aster Taylor of the University of Michigan, lead author of a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Icarus on July 6, 2024.
The findings suggest that asteroids in the asteroid belt – a region between Jupiter and Mars that contains much of the solar system’s rocky asteroids – have subsurface ice. According to Taylor, scientists have suspected this since the 1980s. The study also shows a potential pathway for delivering ice into the near-Earth solar system, Taylor says. How Earth got its water is a longstanding question.
We don’t know if these dark comets delivered water to Earth. We can’t say that. But we can say that there is still debate over how exactly the Earth’s water got here. The work we’ve done has shown that this is another pathway to get ice from somewhere in the rest of the solar system to the Earth’s environment.
The research further suggests that one large object may come from the Jupiter-family comets, comets whose orbits take them close to the planet Jupiter.
A comet mixed with an asteroid
Dark comets are a bit of a mystery, because they combine characteristics of both asteroids and comets. Asteroids are rocky bodies with no ice that orbit closer to the sun, typically within what’s called the ice line. This means they’re close enough to the sun for any ice the asteroid may have been carrying to sublimate, or change from solid ice directly into gas.
Comets are icy bodies that show a fuzzy coma, a cloud that often surrounds a comet. Sublimating ice carries dust along with it, creating the cloud. Additionally, comets typically have slight accelerations propelled not by gravity, but by the sublimation of ice, called nongravitational accelerations.
The study examined seven dark comets and estimates that between 0.5% and 60% of all near-Earth objects could be dark comets, which do not have comae but do have nongravitational accelerations. The researchers also suggest that these dark comets likely come from the asteroid belt. And because these dark comets have nongravitational accelerations, the study findings suggest asteroids in the asteroid belt contain ice. Taylor said:
We think these objects came from the inner and/or outer main asteroid belt, and the implication of that is that this is another mechanism for getting some ice into the inner solar system. There may be more ice in the inner main belt than we thought. There may be more objects like this out there. This could be a significant fraction of the nearest population. We don’t really know, but we have many more questions because of these findings.
A new study from the University of Michigan said dark comets may make up 60% of near-Earth objects. Image via University of Michigan/ Nicole Smith/ Made with Midjourney.
Dark comets come from the asteroid belt
In previous work, a team of researchers including Taylor identified nongravitational accelerations on a set of near-Earth objects, naming them dark comets. They determined the dark comets’ nongravitational accelerations are likely the result of small amounts of sublimating ice.
In the current work, Taylor and colleagues wanted to discover where the dark comets came from. The researchers said:
Near-Earth objects don’t stay on their current orbits very long, because the near-Earth environment is messy. They only stay in the near-Earth environment for around 10 million years. Because the solar system is much older than that, that means near-Earth objects are coming from somewhere … that we’re constantly being fed near-Earth objects from another, much larger source.
To determine the origin of this dark comet population, Taylor and co-authors created dynamical models that assigned nongravitational accelerations to objects from different populations. Then, they modeled a path these objects would follow given the assigned nongravitational accelerations over a period of 100,000 years. The researchers observed many of these objects ended up where dark comets are today. And they found that out of all potential sources, the main asteroid belt is the most likely place of origin.
But not all …
One of the dark comets – called 2003 RM – passes in an elliptical orbit close to Earth, then out to Jupiter and back past Earth. 2003 RM follows the same path that would be expected from a Jupiter-family comet. That is, its position is consistent with a comet that was knocked inward from its orbit.
Ice in the asteroid belt
Meanwhile, the study finds the rest of the dark comets likely came from the inner band of the asteroid belt. Since the dark comets likely have ice, this shows ice is present in the inner main belt.
Then, the researchers applied a previously suggested theory to their population of dark comets to determine why the objects are so small and quickly rotating. Comets are rocky structures bound together by ice. Picture a dirty ice cube, Taylor said. Once they get bumped within the solar system’s ice line, that ice starts to off-gas. This causes the object’s acceleration. But it can also cause the object to spin quite fast … fast enough for the object to break apart. Taylor said:
These pieces will also have ice on them, so they will also spin out faster and faster until they break into more pieces. You can just keep doing this as you get smaller and smaller and smaller. What we suggest is that the way you get these small, fast rotating objects is you take a few bigger objects and break them into pieces.
As this happens, the objects continue to lose their ice, get even smaller, and rotate even more rapidly.
The researchers believe that while the larger dark comet, 2003 RM, was likely a larger object that got kicked out of the outer main belt of the asteroid belt, the six other objects they were examining likely came from the inner main belt and were made by an object that had gotten knocked inward and then broke apart.
Bottom line: Dark comets are icy bodies that likely come from the inner band of the asteroid belt. Approximately 60% of near-Earth objects may be dark comets.
Scorpius is among the most distinctive of constellations in the zodiac. With a little imagination, you can see its stars tracing the shape of a scorpion. The brilliant red star Antares lies at the Scorpion’s Heart. The constellation has the shape of the letter J, with the curved bottom of the J representing the Scorpion’s curved Tail. There’s even a Stinger, consisting of two stars – Shaula and Lesath – noticeable for their nearness to each other.
In a dark sky, you can also see many beautiful deep sky treasures – and the starry band of our home galaxy, the Milky Way – in the same part of the sky as Scorpius.
A photo of Scorpius, taken by astrophotographer Akira Fujii. Image via Akira Fuji/ ESA.
How to find Scorpius
For evening viewing, July and August are prime-time months for observing this wondrous constellation. In the Northern Hemisphere, we associate the ruby star Antares – or Ant-Ares, the “rival” of Mars – with the hot summer season. And you might have your own associations with this star during this season. I personally associate Antares with the blooming of wild cardinal flowers on my favorite hiking trail.
As the summer season wanes for us in this hemisphere, Antares’ fading into the southwestern dusk signals the cooler days of autumn.
In early July, in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, Scorpius climbs to its highest point in the sky at about 10 p.m. your local time (11 p.m. local daylight time). Because the stars return to the same place in the sky about 1/2 hour earlier with each passing week, look for the celestial Scorpion to be at its highest, in mid-July, around 9 p.m. your local time (10 p.m. local daylight time), and by late July around 8 p.m. your local time (9 p.m. local daylight time).
As seen from mid-northern latitudes, such as the central U.S., Scorpius’ arc is low across the southern sky. But Scorpius’ bright red star Antares can be seen as far north as southern Alaska.
View larger. | Constellation Scorpius by Daniel McVey. The bright red star Antares represents the Scorpion’s Heart. The Scorpion’s Stinger stars – Shaula and Lesath – can be found at the end of the Scorpion’s curved Tail. Used with permission.
The Scorpion in mythology
In Greek mythology, it’s said that vain Orion the Hunter grew boastful about his hunting skills. He claimed there was no animal on Earth he couldn’t kill. When Orion began bragging, he would kill every animal, the Earth goddess Gaia sent Scorpius the Scorpion to sting and kill Orion. And thus, Scorpius and Orion became mortal enemies. It’s said that the king of the gods, Zeus, placed Orion and the Scorpion in the heavens in such a way that the two enemies would never meet.
That’s why – according to legend – you can never see these two constellations in the same sky together. Orion only rises after Scorpius has set. And the reverse is also true: Scorpius doesn’t rise until Orion’s departure. And thus, when the Scorpion is at its peak in visibility in the evening sky – high in the sky on late July or early August evenings – Orion is just returning to the east before sunrise.
People at southerly latitudes have different legends regarding Scorpius, which appears higher in the sky there. According to the Hawaiian Astronomical Society:
In Hawaii, we know Scorpius as the demigod Maui’s Fishhook. One day Maui went fishing with his brothers in their outrigger canoe. He brought with him a magic fishhook, instructing his brothers that whatever he caught with it, they were to continue paddling and never look back. Maui caught a huge object and asked his brothers to paddle harder while he pulled the line. As Maui hauled, many rocks appeared. The more he pulled, the more rocks appeared.
Finally, he pulled hard enough that the large chunks of land surfaced from the ocean. His brothers, tired from all the rowing, and curious about Maui’s catch, looked back. One of the brothers called out, ‘Look, Maui is pulling up land!’ Furious, Maui responded, ‘Fools! Had you not looked back, these islands would have been a great land.’ We now know these islands as Hawaii. New Zealanders tell a similar story about Maui and their land.
Today, Maui’s fish hook is popularly known as a magical item that appears in the Disney movie Moana.
Sun’s passage in front of Scorpius
Given Scorpius’ great prominence in the sky, it’s ironic that the sun spends less time in front of the Scorpion than any other constellation of the zodiac. Each year, the sun shines in the constellation Scorpius for a week, from about November 22 through November 29. If these dates seem to be in conflict with what you read on a horoscope page, remember that astrologers are referring to the sign Scorpio, not the constellation Scorpius.
Astrologically speaking, when the sun reaches a point on the ecliptic – the sun’s yearly pathway in front of the stars – that’s 30 degrees to 60 degrees east of the September equinox point, then the sun is said to be in the sign Scorpio. That’s irrespective of which constellation or constellations lie behind the sun in the sky at this time. The sun passes through the sign Scorpio (not the constellation Scorpius) from about October 23 to November 21. But, in the sky, the sun is in front of the constellations Virgo the Maiden and then Libra the Scales during this same time period.
The astrological signs remain fixed relative to the solstice and equinox points. But, in the sky, these seasonal markers slowly shift westward relative to the constellations, or backdrop stars. Some 5,000 years ago, for instance, the star Antares marked the Northern Hemisphere’s autumnal equinox point. In our day, Antares and the sun have their annual conjunction on or near December 1. That’s about three weeks before the December 21 solstice. Antares will mark the December solstice point some 1,500 years from now.
A star chart for Scorpius. Image via International Astronomical Union and Sky & Telescope/ Wikimedia Commons.
Who decides constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) – a global body of professional astronomers – took it upon itself to define boundaries of the 88 official constellations in 1930. And so, the sun has been destined to spend only a week in front of Scorpius yearly ever since.
As the boundaries are presently defined, the sun spends close to three weeks in front of the constellation Ophiuchus (November 29-December 18). Ophiuchus is the constellation immediately to the north of Scorpius. Note on the sky chart above that the IAU chose to draw most of the Ophiuchus-Scorpius border to the south of the ecliptic. Had the IAU chosen to draw the border to the north of the ecliptic, then the sun’s duration within Scorpius would be closer to one month.
Scorpius, as depicted in Urania’s Mirror, a set of star chart cards that were published in 1824. Image via Adam Cuerden/ Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
Scorpius and the zodiac
Early astronomers used key stars and easy-to-recognize star patterns (constellations) to track the motions of the sun, moon and planets upon the zodiac. That being the case, early astronomers were no doubt more inclined to use the “fixed” stars of Scorpius than of Ophiuchus for referencing the whereabouts of the wandering planets. After all, the ancients watched the red planet Mars pair up with the ruddy star Antares in recurring cycles. And so, the Greeks saw Antares – Ant-Ares – as Mars’ rival.
Moreover, the moon routinely occults – passes in front of – Antares at certain stages in the moon’s 18.6-year cycle. The current series of Antares occultations began in January 2024 and will end in October 2025. (For further information, check EarthSky’s visible planets and night sky guide.)
Bottom line: Scorpius the Scorpion traces a J-shaped pattern of stars, making it easy to identify. It is also home to the brilliant red star Antares.
Scorpius is among the most distinctive of constellations in the zodiac. With a little imagination, you can see its stars tracing the shape of a scorpion. The brilliant red star Antares lies at the Scorpion’s Heart. The constellation has the shape of the letter J, with the curved bottom of the J representing the Scorpion’s curved Tail. There’s even a Stinger, consisting of two stars – Shaula and Lesath – noticeable for their nearness to each other.
In a dark sky, you can also see many beautiful deep sky treasures – and the starry band of our home galaxy, the Milky Way – in the same part of the sky as Scorpius.
A photo of Scorpius, taken by astrophotographer Akira Fujii. Image via Akira Fuji/ ESA.
How to find Scorpius
For evening viewing, July and August are prime-time months for observing this wondrous constellation. In the Northern Hemisphere, we associate the ruby star Antares – or Ant-Ares, the “rival” of Mars – with the hot summer season. And you might have your own associations with this star during this season. I personally associate Antares with the blooming of wild cardinal flowers on my favorite hiking trail.
As the summer season wanes for us in this hemisphere, Antares’ fading into the southwestern dusk signals the cooler days of autumn.
In early July, in either the Northern or Southern Hemisphere, Scorpius climbs to its highest point in the sky at about 10 p.m. your local time (11 p.m. local daylight time). Because the stars return to the same place in the sky about 1/2 hour earlier with each passing week, look for the celestial Scorpion to be at its highest, in mid-July, around 9 p.m. your local time (10 p.m. local daylight time), and by late July around 8 p.m. your local time (9 p.m. local daylight time).
As seen from mid-northern latitudes, such as the central U.S., Scorpius’ arc is low across the southern sky. But Scorpius’ bright red star Antares can be seen as far north as southern Alaska.
View larger. | Constellation Scorpius by Daniel McVey. The bright red star Antares represents the Scorpion’s Heart. The Scorpion’s Stinger stars – Shaula and Lesath – can be found at the end of the Scorpion’s curved Tail. Used with permission.
The Scorpion in mythology
In Greek mythology, it’s said that vain Orion the Hunter grew boastful about his hunting skills. He claimed there was no animal on Earth he couldn’t kill. When Orion began bragging, he would kill every animal, the Earth goddess Gaia sent Scorpius the Scorpion to sting and kill Orion. And thus, Scorpius and Orion became mortal enemies. It’s said that the king of the gods, Zeus, placed Orion and the Scorpion in the heavens in such a way that the two enemies would never meet.
That’s why – according to legend – you can never see these two constellations in the same sky together. Orion only rises after Scorpius has set. And the reverse is also true: Scorpius doesn’t rise until Orion’s departure. And thus, when the Scorpion is at its peak in visibility in the evening sky – high in the sky on late July or early August evenings – Orion is just returning to the east before sunrise.
People at southerly latitudes have different legends regarding Scorpius, which appears higher in the sky there. According to the Hawaiian Astronomical Society:
In Hawaii, we know Scorpius as the demigod Maui’s Fishhook. One day Maui went fishing with his brothers in their outrigger canoe. He brought with him a magic fishhook, instructing his brothers that whatever he caught with it, they were to continue paddling and never look back. Maui caught a huge object and asked his brothers to paddle harder while he pulled the line. As Maui hauled, many rocks appeared. The more he pulled, the more rocks appeared.
Finally, he pulled hard enough that the large chunks of land surfaced from the ocean. His brothers, tired from all the rowing, and curious about Maui’s catch, looked back. One of the brothers called out, ‘Look, Maui is pulling up land!’ Furious, Maui responded, ‘Fools! Had you not looked back, these islands would have been a great land.’ We now know these islands as Hawaii. New Zealanders tell a similar story about Maui and their land.
Today, Maui’s fish hook is popularly known as a magical item that appears in the Disney movie Moana.
Sun’s passage in front of Scorpius
Given Scorpius’ great prominence in the sky, it’s ironic that the sun spends less time in front of the Scorpion than any other constellation of the zodiac. Each year, the sun shines in the constellation Scorpius for a week, from about November 22 through November 29. If these dates seem to be in conflict with what you read on a horoscope page, remember that astrologers are referring to the sign Scorpio, not the constellation Scorpius.
Astrologically speaking, when the sun reaches a point on the ecliptic – the sun’s yearly pathway in front of the stars – that’s 30 degrees to 60 degrees east of the September equinox point, then the sun is said to be in the sign Scorpio. That’s irrespective of which constellation or constellations lie behind the sun in the sky at this time. The sun passes through the sign Scorpio (not the constellation Scorpius) from about October 23 to November 21. But, in the sky, the sun is in front of the constellations Virgo the Maiden and then Libra the Scales during this same time period.
The astrological signs remain fixed relative to the solstice and equinox points. But, in the sky, these seasonal markers slowly shift westward relative to the constellations, or backdrop stars. Some 5,000 years ago, for instance, the star Antares marked the Northern Hemisphere’s autumnal equinox point. In our day, Antares and the sun have their annual conjunction on or near December 1. That’s about three weeks before the December 21 solstice. Antares will mark the December solstice point some 1,500 years from now.
A star chart for Scorpius. Image via International Astronomical Union and Sky & Telescope/ Wikimedia Commons.
Who decides constellation boundaries?
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) – a global body of professional astronomers – took it upon itself to define boundaries of the 88 official constellations in 1930. And so, the sun has been destined to spend only a week in front of Scorpius yearly ever since.
As the boundaries are presently defined, the sun spends close to three weeks in front of the constellation Ophiuchus (November 29-December 18). Ophiuchus is the constellation immediately to the north of Scorpius. Note on the sky chart above that the IAU chose to draw most of the Ophiuchus-Scorpius border to the south of the ecliptic. Had the IAU chosen to draw the border to the north of the ecliptic, then the sun’s duration within Scorpius would be closer to one month.
Scorpius, as depicted in Urania’s Mirror, a set of star chart cards that were published in 1824. Image via Adam Cuerden/ Wikimedia Commons (public domain).
Scorpius and the zodiac
Early astronomers used key stars and easy-to-recognize star patterns (constellations) to track the motions of the sun, moon and planets upon the zodiac. That being the case, early astronomers were no doubt more inclined to use the “fixed” stars of Scorpius than of Ophiuchus for referencing the whereabouts of the wandering planets. After all, the ancients watched the red planet Mars pair up with the ruddy star Antares in recurring cycles. And so, the Greeks saw Antares – Ant-Ares – as Mars’ rival.
Moreover, the moon routinely occults – passes in front of – Antares at certain stages in the moon’s 18.6-year cycle. The current series of Antares occultations began in January 2024 and will end in October 2025. (For further information, check EarthSky’s visible planets and night sky guide.)
Bottom line: Scorpius the Scorpion traces a J-shaped pattern of stars, making it easy to identify. It is also home to the brilliant red star Antares.
Artist’s concept of the lunar lava tube in Mare Tranquillitatis. This image depicts the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Earth in space, from the view of the cave opening. Image via University of Trento/ A. Romeo/ NASA/ JPL-Caltech (Brian Kumanchik/ Christian Lopez)/ Bill Anders.
An international team of researchers said it has found the first confirmed lava tube on the moon. The lava tube is below the surface in Mare Tranquillitatis, the location of the Apollo 11 landing in 1969.
The researchers used data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to find the lava tube below a previously discovered cave-like pit.
Lava tubes on the moon could be an exciting target for future exploration and used by astronauts for shelter.
1st confirmed lunar lava tube
For decades, scientists have debated the existence of lava tubes on the moon. A lava tube is a natural tunnel below the surface, formed by flowing lava. If the lava breaks out onto the surface, that creates a cave opening. On July 15, 2024, an international team of researchers, led by the University of Trento in Italy, said it has finally found an ancient lava tube on the moon. It’s the first potential confirmation of a lunar lava tube.
The lava tube is in the region Mare Tranquillitatis, also known as the Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 landed in 1969. The researchers found the evidence for the lava tube in data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The research team published their peer-reviewed findings in the journal Nature Astronomy on July 15, 2024.
Evidence for the 1st known lunar lava tube
Scientists have theorized the existence of lunar lava tubes for at least 50 years. It shouldn’t be too surprising, perhaps, since the moon has a well-established history of volcanic activity, even though eruptions ceased billions of years ago. But solid evidence of lava tubes on the moon has been elusive, until now.
These caves have been theorized for over 50 years, but it is the first time ever that we have demonstrated their existence.
We’ve seen intriguing holes and pits in the lunar surface before. But do they actually lead to subsurface caves or lava tubes? As the paper stated:
Several potential subsurface openings have been observed on the surface of the moon. These lunar pits are interesting in terms of science and for potential future habitation. However, it remains uncertain whether such pits provide access to cave conduits with extensive underground volumes.
Visual rendering of the lava tube based on data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Image via University of Trento/ ROC NAC data (Wagner, R./ Robinson, M. S.)/ Implications for Exploration, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
Analyzing data from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
So how did the researchers discover the lava tube? The team reanalyzed data obtained in 2010 by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). To do this, they used a new signal processing technique to study the data. As Bruzzone explained:
In 2010, as part of the ongoing LRO NASA mission, the Miniature Radio-Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument acquired data that included a pit in Mare Tranquilitatis. Years later we have reanalyzed these data with complex signal processing techniques we have recently developed, and have discovered radar reflections from the area of the pit that are best explained by an underground cave conduit. This discovery provides the first direct evidence of an accessible lava tube under the surface of the moon.
Overall, the lava tube is estimated to be tens of meters long. The deep pit photographed by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is the cave opening to this subterranean cavern. The pit has vertical or overhanging walls and a sloping floor.
Co-author Leonardo Carrer at the University of Trento added:
Thanks to the analysis of the data we were able to create a model of a portion of the conduit. The most likely explanation for our observations is an empty lava tube.
View larger. | Hole or pit in Mare Tranquillitatis as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on October 5, 2017, which scientists now say is the cave opening to the underground lava tube. Image via NASA/ GSFC/ Arizona State University.
Fundamental questions about the moon
Scientists can use the radar data to not only learn more about the lava tube, but also address fundamental questions about the moon itself and how it formed. Wes Patterson is the Mini-RF principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. He noted that:
This research demonstrates both how radar data of the moon can be used in novel ways to address fundamental questions for science and exploration and how crucial it is to continue collecting remotely sensed data of the moon. This includes the current LRO mission and, hopefully, future orbiter missions.
On October 5, 2017, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a stunning view of the circular hole or pit in the surface. It now seems that, indeed, the hole leads to an underground lava tube, which is currently empty.
Also, in 2021, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University began designing and building a prototype for a small rover called PitRanger that could one day explore a lunar pit and lava tube. What discoveries might await in the lunar underworld?
Future moon base in a lunar lava tube?
In addition, future astronauts could also use pits and lava tubes on the moon for shelter. As well as exploring them, of course. In 2022, scientists found that some pits and caves have a permanent temperature of 63 F (17 C). Comfy! So, they would make ideal places for a lunar base. That’s significant, since temperatures on the moon reach extreme highs and lows, depending on whether the surface is in sunlight or darkness. In addition, solar radiation is much more intense than on Earth. Therefore, future astronauts will need safe locations to live in on the moon.
Bottom line: An international team of researchers said it has found the first evidence for an ancient lunar lava tube on the moon. It is located in Mare Tranquillitatis.
Artist’s concept of the lunar lava tube in Mare Tranquillitatis. This image depicts the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) and Earth in space, from the view of the cave opening. Image via University of Trento/ A. Romeo/ NASA/ JPL-Caltech (Brian Kumanchik/ Christian Lopez)/ Bill Anders.
An international team of researchers said it has found the first confirmed lava tube on the moon. The lava tube is below the surface in Mare Tranquillitatis, the location of the Apollo 11 landing in 1969.
The researchers used data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter to find the lava tube below a previously discovered cave-like pit.
Lava tubes on the moon could be an exciting target for future exploration and used by astronauts for shelter.
1st confirmed lunar lava tube
For decades, scientists have debated the existence of lava tubes on the moon. A lava tube is a natural tunnel below the surface, formed by flowing lava. If the lava breaks out onto the surface, that creates a cave opening. On July 15, 2024, an international team of researchers, led by the University of Trento in Italy, said it has finally found an ancient lava tube on the moon. It’s the first potential confirmation of a lunar lava tube.
The lava tube is in the region Mare Tranquillitatis, also known as the Sea of Tranquility, where Apollo 11 landed in 1969. The researchers found the evidence for the lava tube in data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).
The research team published their peer-reviewed findings in the journal Nature Astronomy on July 15, 2024.
Evidence for the 1st known lunar lava tube
Scientists have theorized the existence of lunar lava tubes for at least 50 years. It shouldn’t be too surprising, perhaps, since the moon has a well-established history of volcanic activity, even though eruptions ceased billions of years ago. But solid evidence of lava tubes on the moon has been elusive, until now.
These caves have been theorized for over 50 years, but it is the first time ever that we have demonstrated their existence.
We’ve seen intriguing holes and pits in the lunar surface before. But do they actually lead to subsurface caves or lava tubes? As the paper stated:
Several potential subsurface openings have been observed on the surface of the moon. These lunar pits are interesting in terms of science and for potential future habitation. However, it remains uncertain whether such pits provide access to cave conduits with extensive underground volumes.
Visual rendering of the lava tube based on data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Image via University of Trento/ ROC NAC data (Wagner, R./ Robinson, M. S.)/ Implications for Exploration, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets.
Analyzing data from Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter
So how did the researchers discover the lava tube? The team reanalyzed data obtained in 2010 by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). To do this, they used a new signal processing technique to study the data. As Bruzzone explained:
In 2010, as part of the ongoing LRO NASA mission, the Miniature Radio-Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument acquired data that included a pit in Mare Tranquilitatis. Years later we have reanalyzed these data with complex signal processing techniques we have recently developed, and have discovered radar reflections from the area of the pit that are best explained by an underground cave conduit. This discovery provides the first direct evidence of an accessible lava tube under the surface of the moon.
Overall, the lava tube is estimated to be tens of meters long. The deep pit photographed by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is the cave opening to this subterranean cavern. The pit has vertical or overhanging walls and a sloping floor.
Co-author Leonardo Carrer at the University of Trento added:
Thanks to the analysis of the data we were able to create a model of a portion of the conduit. The most likely explanation for our observations is an empty lava tube.
View larger. | Hole or pit in Mare Tranquillitatis as seen by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) on October 5, 2017, which scientists now say is the cave opening to the underground lava tube. Image via NASA/ GSFC/ Arizona State University.
Fundamental questions about the moon
Scientists can use the radar data to not only learn more about the lava tube, but also address fundamental questions about the moon itself and how it formed. Wes Patterson is the Mini-RF principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. He noted that:
This research demonstrates both how radar data of the moon can be used in novel ways to address fundamental questions for science and exploration and how crucial it is to continue collecting remotely sensed data of the moon. This includes the current LRO mission and, hopefully, future orbiter missions.
On October 5, 2017, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter captured a stunning view of the circular hole or pit in the surface. It now seems that, indeed, the hole leads to an underground lava tube, which is currently empty.
Also, in 2021, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University began designing and building a prototype for a small rover called PitRanger that could one day explore a lunar pit and lava tube. What discoveries might await in the lunar underworld?
Future moon base in a lunar lava tube?
In addition, future astronauts could also use pits and lava tubes on the moon for shelter. As well as exploring them, of course. In 2022, scientists found that some pits and caves have a permanent temperature of 63 F (17 C). Comfy! So, they would make ideal places for a lunar base. That’s significant, since temperatures on the moon reach extreme highs and lows, depending on whether the surface is in sunlight or darkness. In addition, solar radiation is much more intense than on Earth. Therefore, future astronauts will need safe locations to live in on the moon.
Bottom line: An international team of researchers said it has found the first evidence for an ancient lunar lava tube on the moon. It is located in Mare Tranquillitatis.
View full image. | Here’s a timeline and the path the JUICE mission will take as it makes a flyby of the moon and Earth. ESA said the mission will achieve a world first: “… using the gravity of the moon and then Earth to bend its path through space, bringing it one step closer to Jupiter.” Image via ESA.
Juice mission to make flyby of the moon and Earth
On August 19 and 20, 2024, the JUICE spacecraft will sweep near the moon and Earth system, coming as close as it can to both worlds before slingshotting out into space again with an altered speed and direction. These gravity assists will help propel the craft its way to Jupiter’s icy moons. It’ll be the world’s first flyby gravity assist using both Earth and its moon and the first-ever double gravity assist. The craft will encounter the moon first and then Earth, 36 hours later. The result will be a single flyby maneuver.
JUICE launched on its journey to Jupiter’s moons in 2023. This will be its first gravity assist, followed by one using Venus in 2025, and two more using Earth in 2026 and 2029, before arriving in Jupiter’s vicinity in 2031.
The flybys of the moon and Earth are technically braking maneuvers. They’ll line JUICE up to reach Venus, where the gravity assist will work to speed up the spacecraft, or give it the juice, if you will. The spacecraft will come within 430 miles (700 km) of the moon and about 4,300 miles (6,800 km) of Earth during the flybys. Ignacio Tanco of ESA said:
It’s like passing through a very narrow corridor, very, very quickly: pushing the accelerator to the maximum when the margin at the side of the road is just millimeters.
Science and observations
JUICE’s 10 instruments will be active as the spacecraft makes its flybys. It’s an important opportunity to test the equipment before it reaches Jupiter. In particular, the Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) instrument will get eight minutes of solo observation as it passes the moon. The instrument is sensitive to other electronic noise.
When the spacecraft passes overhead, people in Southeast Asia and the Pacific have an opportunity to see it pass. Try using binoculars or a telescope, and get more info on its path here. Plus, while you’re looking up at Juice, it will be looking down at us. Expect to see images of Earth from Juice soon after the flyby!
Graphics for the moon and Earth flyby
The JUICE mission will first flyby the moon on August 19, 2024. It is the first step in a world’s first flyby of both the moon and Earth. Image via ESA.On August 20, 2024, the JUICE mission will flyby Earth. It will be coming off a flyby of the moon. These gravity assists will help JUICE eventually reach Jupiter. Image via ESA.
JUICE mission launched on April 14, 2023
ESA‘s JUICE mission launched on April 14, 2023, after a one-day delay due to lightning at its spaceport in French Guiana. The spacecraft lifted off successfully into cloudy skies, beginning a multi-year mission to Jupiter and its icy moons.
As often happens with missions to the outer solar system, the spacecraft will take a circuitous route to Jupiter, making multiple sweeps past the Earth, moon and Venus. Then, starting in 2031, it’ll arrive at the giant planet. At that time it’ll perform 35 flybys of the Galilean moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, before going into orbit around the largest moon, Ganymede.
This is JUICE’s journey to Jupiter. It will become a reality (fingers crossed) in July 2031, when JUICE is scheduled to arrive at Jupiter. It’s impressive, especially considering the spacecraft will still be soaring around Earth in 2029! Only when it has completed its 2nd flyby of our home planet will JUICE make a quick 2-year hop to Jupiter. There, it’ll complete 35 flybys of the giant planet’s 3 largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa (pictured 1st, 5th, and 4th from the left, respectively). Image via ESA.
Jammed antenna
The JUICE mission’s primary antenna jammed soon after launch. But after 3 weeks of troubleshooting, engineers finally managed to fix the antenna. As the spacecraft traveled through deep space, JUICE mission control tried using thrusters to shake the antenna. Then they tried warming the jammed components in the sun. Finally, the team fired a mechanical device called an actuator. And that’s what made the antenna break free from its stuck position on May 12, 2023. This RIME antenna, which stands for Radar for Icy Moons Exploration, will be used to study the structure of Jupiter’s icy moons down to a depth of 5.5 miles (9 km) when it finally reaches the gas giant in July 2031.
This Juice Monitoring Camera GIF shows the moments after the Flight Control Team at ESA #MissionControl fired the remaining 'actuator' on the jammed bracket.
… make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments.
And, ESA said, the mission will characterize these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitats.
ESA hopes that a wider study of the Jupiter system can be used as an archetype for gas giant planets and their moons, across our Milky Way galaxy.
JUICE will arrive at Jupiter in 2031. One of the moons it will observe is perhaps the most fascinating of the Jovian moons to Earthly scientists: Europa. This moon is thought to have an ocean of liquid water under its ice crust (also made of water ice). And JUICE is designed to look for the sort of chemistry on Europa that is essential to life on Earth … For example, organic molecules, or molecules containing carbon that are key to life on Earth.
JUICE also aims to understand the formation of Europa’s surface features and the composition of any non-water-ice material.
Why JUICE will study Ganymede
After a series of flybys of Jupiter and three of its large, icy moons, JUICE will eventually settle into an orbit around the largest moon, Ganymede. JUICE will orbit Ganymede down to 125 miles (200 km) for about three years. It’ll end its mission with an impact on the moon’s surface.
While at Ganymede, JUICE has many science objectives. They include:
Characterization of the ocean layers and detection of possible subsurface water reservoirs.
Topographical, geological and compositional mapping of the surface.
Study of the physical properties of the icy crusts.
Characterization of the internal mass distribution, dynamics and evolution of the interiors.
Study of Ganymede’s intrinsic magnetic field and its interactions with the Jovian magnetosphere.
Having a better understanding of this wet, cold world will also help us understand possible distant worlds around other suns, scientists say.
JUICE mocktails
Earlier this year, ESA had a little fun with the acronym JUICE, by holding a space juice contest. Check out these beautiful mocktails, and find the recipes here.
Having a little fun with the JUICE mission, these were the winners of ESA’s space juice contest. The mocktails included some made by 7 and 11-year-olds. Image via ESA.
JUICE art, from kids
ESA also invited kids from around the world to create JUICE-inspired artwork. Read more about the contest here. The winning entry – submitted by 8-year-old Yaryna from Ukraine – is going to space! It’s painted on the Ariane 5 rocket, which will launch JUICE.
Did you spot the beautiful artwork on the nose of the #Ariane5 fairing? Children from all over the world were invited to create a piece of art inspired by #ESAJuice and the winning design by ten-year-old Yaryna can be seen here. https://t.co/3wj377p0mdpic.twitter.com/i5c7aGbTmw
Bottom line: The JUICE mission will make a flyby of the moon and Earth on August 19 and 20, 2024. It’ll be the 1st-ever double gravity assist. Read more here.
View full image. | Here’s a timeline and the path the JUICE mission will take as it makes a flyby of the moon and Earth. ESA said the mission will achieve a world first: “… using the gravity of the moon and then Earth to bend its path through space, bringing it one step closer to Jupiter.” Image via ESA.
Juice mission to make flyby of the moon and Earth
On August 19 and 20, 2024, the JUICE spacecraft will sweep near the moon and Earth system, coming as close as it can to both worlds before slingshotting out into space again with an altered speed and direction. These gravity assists will help propel the craft its way to Jupiter’s icy moons. It’ll be the world’s first flyby gravity assist using both Earth and its moon and the first-ever double gravity assist. The craft will encounter the moon first and then Earth, 36 hours later. The result will be a single flyby maneuver.
JUICE launched on its journey to Jupiter’s moons in 2023. This will be its first gravity assist, followed by one using Venus in 2025, and two more using Earth in 2026 and 2029, before arriving in Jupiter’s vicinity in 2031.
The flybys of the moon and Earth are technically braking maneuvers. They’ll line JUICE up to reach Venus, where the gravity assist will work to speed up the spacecraft, or give it the juice, if you will. The spacecraft will come within 430 miles (700 km) of the moon and about 4,300 miles (6,800 km) of Earth during the flybys. Ignacio Tanco of ESA said:
It’s like passing through a very narrow corridor, very, very quickly: pushing the accelerator to the maximum when the margin at the side of the road is just millimeters.
Science and observations
JUICE’s 10 instruments will be active as the spacecraft makes its flybys. It’s an important opportunity to test the equipment before it reaches Jupiter. In particular, the Radar for Icy Moon Exploration (RIME) instrument will get eight minutes of solo observation as it passes the moon. The instrument is sensitive to other electronic noise.
When the spacecraft passes overhead, people in Southeast Asia and the Pacific have an opportunity to see it pass. Try using binoculars or a telescope, and get more info on its path here. Plus, while you’re looking up at Juice, it will be looking down at us. Expect to see images of Earth from Juice soon after the flyby!
Graphics for the moon and Earth flyby
The JUICE mission will first flyby the moon on August 19, 2024. It is the first step in a world’s first flyby of both the moon and Earth. Image via ESA.On August 20, 2024, the JUICE mission will flyby Earth. It will be coming off a flyby of the moon. These gravity assists will help JUICE eventually reach Jupiter. Image via ESA.
JUICE mission launched on April 14, 2023
ESA‘s JUICE mission launched on April 14, 2023, after a one-day delay due to lightning at its spaceport in French Guiana. The spacecraft lifted off successfully into cloudy skies, beginning a multi-year mission to Jupiter and its icy moons.
As often happens with missions to the outer solar system, the spacecraft will take a circuitous route to Jupiter, making multiple sweeps past the Earth, moon and Venus. Then, starting in 2031, it’ll arrive at the giant planet. At that time it’ll perform 35 flybys of the Galilean moons Ganymede, Callisto and Europa, before going into orbit around the largest moon, Ganymede.
This is JUICE’s journey to Jupiter. It will become a reality (fingers crossed) in July 2031, when JUICE is scheduled to arrive at Jupiter. It’s impressive, especially considering the spacecraft will still be soaring around Earth in 2029! Only when it has completed its 2nd flyby of our home planet will JUICE make a quick 2-year hop to Jupiter. There, it’ll complete 35 flybys of the giant planet’s 3 largest moons: Ganymede, Callisto, and Europa (pictured 1st, 5th, and 4th from the left, respectively). Image via ESA.
Jammed antenna
The JUICE mission’s primary antenna jammed soon after launch. But after 3 weeks of troubleshooting, engineers finally managed to fix the antenna. As the spacecraft traveled through deep space, JUICE mission control tried using thrusters to shake the antenna. Then they tried warming the jammed components in the sun. Finally, the team fired a mechanical device called an actuator. And that’s what made the antenna break free from its stuck position on May 12, 2023. This RIME antenna, which stands for Radar for Icy Moons Exploration, will be used to study the structure of Jupiter’s icy moons down to a depth of 5.5 miles (9 km) when it finally reaches the gas giant in July 2031.
This Juice Monitoring Camera GIF shows the moments after the Flight Control Team at ESA #MissionControl fired the remaining 'actuator' on the jammed bracket.
… make detailed observations of the giant gas planet and its three large ocean-bearing moons – Ganymede, Callisto and Europa – with a suite of remote sensing, geophysical and in situ instruments.
And, ESA said, the mission will characterize these moons as both planetary objects and possible habitats.
ESA hopes that a wider study of the Jupiter system can be used as an archetype for gas giant planets and their moons, across our Milky Way galaxy.
JUICE will arrive at Jupiter in 2031. One of the moons it will observe is perhaps the most fascinating of the Jovian moons to Earthly scientists: Europa. This moon is thought to have an ocean of liquid water under its ice crust (also made of water ice). And JUICE is designed to look for the sort of chemistry on Europa that is essential to life on Earth … For example, organic molecules, or molecules containing carbon that are key to life on Earth.
JUICE also aims to understand the formation of Europa’s surface features and the composition of any non-water-ice material.
Why JUICE will study Ganymede
After a series of flybys of Jupiter and three of its large, icy moons, JUICE will eventually settle into an orbit around the largest moon, Ganymede. JUICE will orbit Ganymede down to 125 miles (200 km) for about three years. It’ll end its mission with an impact on the moon’s surface.
While at Ganymede, JUICE has many science objectives. They include:
Characterization of the ocean layers and detection of possible subsurface water reservoirs.
Topographical, geological and compositional mapping of the surface.
Study of the physical properties of the icy crusts.
Characterization of the internal mass distribution, dynamics and evolution of the interiors.
Study of Ganymede’s intrinsic magnetic field and its interactions with the Jovian magnetosphere.
Having a better understanding of this wet, cold world will also help us understand possible distant worlds around other suns, scientists say.
JUICE mocktails
Earlier this year, ESA had a little fun with the acronym JUICE, by holding a space juice contest. Check out these beautiful mocktails, and find the recipes here.
Having a little fun with the JUICE mission, these were the winners of ESA’s space juice contest. The mocktails included some made by 7 and 11-year-olds. Image via ESA.
JUICE art, from kids
ESA also invited kids from around the world to create JUICE-inspired artwork. Read more about the contest here. The winning entry – submitted by 8-year-old Yaryna from Ukraine – is going to space! It’s painted on the Ariane 5 rocket, which will launch JUICE.
Did you spot the beautiful artwork on the nose of the #Ariane5 fairing? Children from all over the world were invited to create a piece of art inspired by #ESAJuice and the winning design by ten-year-old Yaryna can be seen here. https://t.co/3wj377p0mdpic.twitter.com/i5c7aGbTmw
Bottom line: The JUICE mission will make a flyby of the moon and Earth on August 19 and 20, 2024. It’ll be the 1st-ever double gravity assist. Read more here.
