The University of Central Florida professor has made a groundbreaking discovery that the hottest known extrasolar planet, HD 149026b, is approaching temperatures of 3,700 degrees. This unprecedented finding indicates that the planet's surface must be incredibly black to absorb all the starlight it receives.
Researchers are re-creating submarine channel formation to understand their internal structure and improve oil recovery efficiency. The experiments have yielded counterintuitive results, revealing behaviors that differ from surface rivers due to differences in density.
Global Aerospace Corporation wins NASA award to develop DARE system, which uses autonomous balloons to explore planetary atmospheres and surfaces from atmospheric altitudes. The system can deploy micro probes to study the atmosphere, surface, and subsurface, offering high-resolution imaging and direct measurements.
Astronomers detected sodium in the atmosphere of a gas giant exoplanet orbiting a yellow star. The team used Hubble's spectrometer to analyze light passing through the planet's atmosphere, revealing less sodium than expected, which may indicate high-altitude clouds blocking some light.