First images of the cosmic web reveal a myriad of unsuspected dwarf galaxies
Although the filaments of gas in which galaxies are born have long been predicted by cosmological models, we have so far had no real images of such objects. Now for […]
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Two young IRAP researchers participate in a Space Weather Forecast Competition with Machine Learning
In recent years the field of artificial intelligence (AI) has expanded and is applied to a vast variety of applications, holding favourable opportunities for the scientific community. Especially, machine learning […]
A new way to understand plate tectonics: olivine glass
The separation between the rigid lithosphere and the ductile asthenosphere is a major mechanical discontinuity of the globe. This boundary is characterized by a five-order drop in viscosity generally associated […]
How do giant planets become eccentric?
The vast majority of giant exoplanets observed (planets 100 times heavier than the Earth) have very “eccentric” orbits: their trajectory does not follow a circle, unlike the Earth, but an […]
Mars 2020 mission: Perseverance rover lands successfully carrying French Supercam instrument
Thursday 18 February, the Perseverance rover, carrying a suite of seven instruments including the French SuperCam, a greatly enhanced version of the ChemCam instrument already operating on NASA’s Curiosity Mars […]
ExoMars discovers chlorine in the atmosphere of Mars
ExoMars’ European-Russian probe, the Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), has been orbiting Mars since October 2016. It has been observing the atmosphere continuously since April 2018 in search of trace gases […]
SPIRou stares at a young rebel: the AU Mic planetary system
SPIRou, the new spectropolarimeter / high-precision velocimeter recently installed on the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT), allowed to measure the mass and density of a close-in Neptune-like planet orbiting the hugely-active […]
A reference compound to calibrate the analyzer of the Mars rover Perseverance
How do you calibrate a device once on Mars? On board the “Perseverance” rover, the SuperCam module will have a series of reference samples to improve the accuracy of mineralogical […]
21 Years of XMM-Newton celebrated with a new catalogue and an ambitious citizen science project
On the 21st anniversary of the launch of the European Space Agency’s X-ray observatory, XMM-Newton, the XMM-Newton Survey Science Centre (XMM-SSC) are releasing a new catalogue, 4XMM-DR10, of all of […]