In a series of papers, the New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, reveals that there may be a slushy subsurface ocean on Pluto, reports Rebecca Boyle for The Atlantic. “The research suggests that many other distant worlds in the Kuiper Belt might also hold inner oceans of water, or other liquids,” Boyle explains.
Researchers involved with the NASA New Horizons mission have uncovered evidence that an ocean of ice water lies beneath Pluto’s heart-shaped basin, reports Irene Klotz for Reuters. Prof. Richard Binzel explains that the findings show that “nature is more creative than we are able to imagine, which is why we go and explore."
Boston Globe reporter Olivia Quintana writes that the NASA New Horizons team, which includes MIT researchers, has collected data that suggests there is a slushy ocean of ice water beneath Pluto’s surface. “I think the big picture is that this is telling us that Pluto is much more complicated, much more fascinating than we ever imagined,” explains Prof. Richard Binzel.
Scientists at MIT and Brown University have discovered the origin of the Orientale basin, the oldest crater on the Moon, according to EFE. The impact of an asteroid 3.8 billion years ago formed a crater that has since “collapsed under the rock fractures and its temperatures forming three concentric rings visible today.”
Amina Khan of The Los Angeles Times writes that a team of scientists, led by postdoc Julien de Wit, has conducted an atmospheric study of two Earth-sized exoplanets and found that they are rocky and have thin atmospheres. The findings “lend growing support to the idea that such planets might potentially be friendly to life.”
EAPS postdoc Julien de Wit and his colleagues have analyzed the atmospheres of two potentially habitable exoplanets, reports Alan Yuhas for The Guardian. Based off their observations, de Wit explains that the atmospheres of the planets are probably similar to a “terrestrial planet like Mercury, Venus, Mars and Earth.”
A double transit of two Earth-sized exoplanets allowed an international team of scientists, led by postdoc Julien de Wit, to conduct an atmospheric analysis, writes Vivian Wang for The Boston Globe. The researchers found that “the planets have rocky, rather than gaseous, terrain, and compact, rather than loose, atmospheres — all further indication that they are potentially habitable.”
New findings from EAPS postoc Julien de Wit shows that two previously discovered exoplanets 40 light years from Earth have rocky surfaces, which “represent a unique opportunity to go looking for conditions that would favor life,” writes Rachel Feltman for the The Washington Post.
Washington Post reporter Rachel Feltman writes that astronomers have observed a black hole consuming cold gas. Feltman notes that “this is the first time a black hole has been seen eating such a refreshing meal: Scientists previously had only observed black holes eating slow, steady meals of hot gas shed by the spiraling galaxies they call home.”
A team of astronomers, including MIT Prof. Michael McDonald, has observed a black hole feasting on cold gas. BBC News reports that the team “discovered a supermassive black hole and saw clouds speeding towards it at 800,000 mph. The observation supports a theory black holes feed on clouds of cold gas.”
TIME reporter Jeffrey Kluger writes that researchers have discovered three potentially habitable planets. Kluger explains that the researchers observed the planets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star “at a distance at which water—the must-have ingredient for life as we know it—could exist in liquid form.”
Dr. Julien de Wit speaks with Nell Greenfieldboyce of NPR about the three potentially habitable planets that he and his colleagues recently discovered. "These planets are Earth-sized, they are temperate — we can't rule out the fact that they are habitable — and they are well-suited for atmospheric studies," de Wit explains.
Los Angeles Times reporter Deborah Netburn writes that researchers have discovered three potentially habitable planets orbiting an ultracool dwarf star 40 light years away. "The team took a big risk even looking for planets around these stars," says MIT postdoc Julien de Wit, co-author of the paper. "But it has really paid off."
A team of astronomers, including researchers from MIT, have discovered three potentially habitable planets, reports Ashley Strickland for CNN. Strickland writes that the “results are just the beginning of a study that will continue for years. The researchers are already working on observations to see if the planets have water or methane molecules.”
Astronomers at MIT, in collaboration with an international team of scientists, have detected three planets, located 40 light years away, that could potentially be habitable. The “planets likely have permanent day and night sides. The next step is to look for signs of biological conditions on the planets.”