Monthly Archives: January 2025

Millinovae – Discovering a New Class of Stellar Phenomena

By | 26/01/2025

Astronomers have identified a new type of celestial event that challenges traditional understanding of white dwarf stars and their explosive behaviour. Dubbed “millinovae,” these phenomena are faint but fascinating, marking an exciting addition to the family of stellar explosions. What Are Millinovae? Millinovae are transient events occurring in binary star systems where a white dwarf—a… Read More »

Building Planets from “Pebbles”

By | 22/01/2025

In a new Paper, published in Nature, published on 22 Jan 2025, on  J. Teiser, J., Penner, J., Joeris, K. et al. The growth of super-large pre-planetary pebbles to an impact erosion limit. Nat Astron (2025) investigate how tiny particles in space, called “pebbles,” grow into larger clusters, which are critical in the formation of planets. Understanding this process… Read More »

How the Moon’s Origins Challenge Planet Formation Theories

By | 22/01/2025

The Moon holds key clues about how Earth and the other inner planets of the Solar System formed. Scientists debate two main theories of planet formation: slow, chaotic growth from planetesimal collisions, or rapid growth by accumulating tiny particles called pebbles. This study explores whether the Moon’s formation can help decide between these two ideas.… Read More »

Intelligence, as it may relate to the Fermi Paradox

By | 22/01/2025

Humans like to consider themselves the most intelligent animal on Earth, and many argue that is the case because we have built cities, processed metals, built machines, conquered every environment on Earth and now we are starting to explore the deep oceans and space – but does this make us “intelligent” or just clever and… Read More »