Stardust may have seeded the Solar System

Amazing stuff! The charm of stardust! Or when stardust catches the eyes of scientists! 😊

"... Roughly 4.6 billion years ago, part of a giant molecular cloud collapsed, with most mass collecting to form what would one day become our Sun. The leftover matter flattened into a rotating protoplanetary disc, which ultimately gave rise to planets, moons, and other objects that make up the Solar System. As the disc cooled, some of its matter condensed to form tiny mineral structures known as calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs). These materials, which are preserved inside meteorites, represent some of the Solar System’s oldest known rocks.

Scientists recently found that some of these CAIs contain large amounts of strontium-84, a relatively rare isotope found in certain kinds of stardust that existed before the Sun formed. The discovery came as a surprise, since it was previously assumed that the region where CAIs formed was hot enough to completely vaporize this dust. The team posits that grains of ancient stardust instead acted as nucleation seeds, drawing the Solar System’s earliest solids to condense around them—just as a particle of dust might accumulate water droplets that freeze to form a snowflake."

From the abstract:

"Recent reports of extreme strontium-84 excesses in primitive Solar System condensates, known as fine-grained calcium-aluminum–rich inclusions (fg-CAIs), suggest that presolar stardust may be preserved in refractory meteoritic components.

This is at odds with preconceptions that presolar grains were completely vaporized in the CAI-forming region.

Here, we reappraise the role of presolar materials in early condensation and overall disk heterogeneity by isolating strontium from primary fg-CAI phases.

We demonstrate that extreme strontium-84 anomalies are likely hosted in a subpopulation of CAI oxides. The anomalies of primitive noncarrier phases are shown to be attenuated but correlated with the abundance of presolar precursors, which suggests that carriers exert leverage on ensuing condensate compositions. We propose that this relationship between isotope anomalies in refractory CAI components stems from stardust acting as nucleation seeds for the earliest solids formed in the Solar System."

ScienceAdviser

Stardust as nucleation seeds for the earliest solids in the Solar System (open access)

Solar System’s largest moon is unique with a still forming core for billions of years

Amazing stuff!

"In 1996, NASA’s Galileo spacecraft made a shocking discovery at Ganymede, Jupiter’s—and the Solar System’s—largest moon. Unlike every other known moon, it hosted an internally powered magnetic field called a dynamo. Now, scientists think the reason might make the moon doubly unique: its core may still be forming. ...

Typically, the elements within a planet or moon stratify over time, with heavier elements like iron sinking down to form a dense core. When that core churns, it generates electrical currents that sustain a magnetic field.

Scientists only know of such dynamos on the gas giants, Earth, and Mercury. But when researchers modeled the process on Ganymede to match the magnetic field measurements from Galileo, they found that the core might not simply be churning, but actively growing, with new iron still dripping down from rocks in the moon’s mantle. If true, that would render Ganymede the only known body still to be forming its center. ..."

From the abstract:

"Ganymede is the only known moon with an active dynamo today.

Previous studies interpret Ganymede’s dynamo as arising from convection in a metal core that formed billions of years ago.

However, Ganymede likely accreted too cold to form with a metal core, which confounds interpretations of Ganymede’s magnetic field as a constraint on the moon’s broader history.

Here, we reevaluate the thermal evolution of Ganymede’s rock-metal interior from a cold start. Our models show that Ganymede’s observed dynamo is consistent with ongoing core formation, a process not yet observed elsewhere.

If Ganymede has an Fe-FeS core with a sub-eutectic composition, then gradual mantle warming may expel dense Fe melt onto the growing protocore and stir liquid metal, sustaining a dynamo for billions of years."

ScienceAdviser

Core of Solar System’s largest moon may still be forming "Ganymede discovery could force rethink of how worlds power their magnetic fields"

Powering Ganymede’s dynamo with protracted core formation (open access)

Fig. 1. Possible thermal evolution of Ganymede’s interior based on assumed initial temperatures.

Deep inside Jupiter’s largest moon, Ganymede, molten iron may be sinking, adding to a still-growing core.

Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets’ interior details

Amazing stuff!

"Over the years, passing spacecraft have observed mystifying weather patterns at the poles of Jupiter and Saturn. The two planets host very different types of polar vortices, which are huge atmospheric whirlpools that rotate over a planet’s polar region. On Saturn, a single massive polar vortex appears to cap the north pole in a curiously hexagonal shape, while on Jupiter, a central polar vortex is surrounded by eight smaller vortices, like a pan of swirling cinnamon rolls.

Given that both planets are similar in many ways — they are roughly the same size and made from the same gaseous elements — the stark difference in their polar weather patterns has been a longstanding mystery.

Now, MIT scientists have identified a possible explanation for how the two different systems may have evolved. Their findings could help scientists understand not only the planets’ surface weather patterns, but also what might lie beneath the clouds, deep within their interiors. ...

After comparing simulations, the team found that vortex patterns, and whether a planet develops one or multiple polar vortices, comes down to one main property: the “softness” of a vortex’s base, which is related to the interior composition.

The scientists liken an individual vortex to a whirling cylinder spinning through a planet’s many atmospheric layers. When the base of this swirling cylinder is made of softer, lighter materials, any vortex that evolves can only grow so large. The final pattern can then allow for multiple smaller vortices, similar to those on Jupiter. In contrast, if a vortex’s base is made of harder, denser stuff, it can grow much larger and subsequently engulf other vortices to form one single, massive vortex, akin to the monster cyclone on Saturn. ..."

From the significance and abstract:

"Significance

One intriguing difference between the two largest planets in the solar system is their polar vortex structures: Jupiter hosts multiple vortices at its poles, while Saturn exhibits a single polar vortex.

By systematically surveying the parameter space of a 2D quasi-geostrophic system, we demonstrate that 4 different polar vortex patterns may arise, depending on two key nondimensional numbers and the initial conditions. Analytical criteria predicting the 4 possible patterns are provided. Utilizing the observed vortex patterns, we further obtain constraints on Saturn’s vortex depth and stratification.

Abstract

The distinct polar vortex dynamics observed on Jupiter and Saturn may provide insights into their interiors. In this study, we examine how the number and structure of polar vortices vary with forcing strength, dissipation rate, and interior stratification using a 1.5-layer quasi-geostrophic model. This simplified setup enables a broad exploration of the parameter space, revealing that vortex characteristics are determined by the sequence in which three key length scales—the deformation radius , the zonostrophic scale , and the dissipative scale —are encountered as energy cascades from small to large scales.

Four distinct vortex patterns are identified, including a vortex crystal resembling Jupiter’s polar vortices and a single-vortex state akin to that of Saturn. The conditions under which these patterns emerge provide constraints on the stratification of Jupiter and Saturn."

Polar weather on Jupiter and Saturn hints at the planets’ interior details | MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology "New research may explain the striking differences between the two planets’ polar vortex patterns."

Polar vortex dynamics on gas giants: Insights from 2D energy cascades (no public access)

Jupiter

Saturn

NASA: Are Titan’s Lakes Teeming with Primitive Cells?

Amazing stuff!

Martian prisons could be built from ice on Mars surface

Food for thought! Pardon my sleight of hand and my facetiousness! 

Instead of capital punishment? No way to escape!

"... More than 5 million cubic kilometers of frozen water exists on or near Mars’s surface, with far more predicted to lie beneath. If the Red Planet’s ice proves obtainable, future astronauts could see themselves living in a world out of Disney’s Frozen, scientists reported here today at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union. Through various modeling exercises, the team showed the material could be molded into well-insulated, durable structures that effectively shield earthlings from the Sun’s harmful rays. ..."

Martian cities could be built from ice | Science | AAAS "Astronauts could theoretically harness frozen water on the Red Planet to construct habitats and research stations, new analysis suggests"

Lightning discovered on Mars via microphone

Amazing stuff!  So far lightning was discovered only three bodies of the solar system!

"Lightning has been detected on Mars for the first time, confirming longstanding theories that the dusty and windy Martian atmosphere could see electrical charges transferred.

Finding lightning could reveal new insights into the habitability of Mars and potential risks to future missions.

The discovery was made through analysis of data from NASA’s Perseverance rover which landed on Mars in 2021 ...

The researchers compared 28 hours of audio data with electrical signals.

They found 55 electrical events which had acoustic signatures characteristic of lightning. Almost all of these coincided with high winds with only 1 occurring during winds outside the strongest 30% recorded during the study period.

Lightning has previously been spotted on 3 bodies in the solar system: Earth, Jupiter and Saturn. ..."

From the abstract:

"Lightning is among the most energetic manifestation of electrical activity in planetary atmospheres, with documented observations not only on Earth but also on Saturn and Jupiter.

On Mars, the existence of electrical activity has long been suspected, but never directly demonstrated. The dusty atmosphere of Mars undergoes aeolian processes, ranging from wind-blown dust and sand, metre-to-hundred-metre-sized dust devils to thousand-kilometre-scale dust storms, which, in Earth’s deserts, can become electrified through triboelectric charging. For this reason, electric fields have been predicted to build up on Mars, but with no measurement of Martian atmospheric electrical activity so far.

Here we report in situ detections of triboelectric discharges, identified by their electrical and acoustic signatures captured by the SuperCam microphone aboard the Perseverance rover.

Fifty-five events have been detected over two Martian years, usually associated with dust devils and dust storm convective fronts. These serendipitous observations demonstrate that Martian electric fields can reach the breakdown threshold of the near-surface atmosphere of Mars, predicted to be on the order of several tens of kV m−1.

Such electrical activity could affect dust dynamics and potentially fuel a reactive electrochemical environment enhancing the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere, with consequences for the preservation of organic molecules. This in situ evidence may have implications for surface chemistry, habitability and human exploration."

Lightning on Mars spells trouble for future missions and search for life | News | ConnectSci

Electric discharges detected on Mars for the first time (original news release) "Electric discharges have for the first time been recorded within the storms and whirlwinds of dust – known as dust devils – that sweep across the surface of Mars. Captured by the microphone of the SuperCam instrument on board NASA’s Perseverance rover, the signals were analysed by a team of scientists from the CNRS, Université de Toulouse and the Observatoire de Paris – PSL, working as part of an international team. The discharges represent a major discovery with immediate implications for our understanding of the atmospheric chemistry, climate and habitability of Mars, as well as for future robotic and manned missions there. These findings are published in the journal Nature on November 26, 2025."

Detection of triboelectric discharges during dust events on Mars (no public access)

Detection of electric discharges in dust devils by the SuperCam instrument, on board the Perseverance rover on Mars

Scientists discover caves carved by water on Mars that may have once harbored life

The theme or mystery of life on Mars never dies!

However, the research article appears to be only about skylights and water and the potential of (previous) life on Mars.

"If there is, or ever has been, life on Mars, the chances are it would exist in caves protected from the severe dust storms, extreme temperatures, and high radiation present on its surface. One place to focus our attention could be eight possible cave sites (called skylights) recently discovered ..."

From the abstract:

"The Hebrus Valles region on Mars exhibits geomorphological indicators of past aqueous activity, such as fluvial channels and aligned sinkholes.

While Martian skylights have mostly been linked to volcanic or tectonic origins, caves formed by water-mediated dissolution remain unexplored.

This study investigates eight skylight features in Hebrus Valles as the first potential karstic cave candidates on Mars. We evaluate whether these features are indicative of collapse entrances formed through dissolution of carbonate- and sulfate-rich lithologies.

To this end, the investigation is carried out by integrating mineralogical maps from the Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES), hydrogen data from the Gamma Ray Spectrometer (GRS), and TES-derived thermal inertia and dust index maps. 3D structural modeling was performed using High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE)–derived Digital Terrain Models.

Morphological assessments were conducted using Context Camera and HiRISE images.

The skylights exhibit morphologies consistent with subsurface dissolutional collapse. TES data reveal enrichment in carbonates and sulfates near the skylights, and GRS data show elevated water-equivalent hydrogen. The skylights lie within indurated, low-dust terrains and are spatially associated with fluvial features. A 3D reconstruction from morphological data of cavity geometry is consistent with its being karstic."

Scientists discover caves carved by water on Mars that may have once harbored life

Water-driven Accessible Potential Karstic Caves in Hebrus Valles, Mars: Implications for Subsurface Habitability (open access)

Figure 1. Regional context and geospatial distribution of potential karstic skylight features in Hebrus Valles, Mars.

Figure 2. Geological context of skylight candidates in Hebrus Valles. Skylight candidates (yellow stars) are mapped in relation to pit lines, outflow channels, and sinkholes, revealing their spatial association with fluvial systems.

Scientists discovered new organic compounds in geysers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus

Amazing stuff! We are not alone!

"Scientists using NASA’s Cassini spacecraft data discovered new organic compounds in geysers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, strengthening evidence a hidden ocean world could harbor conditions suitable for life."

From the abstract:

"Saturn’s moon Enceladus ejects a plume of ice grains and gases originating from a subsurface ocean via fractures near its south pole. The chemical characterization of organic material in such ice grains was previously conducted via the analysis of mass spectra obtained in Saturn’s E ring by Cassini’s Cosmic Dust Analyzer at impact speeds below 12 km s−1.

Here we present a comprehensive chemical analysis of organic-bearing ice grains sampled directly from the plume during a Cassini fly-by of Enceladus (E5) at an encounter speed of nearly 18 km s−1.

We again detect aryl and oxygen moieties in these fresh ice grains, as previously identified in older E-ring grains.

Furthermore, the unprecedented high encounter speed revealed previously unobserved molecular fragments in Cosmic Dust Analyzer spectra, allowing the identification of aliphatic, (hetero)cyclic ester/alkenes, ethers/ethyl and, tentatively, N- and O-bearing compounds. These freshly ejected species are derived from the Enceladus subsurface, hinting at a hydrothermal origin and involvement in geochemical pathways towards the synthesis and evolution of organics."

Thursday, October 2, 2025 - Join The Flyover

New study adds to the possibility of favorable conditions for life at Saturn's moon Enceladus

Detection of organic compounds in freshly ejected ice grains from Enceladus’s ocean (open access)

Fig. 6: Potential chemical pathways between organic compounds on Enceladus.

The third interstellar flying object observed within our solar system

When one of those objects hits Earth again, then we have a real climate crisis, not the phony climate change!

"The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of the fastest comet ever observed, moving through our solar system at 130,000 mph, after traveling the universe for hundreds of millions of years.

NASA discovered the 3I/ATLAS comet last month and determined that it was from interstellar space, only the third interstellar object witnessed within our solar system. ..."

"... The NASA-funded ATLAS (Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System) survey telescope in Rio Hurtado, Chile, first reported observations to the Minor Planet Center of comet 3I/ATLAS on July 1, 2025.

Hubble’s observations allow astronomers to more accurately estimate the size of the comet’s nucleus. The upper limit on its diameter is 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers), though it could be as small as 1,000 feet (320 meters) across, researchers report. ..."

Saturday, August 9, 2025 - Join The Flyover

Comet 3I/ATLAS (undated article by NASA, very unprofessional)

This diagram shows the trajectory of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS as it passes through the solar system. It will make its closest approach to the Sun in October.

This Hubble Space Telescope image of comet 3I/ATLAS was taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3.

For the first time, astronomers witness a new solar system born some 1400 light-years away

Amazing stuff!

"Some 1400 light-years away, a solar system is just getting started. Researchers have observed clouds of gas and mineral solids that appear to be the beginnings of rocky worlds, they reported this week. “It really is the first time we’ve seen this stage of planet formation in the process,” one expert noted."

From the abstract:

"Terrestrial planets and small bodies in our Solar System are theorized to have assembled from interstellar solids mixed with rocky solids that precipitated from a hot, cooling gas. The first high-temperature minerals to recondense from this gaseous reservoir start the clock on planet formation. However, the production mechanism of this initial hot gas and its importance to planet formation in other systems are unclear.

Here we report the astronomical detection of this t = 0 moment, capturing the building blocks of a new planetary system beginning its assembly. The young protostar HOPS-315 is observed at infrared and millimetre wavelengths with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), revealing a reservoir of warm silicon monoxide gas and crystalline silicate minerals low in the atmosphere of a disk within 2.2 au of the star, physically isolated from the millimetre SiO jet. Comparison with condensation models with rapid grain growth and disk structure models suggests the formation of refractory solids analogous to those in our Solar System. Our results indicate that the environment in the inner disk region is influenced by sublimation of interstellar solids and subsequent refractory solid recondensation from this gas reservoir on timescales comparable with refractory condensation in our own Solar System."

ScienceAdviser

This star offers the earliest peek at the birth of a planetary system like ours "The surrounding gas and dust might be producing the first bits of planets"

For the first time, astronomers witness the dawn of a new solar system (original news release) "International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star beyond the Sun. Using the ALMA telescope, in which the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is a partner, and the James Webb Space Telescope, they have observed the creation of the first specks of planet-forming material — hot minerals just beginning to solidify. This finding marks the first time a planetary system has been identified at such an early stage in its formation and opens a window to the past of our own Solar System."

Refractory solid condensation detected in an embedded protoplanetary disk (no public access, but ScienceAdvisor contains link to PDF.

The swirling disk of gas and dust (center black dot) around a baby star might be birthing a solar system, according to a new study. Farther from the star, called HOPS 315, carbon monoxide gas (orange) blows away in a butterfly-shaped wind and silicon monoxide gas (blue) is expelled in a jet of disk material.

Auroras Spotted on Neptune for the First Time with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! Amazing stuff! This video also talks about the other auroras found in our solar system and compares them.

ESA Gaia: Rewriting the story of the Milky Way

Very recommendable! Amazing stuff!

NASA: Largest Organic molecules Yet Discovered on Mars

Amazing stuff! Next, they discover life on Mars?

Saturn now has 274 moons – but what makes a moon is unclear

Amazing stuff! The more, the merrier! 😊

"Earlier this week, Saturn gained a whopping 128 new official moons, as the International Astronomical Union recognised discoveries from a team of astronomers  ... The sixth planet from the Sun now has a grand total of 274 moons, the most of any planet in the Solar System. ..."

Saturn now has 274 moons – but what makes a moon is unclear

Saturn has a whopping 274 moons ― scientists want to know why (some public access) "A huge haul of 128 newfound satellites might be a hint of past collisions in the planet’s orbit, or something else."

Saturn and a few of its many moons, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope. 

Saturn Gains 128 New Moons, Sparks Debate with Palki Sharma

Amazing stuff!

Planet X: evidence mounts for undiscovered 9th planet in our solar system

Welcome new planet! More to explore! Get your telescope ready!

"... But for the past decade, astronomers have been finding it increasingly likely that something big – often called Planet X – might actually be out there. And a new study by a team from Princeton University has substantially raised the likelihood that it really exists. ...

The evidence comes from an apparently non-random distribution in the orientation of the orbits of smaller outer Solar System bodies known as trans-Neptunian objects or Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs). ...

At the moment, he says, the quest to actually find Planet X is on hiatus, awaiting the opening of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, a half-billion-dollar (or more) project being built on a mountaintop in northern Chile. ..."

From the abstract:

"The plausibility of an unseen planet in the outer solar system, and the expected orbit and mass of such a planet, have long been a topic of inquiry and debate. We calculate the long-term orbital stability of distant TNOs, which allows us to expand the sample of objects that would carry dynamical information about a hypothetical unseen planet in the solar system.

Using this expanded sample, we find statistically significant clustering at the ∼3σ level for TNOs with semimajor axes >170 AU, in longitude of perihelion (ϖ), but not in inclination (i), argument of perihelion (ω) or longitude of node (Ω). Since a natural explanation for clustering in ϖ is an unseen planet, we run 300 n-body simulations with the giant planets, a disk of test particles representing Kuiper belt objects, and an additional planet with varied initial conditions for its mass, semimajor axis, eccentricity, and inclination. Based on the distribution of test particles after 1−2 Gyr, we compute relative likelihoods given the actual distribution of ϖ as a function of semimajor axis for distant TNOs on stable orbits using a significantly larger sample than previous work.

We find the best-fit unseen planet parameters to be: mass mp=4.4±1.1M⊕, semimajor axis ap=290±30AU, eccentricity ep=0.29±0.13, and inclination ip=6.8±5.0∘. Only 0.06% of the Brown & Batygin (2021) Planet Nine reference population produce probabilities within 1σ of the maximum within our quadrivariate model, indicating that our work identifies a distinct preferred region of parameter space for an unseen planet in the solar system."

Planet X: evidence mounts for undiscovered 9th planet

Orbit of a Possible Planet X (open access)

Figure 6:Left: the relative probability density distribution for the unseen planet as a function of right ascension and declination. Right: the relative probability density distribution from Brown & Batygin. Blue dashed lines indicate the ecliptic plane and $\pm {20}^{\circ }$ from the Galactic plane.

See Nasa's spectacular new images of Jupiter

Recommendable!

MIT Technology Review: The quest to figure out farming on Mars. Really!

Would it not suffice to send robots to Mars?

We are not even growing enough food for humans on earth!

"Once upon a time, water flowed across the surface of Mars. Waves lapped against shorelines, strong winds gusted and howled, and driving rain fell from thick, cloudy skies. It wasn’t really so different from our own planet 4 billion years ago, except for one crucial detail—its size. Mars is about half the diameter of Earth, and that’s where things went wrong. ...

And what would it take to grow plants to feed future astronauts on Mars? ..."

The quest to figure out farming on Mars

Jupiter's moon, Io – the most volcanic world in the solar system

Amazing stuff!

NASA wants to send humans to Mars in the 2030s − a crewed mission could unlock some of the red planet’s geologic mysteries. Really!

Is this not absurd in the age of robots, AI, and autonomous vehicles to send humans to Mars? Quite unnecessary!

Prolonged space travel is not healthy for humans!

"NASA plans to send humans on a scientific round trip to Mars potentially as early as 2035. The trip will take about six to seven months each way and will cover up to 250 million miles (402 million kilometers) each way. The astronauts may spend as many as 500 days on the planet’s surface before returning to Earth. ..."

NASA wants to send humans to Mars in the 2030s − a crewed mission could unlock some of the red planet’s geologic mysteries