If we dropped Betelgeuse into our solar system, it would stretch beyond Jupiter’s orbit—swallowing Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, and the asteroid belt!

But here’s the wild part: Betelgeuse is on the brink of death. And when it goes supernova—within the next 100,000 years—it could shine brighter than the Moon for weeks!

#Betelgeuse #Supernova #SpaceFacts #MindBlown

Meet BD+05 4868 b — one of the most extreme exoplanets ever found. Located 140 light-years away, this scorching world orbits its star every 30.5 hours, putting it 20 times closer than Mercury is to our Sun.

At that range, the heat is so intense it’s vaporizing the planet’s rocky surface, creating a dust tail over 9 million kilometers long — nearly half of its orbit!

Nicknamed the “melting Mercury”, this tiny planet is losing mass fast — about the size of Mount Everest every orbit. With weak gravity and a shrinking core, scientists believe the planet could completely vanish within 1 to 2 million years.

But there’s a silver lining: this doomed planet’s dusty trail gives astronomers a rare chance to study the interior makeup of a rocky exoplanet — potentially unlocking secrets of how planets form and what makes them habitable.

Research by: Marc Hon et al., The Astrophysical Journal Letters (2025)
Title: "A Disintegrating Rocky Planet with Prominent Comet-like Tails around a Bright Star"

#Exoplanet #SpaceDiscovery #Astronomy #MeltingPlanet #ScienceNews #Cosmos #JWST #SpaceDust #PlanetHunting #Astrophysics

Ever wondered where humanity and our robotic explorers have actually landed on the Moon? This map shows the historic touchdown sites of some of the most iconic lunar missions — from the legendary Apollo landings, to robotic Surveyor probes, Soviet Luna landers, and China’s recent Chang’e missions.

The U.S. Apollo program (1969–1972) sent 12 astronauts to walk on the Moon — a feat still unmatched.
NASA’s Surveyor missions helped test landing tech before the Apollo era.
The Soviet Union’s Luna landers were the first to impact, orbit, and soft-land on the Moon.
China made history with Chang’e-3 and Chang’e-4 — the first to land on the Moon's far side!

Each dot on this Moon map represents years of planning, incredible science, and the dream of exploring beyond Earth.

Which mission inspires you the most?

#moon #moonlanding #Apollo #NASA #spaceexploration #lunarmission #spacetech #galaxy #universe #orbit #satellite #spacehistory #ChangE #Surveyor #Luna

Saturn's Moon Count Soars to 274 After Discovery of 128 New Moons

Astronomers have identified 128 new moons orbiting Saturn—an incredible breakthrough now officially confirmed by the International Astronomical Union. This pushes Saturn's total moon count to 274, easily overtaking Jupiter’s 95.

The search began between 2019 and 2021, when 62 potential moons were spotted. Follow-up observations in 2023, spanning three months, confirmed the presence of 128 new small satellites.

These newly discovered moons are tiny and irregular in shape, each just a few kilometers wide. Scientists believe they’re remnants of ancient objects that were captured by Saturn's gravity in the early days of the Solar System. Over time, violent collisions—possibly one just 100 million years ago—broke these bodies into smaller pieces. Many of them belong to Saturn’s Norse group.

The Norse group is made up of moons that orbit in the opposite direction (retrograde) with tilted and elliptical paths, far beyond the planet’s rings. Like the new discoveries, these moons have a jagged, potato-like look. A detailed report on 64 of the moons has been submitted to the Planetary Science Journal, with a preprint available on arXiv.

RESEARCH PAPER
Ashton et al., "Retrograde predominance of small Saturnian moons reiterates a recent retrograde collisional disruption", arXiv (2025)

Japan’s ambitious space elevator project aims to revolutionize space travel by eliminating the need for rockets. Proposed by Obayashi Corporation, the concept involves building a 96,000-kilometer tether connected to a space station in geostationary orbit. Using ultra-strong materials like carbon nanotubes or graphene, a climber car would carry cargo and passengers from Earth to orbit—powered by electromagnetic motors and solar energy.

If successful, the elevator could reduce launch costs by up to 95% and offer a safer, more sustainable way to reach space. With a target date of 2050, Japan hopes to pioneer this interplanetary infrastructure—turning what once seemed like science fiction into everyday reality.

#SpaceElevator #JapanInnovation #FutureOfSpace #ObayashiCorporation #SpaceTech