Nature Hub

     From : Space.Com By :  By Robert Lea Edited by : Amal Udawatta a small grey orb explodes while crashing into a larger reddish-brown orb (Image credit: Robert Lea (created by Canva)) "An interesting aspect is that a heavier moon is destroyed faster,  since a massive moon would drain Venus's spin so efficiently that it  hastens its destruction." Scientists may finally know why Venus, Earth's twin, lacks a moon, finding that the hottest planet in the solar system may have consumed its own natural satellite. Venus is often referred to as Earth's twin due to its size, mass, rocky composition, and distance from the sun, but there are some glaring differences between the two planets. Aside from Venus' blisteringly hot temperature, which could melt lead, incredible surface pressure, violent high-speed winds, and clouds of sulfuric acid, one of the key differences between Earth and Venus can be seen from afar. While our planet has a constant companion in the ...

    From:  Space.Com  By Keith Cooper Edited by:  Amal Udawatta An artist's impression of a centaur gradually transitioning into a comet with a coma and tail. Image credit: iStock) Astronomers have witnessed a small, icy body that orbits the Sun out beyond Jupiter transforming into a comet, providing a missing link between comets and inert bodies called centaurs. The object in question is called 450P/LONEOS and is named after the Lowell Observatory survey that found it back in 2004. It is a centaur, which is a breed of inactive body that orbits the sun between Jupiter and Neptune . These objects are thought to have wandered in from the Kuiper Belt beyond Pluto , their paths perhaps perturbed by distant gravitational interactions with the gas giant planets, or even a nudge from a passing star . Because a given centaur's orbit crosses the path of at least one of Jupiter, Saturn , Uranus and Neptune, a centaur's orbit is unstable over millions of years. C...

   Edited by : Amal Udawatta   By : Jacopo Prisco From:  CNN Science News       An artist’s concept shows exoplanet LHS 1140b (right) surrounded by a helium-rich atmosphere. Melissa Weiss/CfA/Harvard Scientists say they have detected promising signs that a planet orbiting a star 49 light-years from Earth could have an atmosphere, making it potentially suitable for life. Called LHS 1140b, the object is about five times the mass of our planet, or a “ super-Earth .” This planet orbits around its star in the “ Goldilocks zone ,” also known as the habitable zone, meaning its surface temperature is not too hot or too cold for liquid water to exist. “We believe it is also predominantly a rocky planet, based on its mass and its radius measurements, which gives us a density estimate,” said Collin Cherubim, a planetary scientist and lead author of a paper on the finding, published July 16 in the journal Science. “It appears to be consistent with Earth, m...