Microbial life may be present in the atmosphere of Venus, according to a paper published in Nature Astronomy today. (Written by Rohan Byrne, our resident geoscientist. Follow him at @buildmeaplanet) Traces of a telltale gas called phosphine have been detected in sunlight bouncing off the planet. The gas, a rare chemical sometimes used as a…
Australian and South American researchers posit wandering “ploonets” as unseen actors in distant solar systems. Moons ejected from orbits around gas giant exoplanets could explain several astronomical mysteries, an international team of astronomers suggests. Researchers led by Mario Sucerquia, from the Universidad de Antioquia, Colombia, and Jaime Alvarado-Montes from Australia’s Macquarie University, modelled the likely…
Planning space missions is traditionally a time-consuming and costly process. But the new Australian National Concurrent Design Facility (ANCDF), housed at UNSW’s Canberra campus, speeds things up so a mission can be planned in weeks rather than months. Harnessing the expertise, design processes and software of the French Space Agency CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales),…
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about killer volcanoes; rogue satellites; robot gardeners; the anti-waggle song; and more…
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about sex at sea; asteroid dust; breathless caterpillars; seeds as pills; and more…
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about growing drugs in sunflowers; electric dolphins; silent submarines; fingerprinting zombies; and more…
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about hacking the genome; rebooting the heart; anemones with personality; how diamonds aren’t forever; and more…
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about wayward whales; possums in packs; battling sea monsters; space junk; and more
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about friendly bacteria; lasers in space; prescribing placebos; nanodiamonds; and more
This week on radio, Tim Thwaites is talking about printing new skin; earthquake prediction; bears in space; innovation irritation; and more…