Mars was not always the rocky, lifeless planet that we know it to be now. At least, all of the science seems to point towards that truth. For years, NASA has been discovering more about our neighboring planet. And now, the space agency’s Curiosity rover has discovered even more evidence that water once covered parts of the Martian surface.

Curiosity rolls past ancient rocks formed by water on Mars

Ancient streambed rocks discovered on Mars. Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

In August of 2021, NASA’s Curiosity rover landed on the Martian surface. It was a historic day, one followed several years later by the landing of NASA’s Perseverance rover at another spot on the planet. Since its landing, Curiosity has made a number of discoveries. Many of those discoveries have added evidence to the belief that water once flowed on Mars.

Now, Curiosity has discovered even more evidence of that while exploring a region known as the Gale Crater. Earlier this month, as Curiosity made its trek up Mount Sharp, a 3-mile-high peak in the Gale Crater, it discovered flaky, streambed rocks. It captured images of the rocks, which NASA says may have formed in an ancient streambed or small pond of water on the Martian surface.

A dry timeline

Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell/Arizona State Univ.

But Curiosity has been finding evidence of water on Mars for years. What’s most intriguing about these new discoveries is that it creates a clear timeline for how the Martian surface began to dry up. As Curiosity made its trek toward the mountain’s peak, the space agency noted several changes in the makeup of the ground the rover is passing over.

“We no longer see the lake deposits that we saw for years lower on Mount Sharp,” Ashwin Vasavada, a project scientist for Curiosity at NASA JPL explained. “Instead, we see lots of evidence of drier climates.

Vasavada says the environment is more reminiscent of dry dunes with streams of water running around them. It’s a massive change from the lakes of water on Mars we believe persisted for millions of years before. NASA plans to drill into the rock around the area for a more in-depth look at the mineral composition.

The space agency isn’t quite sure exactly what it will find when it does so. But what we do know is that the evidence is stacking up. Mars was perhaps once a lush paradise, but something made that paradise fall. Something catastrophic caused all the water on Mars to dry up, and the land to become the sandy wasteland we now know.

Perhaps, as we study the Martian surface more, we’ll be able to glean some information on what exactly happened. And, when NASA sends humans to Mars in 2030, perhaps we’ll be able to learn even more.

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Jupiter has been quite a mystery for astronomers over the years. Despite being the largest planet within our solar system, we know very little about the inner workings of this gas giant. Now, though, NASA’s June space probe may have shed some new light on how the planet formed. Researchers now believe that Jupiter may have eaten other smaller planets to fuel its own growth.

Jupiter eats other planets, researchers suggest

An image of Jupiter as captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS

The idea of one planet eating another might sound like something out of science fiction. After all, this isn’t Star Wars, where we have to worry about massive Death Star space stations or other planet killers. But, scientists believe that the fifth planet from our Sun, Jupiter ate planets during its formation.

For decades, we’ve been unable to look past the harsh gas clouds that cover the surface of the planet. Now NASA’s Juna space probe has given us a glimpse below. The researchers used gravitational data to peer past Jupiter’s clouds. The makeup of the rocky material at the gas giant’s core suggests that Jupiter ate baby planets—often called planetesimals—to fuel its growth.

Growing a gas giant

Image source: Image data: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS Image processing by Thomas Thomopoulos ©

It’s a bold claim, but it is one that has been around for a while. With this new data, though, scientists finally have a little bit of evidence that Jupiter eating other planets could be more than just science fiction. It especially makes sense as the gas giant would have needed to pull in a lot of mass to become as massive as it has become.

There are two main theories about how Jupiter formed. The first is that Jupiter accumulated billions of smaller space rocks. These rocks eventually formed the condensed core that makes up the gas giant. The other theory, and the one this new evidence supports, is that Jupiter may have eaten other planets to grow as large as it has.

These planets would have been absorbed by the gas giant, eventually forming the dense core of the planet. Then, scientists believe that Jupiter began to absorb and collect gas from the birth of our Sun. This is what helped form the clouds that we see covering the surface of the planet now, too.

Of course, even with this evidence, we can’t say for sure how Jupiter formed. It is possible that Jupiter ate smaller planets as it was forming. But, with no way to see the planet itself form, we can’t verify that this happened. All we can do now is interpret the evidence we’ve discovered. And right now, that evidence says Jupiter is a planet eater.

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The skies are giving us a rare and stunning sight this month, as a five-planet planetary parade will be visible in June of 2022. The parade of planets will include Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, all in that order. They’ll be visible throughout the sky from lower in the east to higher in the south.

Here’s when to see the June planetary parade

Image source: sborisov / Adobe

The June planetary parade has been visible since early this month, as originally noted by Sky and Telescope. However, the best time to see the parade was the morning of June 24. While it won’t be as bright throughout the rest of the month, the parade will continue throughout Monday, June 27.

The separation between Mercury and Saturn was also at its smallest in early June, but the parade is still worth checking out as it continues throughout the later part of this month.

Ultimately, your best bet for viewing this parade is to head out early in the morning, before the Sun is too high in the sky. As the Sun rises higher, the light from its rays will wash out the visibility of certain planets, such as Mercury. You may still be able to see some of the others, but you won’t get the full effect.

The first of its kind since 2004

Venus is one of five planets visible during June’s planetary parade. Image source: gor_Filonenko/Adobe

But what makes this June planetary parade so special is the fact that we haven’t seen one of its kind since 2004. Sure, we’ve reported on planetary parades, and they aren’t that rare a sight on their own. But it’s very rare for us to see one that includes five separate planets. Especially in the order of their closeness to our solar system’s Sun.

Normally when planetary parades happen, they’re just made up of multiple planets appearing in the sky together. In this case, though, the planets are actually lined up in the order that they appear closest to the Sun. Mercury and Venus are the two closest planets to our Sun. Then the Earth rests at number three, with Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn taking up the next three spots.

Skywatchers will definitely want to take advantage of the opportunity this month. Especially since we’re unsure when another similar parade will happen. All you’ll need to do to get the most out of June’s planetary parade is head outside before the Sun has risen too high. Make sure to grab a pair of binoculars, or even just look with your naked eye.

You should then be able to spot the five planets as they make their way into the sky, starting with Mercury, then moving on to Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. We saw a similar parade back in April, though it didn’t include five planets at once.

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A massive comet is heading towards Earth and the inner solar system. Comet C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) doesn’t pose a threat to Earth itself, but the massive comet will be a treat for sky watchers.

A massive comet from the Oort Cloud is heading toward Earth

Image source: Mopic / Adobe

C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) will make its closest approach to Earth on July 14, 2022. Astronomers aren’t positive how close the comet will come, but we do know it won’t pose any danger to our planet. The comet was first discovered heading towards Earth and the inner solar system in 2017 using the Pan-STARRS survey instrument in Hawaii.

When it was first discovered, C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) was hurtling somewhere between Saturn and Uranus. Now, though, the comet is continuing its trek from the Oort Cloud towards Earth and the inner solar system. When it approaches our planet, you’ll be able to see the comet using a small telescope. That’s because the comet, which is twice the size of Mount Everest, is bright and active.

When a comet is active, it is bright enough to be detectable from Earth. However, an active comet relies on energy from the Sun to heat up gases, creating what we know as the coma and tail of the comet. Because this comet is heading towards Earth from the Oort Cloud, though, it’s unclear how it has remained active for so long.

Not the biggest comet we’ve ever seen

A comparison of the largest known comet nucleus and other known comets. Image source: NASA, ESA, Zena Levy (STScI)

Despite being absolutely massive, C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS) is not the largest comet we’ve ever seen. Nor is it the furthest active. Those titles now fall to C/2014 UN271, another massive comet heading towards Earth and our inner solar system from the Oort Cloud. Like C/2017 K2 (PanSTARRS), C/2014 UN271’s activity remains a mystery.

Is there something that we don’t know about beyond the Oort Cloud or possibly within it? That’s unclear. In fact, there’s so much we don’t know about the Oort Cloud because it lies at the outer edge of our solar system. As such, it’s mostly a theory that it even exists. For context, Voyager 1 has explored further than any other man-made spacecraft, and it will take another 300 years for it to reach the Oort Cloud.

From there, though, scientists believe it would take another 30,000 years to make it through the Oort Cloud. While the comet heading towards Earth and the inner solar system poses no threat to humanity, it would be nice to be able to study these celestial entities a bit more. Perhaps, with the right research, we could learn more about the Oort Cloud, and even the ancient universe.

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NASA’s InSight lander is running out of power. We’ve known this day was coming for some time now, as InSight has struggled with a build-up of sand on its solar panels. Despite that, saying goodbye to the seismic lander hasn’t been easy.

NASA originally planned to shut down the lander’s seismometer at the end of June. Now, though, the team has decided to sacrifice the last bit of its power to keep the seismometer up and running. The hope is that we’ll be able to learn more about seismic activity on the Red Planet. The downside is the lander’s life expectancy will drop drastically, running out of juice by the end of August or early September.

NASA will sacrifice the last of its InSight lander’s power for more science

Dust covers the solar panels of NASA’s InSight Lander, making it harder to recharge its batteries. Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

InSight has been on the surface of Mars since 2018. During the past almost four years, the lander has taught us a lot about the Red Planet and its seismic activity. InSight has been instrumental in learning about Mars. But the InSight lander has been running out of power for a while now.

Previously, NASA tried to remove sand from the solar panels, but it couldn’t remove enough to save the lander.

Now, instead of shutting down the lander’s seismometer, as it originally planned to do, NASA is going to reprogram the lander to keep studying Mars.

“InSight hasn’t finished teaching us about Mars yet,” Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s Planetary Science Division, explained in a post. “We’re going to get every last bit of science we can before the lander concludes operations.”

Every last bit of science

Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Make no mistake, InSight has already accomplished what it set out to do.

The lander has since been working on through extended mission to detect new marsquakes and learn more about the planet’s seismic activity. Making the choice to continue studying those parts of the planet is important, too, because this is all information that could help with NASA’s future manned missions in the 2030s.

Conserving the InSight lander’s power and shutting down scientific instruments would make the spacecraft last longer, sure. But at what advantage? There’s no way to salvage the spacecraft from its current predicament. Instead, it makes more sense to use every bit of juice to keep learning more about the planet.

And that’s exactly what NASA is doing. As I noted above, NASA expects the InSight lander’s power to last until the end of August, or early September if we’re lucky. That isn’t very long at all. But every day that we continue running its seismometer is another day’s worth of data we didn’t have access to. Data that could help us better understand the planet more than we already do.

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NASA’s Voyager space probes have had an amazing journey. Set against an ever-evolving backdrop that encompasses 45 years of space exploration, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are finally nearing the end of their broadcast back to Earth. Over the years, both Voyagers have given humanity a look at space unlike anything we had ever seen, and it will be sad to see that legendary mission finally come to an end.

A journey unlike anything we’ve ever seen

Voyager 2 provided our first real look at Neptune. Image source: NASA/JPL

The past 45 years have brought an amazing amount of progress in our quest to explore space. Not only have we put humans on the Moon, but we’ve learned more about our solar system than ever before, too. At the center of many of these discoveries are two old space probes. Two probes designed to carry out a single four-year mission. A mission that has now extended well beyond 40 years of exploration.

Despite the 45 years since their launch, the Voyager space probes continue to make history. Transmissions from Voyager 2 take 18 hours to reach scientists on Earth, while Voyager 1 communicates on a 22-hour delay. Both probes are currently hurtling through interstellar space, beyond the theorized range of our sun’s heliosphere.

To call Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 iconic is an understatement. These two space probes gave us our first real look at the moons surrounding Jupiter and Saturn. They revealed the existence of volcanoes and fissured ice fields. Much of what we know about our solar system’s celestial bodies has come thanks to the efforts the Voyager space probes made.

And now, all of that hard work is starting to come to an end. Voyager 1 and 2, while still hurtling through interstellar space, are beginning to shut down. (via Scientific American)

How the Voyager space probes are holding on

As Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 hurtle through interstellar space, NASA races to keep the probes running by powering down certain systems the probes no longer need to rely on. Image source: NASA/JPL-Caltech

So how exactly do spacecraft built to complete a four-year mission still carry on after 45 years? Well, as it turns out, a lot of planning and hard work made it happen. Additionally, as the years wear on, the team behind the Voyager space probes has begun to shut down certain systems on the spacecraft. This has allowed them to minimize the power output required to keep things running.

But it also means that the time of Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 is coming to an end. With NASA already planning manned missions to Mars, saying goodbye to 45-year-old spacecraft might not seem like a big deal. But, the Voyager space probes are more than just a satellite in orbit around Earth that needs to be retired. They are pioneers.

They are early examples of humanity’s progress in exploring space. And even after NASA shuts down every system, the probes still have one last message to relay. That’s because both Voyager space probes have been outfitted with a gold-plated record. A record containing images, audio files, and songs meant to showcase the best of humanity.

NASA hopes to hold onto the probes until 2030, at the least. And even then, they’ll continue to float through space, well after they have sent their last message back to Earth. Long after our Sun collapses into itself. And maybe, just maybe, one day someone will find those messages and be given a glimpse into the hope and determination that made humanity want to reach for the stars.

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Space is terrifying. As astronauts navigate around outside space stations and their space shuttles one wrong move can send them hurtling out into a void of darkness. To help mitigate the risk of any such thing happening, NASA has often utilized tethers during spacewalks. But one iconic photo from the 1980s showcases the first untethered spacewalk, and it’s kind of terrifying to think about.

This photo of the first untethered spacewalk is inspiring and terrifying

Just thinking about moving through space without any kind of line to hold me to the ISS or a shuttle is terrifying. But, for astronauts, moving through space is just part of the job. And, there’s probably something freeing about not having to be tethered to a station or shuttle to do your job.

Back in the 1980s, the idea of an untethered spacewalk was still a fairly new one. And, as the crew aboard the Challenger Shuttle prepared for a satellite repair mission, astronaut Bruce McCandless II decided to give it a whirl. Equipped with just his Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU), the astronaut floated freely several meters away from the shuttle.

NASA says that another crew member aboard the Challenger took the photo of the first untethered spacewalk using a 70mm camera. While it’s just now making headlines again, they took the photo itself back on February 7, 1984. Science and nature-based Twitter account @Curiosity recently shared the photo again, though, bringing it back into the spotlight.

The art of the EVA

Image source: NASA

Extravehicular activities, or EVAs, are a common part of life in space. Astronauts often need to exit the International Space Station to complete repairs or just check on vital parts of the station.

NASA even considers spacewalks an iconic part of human space exploration. So, being able to pull off the first untethered spacewalk must have been exciting for McCandless II.

But don’t let the overall iconic nature of these events downplay them. As NASA notes on its website, EVAs require a lot of planning and mission profile build-up. That’s because these exercises literally take the astronaut outside of the confines of their space shuttle.

As with the first untethered spacewalk, there are also other things to consider. Not only did McCandless II have an MMU to help him navigate. But, Challenger was also most likely equipped with enough fuel to save the astronaut should something have gone awry.

It’s been almost 40 years since that first untethered spacewalk. Looking back at the photos now, it’s still hard not to be inspired by how far our exploration has taken us. Especially when you consider NASA’s plans to put boots back on the Moon within the next few decades.

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The International Space Station had to change its orbit slightly to avoid Russian space debris on June 16, 2022. The debris was created by a Russian anti-satellite test in 2021, and it would have come within half a mile of the station.

The ISS swerved to avoid Russian space debris

Roscosmos shared a video of the avoidance maneuver on Telegram, and it later appeared on Twitter. In the maneuver, the ISS’s Progress 81 fired its thrusts for 4 minutes and 34 seconds. The move is what NASA calls a Pre-Determined Avoidance Maneuver (or PDAM).

The ISS was never fully at risk of colliding with the Russian space debris. However, NASA says the move was meant to add more distance between the station and the debris’ flight path. “The crew was never in any danger and the maneuver had no impact on station operations,” NASA shared in an update.

The debris belongs to the remains of Russian Cosmos 1408. Russia destroyed the non-functional satellite back in 2021. When it destroyed it, the country created an estimated 1,500 pieces of Russian space debris in orbit around the planet. This debris, experts have warned, could be problematic for the ISS and other Earth-orbit ventures for years to come.

A growing pile of space junk

Image source: JPL

While it might not have had any direct impact on the station’s operations this time, the addition of Russian space debris to Earth’s orbit is very notable. In the past, space junk has collided with the ISS and damaged the station. Thankfully that wasn’t the case here, but it does continue to raise concerns over the growing amount of space debris out there.

Scientists have been looking for solutions to space junk for decades. Space junk can be found everywhere, and it poses a risk to a lot of operations. Most recently, 3 tons of space junk slammed into the side of the Moon. In the future, space junk slamming into the Moon or even Mars could mean putting human lives at risk.

Hopefully, the latest issue with Russian space debris from Cosmos 1408 has will push us to find better solutions to the problem. Thankfully, NASA plans to crash the ISS into the ocean when it retires the station. If the space agency was to destroy it in orbit, there’s no telling what kind of issues it could cause to the space junk conundrum.

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Scientists have discovered a pulsar ripping through space at over a million miles per hour. Researchers used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to image the source of the pulsar, G292.0+1.8 in 2006 and 2016 to measure the pulsar’s speed. Scientists believe this pulsar could help us better understand how pulsars accelerate to such high speeds.

NASA’s Chandra Observatory could teach us how pulsars accelerate

Image source: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Xi et al.; Optical: Palomar DSS2

Pulsars are one of the most intriguing things we’ve discovered in space. They’re formed when massive stars run of out fuel and collapse. As a result, the stars explode, creating what we call neutron stars. When these stars spin rapidly, they create a pulsar. One thing we don’t know, though, is how pulsars accelerate.

That’s one thing astronomers hope to discover with a more in-depth look at this pulsar. Sometimes these explosions create what astronomers refer to as a “kick.” This kick sends the pulsar racing through what remains of the supernova explosion.

That’s what happened with G292.0+1.8. And now NASA has given us a good look at the pulsar thanks to the use of X-rays and its Chandra observatory. The researchers compared images taken of the supernova remains in 2006 and 2016. They hope that the differences seen between the two images can help us better understand how pulsars accelerate.

What they found

When looking deeper at the supernova remains, and the resulting pulsar, the researchers found something intriguing. Not only had the pulsar been moving at a million miles per hour, but it had also traveled at least 120 billion miles over the 10-year period.

They aren’t sure how the pulsar accelerated to the speeds they measured. However, they believe that it is moving much faster than researchers previously estimated. Additionally, they now believe that G292.0+1.8 exploded around 2,000 years ago. Previously researchers calculated it exploded some 3,000 years ago.

2,000 years ago, several civilizations were recording supernova explosions. As such, the astronomers say it’s possible that someone observed the explosion of G292.0+1.8 when it happened. On top of determining the age of the explosion, they also examined how the pulsar accelerated to the speeds that were observed.

What they found is that there are two main possibilities for the astounding acceleration. First, it is possible neutrinos produced in the explosion ejected from it asymmetrically. The second possibility is that the debris created by the original explosion could have ejected asymmetrically.

No matter how you slice it, though, the explosion would have generated a gigantic mass of energy for the pulsar that could have given it the “kick” it needed to accelerate to over one million miles per hour.

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Hubble has captured an image of a massive galaxy cluster known as Abell 1351. The image itself is filled with streaks of light, which the European Space Agency says are distant galaxies. They just look like streaks because of gravitational lensing.

Check out this massive galaxy cluster Hubble captured in images

Image source: ESA/Hubble & NASA, H. Ebeling / Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

The massive galaxy cluster can be found in the Ursa Major constellation within the northern hemisphere. As noted above, many of the galaxies around it look like streaks of light in Hubble’s latest image of the week. And that’s because the gravity of the galaxy cluster is distorting spacetime around it.

This is a delightful astrophysical phenomenon that we see often in photos from Hubble and other spacecraft. And, in this instance, it gives us a good idea of what kind of massive galaxy cluster we’re dealing with. Including how its mass is distributed throughout.

Massive galaxy clusters cause two types of gravitational lensing. First, there is strong lensing. The cluster’s gravity distorts the light greatly when the lensing is strong. Then, there’s weak lensing, which is a minor distortion in the light. Astronomers can use the type of lensing to determine how a galaxy has distributed its mass. That gives us more insight into clusters like Abell 1351.

A snapshot worth a galaxy of information

Image source: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Pacaud, D. Coe

Hubble captured the image of this massive galaxy cluster with its Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. And it’s part of one of Hubble’s Snapshot Programs. Astronomers slot these programs into the space telescope’s already packed schedule as a way to gain short exposures of different parts of the universe. If needed astronomers can try to ask for longer observational periods.

Having these Snapshot Programs allows Hubble to make the most of its time. With over 30 years under its proverbial belt, the space telescope has delivered a lot of data to astronomers. Making the most of the time it might have left in operation is always going to be a priority.

Additionally, these Snapshots are perfect for gathering glimpses of these massive galaxy clusters like Abell 1351.

By learning more about galaxy clusters, too, astronomers can unlock more data about gravitational lensing. Additionally, these brief looks at our universe can teach us more about violent galaxy evolution. How the universe formed, and how new galaxies formed have long been points of contention for astronomers.

By observing massive galaxy clusters like Abell 1351, we can start to learn more about how and why these clusters form. Then, we can hopefully dig even deeper into the part these gigantic celestial bodies play in our universe.

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