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Astronomers Discover a Nearby Multiplanet System With Two Earth-Sized Planets

Lead Image: MIT astronomers have discovered a new multiplanet system that lies just 10 parsecs, or about 33 light-years, from Earth, making it one of the closest known multiplanet systems to our own. The star at the heart of the system likely hosts at least two terrestrial, Earth-sized planets. Credit: MIT News, with TESS Satellite figure courtesy of NASA Located just 33 light years from Earth, the system appears to host two rocky, Earth-sized planets. A new multiplanet system within our galactic neighborhood has been discovered by astronomers at MIT and elsewhere. It lies just 10 parsecs, or about 33…

ESA’s Comet Interceptor Approved for Construction

Lead Image: Comet Interceptor has been selected as ESA’s new fast-class mission. It will be the first spacecraft to visit a truly pristine comet or other interstellar object that is only just starting its journey into the inner Solar System. Credit: ESA In 2019, the European Space Agency (ESA) selected Comet Interceptor as a new fast-class (F-class) mission. These missions, where “fast” refers to development speed are missions that take about 8 years to fully implement. The mission’s primary science goal is to characterize, for the first time, a truly pristine comet or other interstellar object. Comet Interceptor comprises three…

Hubble Finds Phantom Imprint in Space Revealing Black Hole Roaming Our Milky Way Galaxy

Lead Image: This is an illustration of a close-up look at a black hole drifting through our Milky Way galaxy. The black hole is the crushed remnant of a massive star that exploded as a supernova. The surviving core is several times the mass of our Sun. The black hole traps light due to its intense gravitational field. The black hole distorts the space around it, which warps images of background stars lined up almost directly behind it. This gravitational “lensing” effect offers the only telltale evidence for the existence of lone black holes wandering our galaxy, which may be…

Research Shows That Robotic Surgery Is Safer and Improves Patient Recovery Time by 20%

Lead Image: Research from the University College London and the University of Sheffield has shown that robot-assisted surgery for bladder cancer removal and repair allows patients to recover much faster and spend considerably less time in the hospital. A new study has found that robotic surgery is less dangerous and has a faster recovery period for patients Robotic surgery, also known as robot-assisted surgery, enables surgeons to conduct a variety of complicated operations with more precision, flexibility, and control than traditional approaches allow. Robotic surgery is often associated with minimally invasive surgery, which involves procedures carried out through small incisions.…

Too Tall? Too Short? Height May Be Risk Factor for Multiple Health Conditions

Lead Image: Height may be an unrecognized but biologically important and unchangeable risk factor for several common health conditions, according to an MVP study. Data shows that in the United States the average height is 5 feet 4 inches (163 centimeters) for women and 5 feet 9 inches (175 centimeters) for men. While those are the averages, the range is pretty broad with many people being quite a bit taller or shorter than average. It is obvious that either being shorter or taller than average has its set of benefits and drawbacks. For example, the short person may not be…