Earth’s Surface May Be Teeming with Dark Matter Particles (The Galaxy Report)

Today’s stories include Black Holes Create Mysterious Vortex ‘Structures’ That Could Open ‘Portals’ Into Dark Matter to The Most Extreme Objects in the Universe to Did Magnetism Shape the Universe? and much more.

Did magnetism shape the universe? An epic experiment suggests it did, reports New Scientist. The idea that magnetism helped shape the universe has been dismissed by scientists for decades, but now new experiments involving plasma that is hotter than the sun are prompting a rethink.

Earth’s surface may be teeming with trillions of dark matter particles, reports New Scientist. When dark matter is captured inside a planet or star, much of it sinks to the middle – but if it sometimes bounces off regular matter, there may be huge amounts of it lurking just beneath the surface.

Life May Have Thrived On Early Mars Until It Drove Climate Change That Caused Its Demise, reports Keith Cowing for Astrobiology. “The study revealed that while ancient Martian life may have initially prospered, it would have rendered the planet’s surface covered in ice and uninhabitable, under the influence of hydrogen consumed from and methane released into the atmosphere.”

Black Holes Create Mysterious Vortex ‘Structures’ That Could Open ‘Portal’ Into Dark Matter, Physicists Propose. The microscopic structure of black holes is poorly understood, physicists say in a new study, and could open a window to solving cosmic mysteries, reports Becky Ferreira for Vice Science.

Spellbinding Images From the Dark Energy Camera–15 images showcase the beauty and awesome size of the cosmos, reports Isaac Schultz for Gizmodo.

The most extreme objects in the universe–The cosmos has a knack for forming extreme — and sometimes weird — objects, reports Astronomy.com. “From stars that burn so hot they make the Sun look almost cool in comparison, to planets with the density of cotton candy, to galaxies so old they existed when the universe was still in its infancy, these are some of the most extraordinary cosmic objects known — even if they may not be record-holders for long.”

A solar gravitational lens will be humanity’s most powerful telescope. What are its best targets? asks by Brian Koberlein for Universe Today. “In a study recently published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, the team modeled the gravitational lensing of the sun to look at the diffraction effects it would have on an image from extended objects such as an exoplanet. They found that a solar-lens telescope would be able to detect a 1 Watt laser coming from Proxima Centauri b, about 4 light-years away.”

The Risk of Misinterpreting JWST Planetary Signals, reports Harvard CfA. Refining current models is essential for unearthing accurate details of exoplanet properties — and signs of life — in data from new telescope. “There is a scientifically significant difference between a compound like water being present at 5 percent versus 25 percent, which current models cannot differentiate,” says corresponding author Julien de Wit, an assistant professor in MIT’s Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences (EAPS).

How likely is an Earth-like origin of life elsewhere? asks Paul Scott Anderson for Earth Sky. “we know little to nothing about life on other rocky worlds, even those that might be similar to Earth. Is life a rare occurrence, or is it common? Or somewhere in between? Scientists debate the subject of abiogenesis, the idea of life arising from non-living material. If it can happen on Earth, can it happen elsewhere, too? “

Strange Ripples Have Been Detected at The Edge of The Solar System, reports Michelle Star for ScienceAlert. “Data from a spacecraft orbiting Earth has revealed ripple structures in the termination shock and heliopause: shifting regions of space that mark one of the boundaries between the space inside the Solar System, and what’s outside – interstellar space.”

‘Bit of Panic’: Astronomers Forced to Rethink Early JWST Findings–Revised calibrations for the James Webb Space Telescope’s instruments are bedevilling researchers studying the distant universe, reports Alexandra Witze for Nature magazine.

‘It felt like a funeral’: William Shatner reflects on voyage to space –Recalling the experience almost one year later, the actor admits ‘everything I had expected to see was wrong’ reports The Guardian. “William Shatner expected he would achieve the “ultimate catharsis” after his historic flight into space. Instead, the voyage left him filled with grief, an “overwhelming sadness” and a newfound appreciation for the beauty of Earth, the Star Trek actor has said.”

“Unfolding the Universe: A NASA JWST VR Experience.” A new VR exhibit takes you inside the James Webb Space Telescope’s images–Artist Ashley Zelinskie has filled a physical gallery with space-inspired sculptures, fog, lasers, and a VR headset.

Underground microbes may have swarmed ancient Mars, reports the AP. “Ancient Mars may have had an environment capable of harboring an underground world teeming with microscopic organisms, French scientists reported Monday. But if they existed, these simple life forms would have altered the atmosphere so profoundly that they triggered a Martian Ice Age and snuffed themselves out, the researchers concluded.

A long-lost rogue planet could explain unexpectedly distant asteroids, reports New Scientist. The outer solar system holds some chunks of ice and rock that orbit so far from the sun it’s hard to imagine how they got there – but an ancient rogue planet may hold the key.

Curated by the Daily Galaxy Editorial Staff

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