Laniakea, the dynamics of the cosmic web, and our pale blue dot
Category: space
Sci-Fi Civilizations Ranked on the Kardashev Scale
Dimension Zero takes a closer look at sci-fi civilizations through the lens of the Kardashev scale. We explore crucial facts about how different fictional societies would rank, from Type Zero to Type One and beyond. This examination provides a science fiction perspective on future energy and expansion into space. #startrek #starwars #stargate #celestials #dimensionzero …
The depths of Neptune and Uranus may be ‘superionic’
The interiors of ice giant planets like Uranus and Neptune could be home to a previously unknown state of matter, according to new computational simulations by Carnegie’s Cong Liu and Ronald Cohen. Their work, published in Nature Communications, predicts that a quasi-one-dimensional superionic state of carbon hydride exists under the extreme pressures and temperatures found deep inside these outer solar system bodies.
More than 6,000 exoplanets have been discovered. As this number grows, astronomers, planetary scientists, and Earth scientists are crossing disciplinary boundaries—combining observation, experimentation, and theory—to define and probe the factors that help us understand the dynamic processes that shape them, including the generation of magnetic fields.
As such, interest has grown in understanding the processes that are occurring deep beneath the surfaces of planets and moons in our own solar system, which can inform our understanding of planetary dynamics, and even planetary habitability in more-distant neighborhoods.
A Mercury rover could explore the planet by sticking to the Terminator
The closest planet to our sun, Mercury, experiences extreme temperature variations. Since the planet has no atmosphere to speak of, it is in a constant cycle where one side is extremely hot and the other extremely cold. On the sun-facing side, temperatures reach a scorching 427°C (800°F), enough to melt tin and lead, and the surface is exposed to extremely lethal levels of radiation. On the night side, temperatures plunge)] to a chilling −173°C (−279.4°F), cold enough to freeze most liquids, including those used in battery manufacturing.
All of this makes exploring Mercury’s surface very challenging. On the one hand, a rover would be subject to interference from the sun’s radiation on the sun-facing side and would likely melt down. On the other hand, a solar-powered rover cannot operate on the night side, and a battery-powered vehicle would likely lose power quickly as its batteries die. But in the Terminator, the region between night and day on Mercury, temperatures are stable enough, and there is sufficient light for a solar-powered rover to study surface features and conduct science operations.
This is the proposal put forth by a research team from the Hawai’i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology (0HIGP) at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. The team included Mari Murillo, a Planetary Science Ph.D. Student at HIGP, and Paul G. Lucey, a prominent researcher with HIGP and Murillo’s Ph.D. advisor. The paper detailing their proposal was presented at the 2026 Lunar and Planetary Science Conference (2026 LPSC).
A New Way to View Shockwaves Could Boost Fusion Research
At the heart of our sun, fusion is unfolding. As hydrogen atoms merge to form helium, they emit energy, producing the heat and light that reach us here on Earth. Inspired by our nearby star, researchers want to create fusion closer to home. If they can crack the engineering challenges underlying the process, they would create an abundant new source of power to eclipse all others.
One of those challenges is understanding what happens at the smallest scales during fusion reactions so that researchers can better control the process. In one of the two main kinds of fusion, inertial confinement fusion (ICF), researchers bombard a fuel-filled capsule with lasers to create shockwaves and heat and compress the target, kicking off fusion. That means lots of complex interactions that scientists haven’t been able to get a good look at — until now.
A team of researchers used a new approach at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) to watch how a shockwave moved through water in extreme detail, making a never-before-seen movie of how the material compressed and how the electric and magnetic fields evolved. They were intrigued to discover that water provided a good analog for what happens when a laser strikes an ICF target. Scientists captured the process using both X-rays and an electron beam, a unique dual view known as “multi-messenger” imaging.
New Models Track Lava Flow on Earth and Other Planets
Scientists have used satellite data from the Mauna Loa eruption to improve lava flow modeling for both Earth and other planetary bodies. [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…-planets-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/earth-and-the-environment/…-planets-2)
Do lava flows behave the same on other planets as they do on Earth? This is what a recent study published in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated new methods for predicting the lava flow behavior and how this could be applied to other planets. This study has the potential to help scientists and engineers develop novel scientific methods that can be applied both on Earth and beyond.
For the study, the researchers examined satellite data from the 2022 Mauna Loa eruption in Hawaii that lasted from November 27 to December 10. The motivation behind the study was to address a longstanding knowledge gap regarding the limitations of using individual satellite datasets for volcanic hazard response. To address this, the team analyzed satellite data from a combination of private companies and government agencies to gain insight into the entire time period of the eruption.
In the end, the researchers successfully identified an origin for the eruption along with gathering data and fresh insight on the lava flow behavior during the eruption and post-eruption activity. They note several times throughout the study that this new method could be used to study volcanic activity on Mars, Venus, and Jupiter’s volcanic moon Io, the last of which is the most volcanically active planetary body in the entire solar system that boasts hundreds of active volcanoes.
Raman Spectroscopy Could Reveal if Enceladus is Habitable
Raman spectroscopy can be used to identify minerals in Enceladus’s plumes to help determine if its subsurface ocean could support life. [ https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30495/raman-spectros…abitable-2](https://www.labroots.com/trending/space/30495/raman-spectros…abitable-2)
Is Saturn’s ocean moon Enceladus habitable? This is what a recent study published in The Planetary Science Journal hopes to address as a team of scientists investigated the likelihood of Enceladus hosting the necessary ingredients for life as we know it. This study has the potential to help scientists develop new methods for finding life beyond Earth, even life as we don’t know it.
For the study, the researchers examined whether Raman spectroscopy, which is a common chemical analysis method in planetary science, could be used to analyze particles emitted from Enceladus’ plumes. These plumes, which originate from Enceladus’ south polar region, are responsible for discharging pieces of the moon’s interior ocean, including water vapor and other molecules. To accomplish this, the researchers used a vacuum chamber to simulate conditions on Enceladus and froze salt water at pH levels of 9 and 11. They then analyzed the salts using Raman spectroscopy to ascertain if it could identify particles within the water and determine which pH level they originated from.
In the end, the researchers discovered that the instrument could differentiate between the two pH levels while identifying sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and sodium carbonate (washing soda) in both pH levels while identifying only sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) in pH 11. The researchers note these findings demonstrate the potential for using a spacecraft-mounted Raman spectrometer for future missions to Enceladus and other icy worlds with the goal of identifying the necessary ingredients for life as we know it.
Astronomers Find the Edge of the Milky Way’s Star-Forming Disc
Where exactly is the edge of the Milky Way? That question is harder to answer than one might expect. Since we’re inside of the galaxy itself, it’s obviously hard to judge the “edge” to begin with. But it gets even more complicated when defining what the edge even is — the galaxy simply gets less dense the farther away from the center it goes. A new paper by researchers originally at the University of Malta thinks they have an answer though. The “edge” can be defined as the star-forming region, and in their paper, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, they very clearly show that “edge” to be between 11.28 and 12.15 kiloparsecs (or about 40,000 light years) from the center.
Even finding that edge was no easy task, though. The researchers had to analyze the ages of over 100,000 giant stars from the data of several different surveys, including APOGEE-DR17, LAMOST-DR3 and Gaia. In the data they found an interesting story about the evolution of the position of stars in the galaxy, and their age.
That relationship can be thought of as a U curve. In this case, the Y axis is age, and the X axis is the distance from the galaxy’s center. A picture (or graph in this case) is worth a thousand words, but in words that simply means that stars closer to the center of the galaxy are older, and get progressively younger out to a certain point, and then start getting older again. That “certain point”, according to the authors, is the end of the galaxy’s star-forming region, and hence, the “edge” of the galaxy.
Atomic Clocks: Exquisite Sensors for More Than Just Time
Atomic clocks use the quantum energy levels of atoms to tell time more accurately and precisely than any other kind of clock. (Learn more about how atomic clocks work.)
But atomic clocks can be used for more than timekeeping. They can serve as quantum sensors. Indeed, companies already use portable atomic clocks to detect oil deposits under the ocean. As these clocks become even more accurate and precise, their sensing capabilities become increasingly powerful.
To understand how atomic clocks work as sensors, we need to know a bit about Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Relativity tells us that time ticks more slowly in stronger gravity. Here on Earth, for example, a clock ticks slightly more slowly at sea level than it would on the top of a mountain, because gravity is stronger at sea level. For similar reasons, clocks in space speed up relative to those on Earth.