Researchers have found an exoplanet around Barnard's Star. Barnard's bthe planet found by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile, is about 20 times closer to its star than Mercury is to the Sun and is about half the size of Venus. Its host star is the closest star to our Sun (unlike the Alpha Centauri triple star system), just six light years away. Pictured: Artist's impression of Barnard's b and its host star. Image credit: ESO/M. Kornmesser.
Another exoplanet discovery could provide clues about the future fate of Earth. Researchers have observed a possible Rocky exoplanet orbiting a white dwarf star 4,000 light years away. Our Sun is expected to end its life cycle by expanding into a red giant (consuming Mercury, Venus, and perhaps Earth and Mars) before ending up as a cool white dwarf in about 5 billion years. If Earth survives the red giant phase, its fate could be similar to that of this newly discovered exoplanet.
The Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies may not merge. Astronomers have long thought that our galaxy is on track to collide with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy in 5 billion years. New simulations suggest that this may not be the case due to the gravitational effects of other nearby galaxies, potentially reducing the probability of a collision by half.
SpaceX is pausing Falcon 9 launches due to an anomaly. A problem with upper stage deorbit burn on a crewed launch last week led the company to stop throwing until they understand the root cause of the problem. The Hera and Europa Clipper missions will launch early this month on SpaceX rockets.
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