Space

Sedna, this reddish dwarf planet follows such an extreme orbit that it takes more than 11,000 years to complete a single journey around the sun. Now, scientists are proposing a new mission to reach this distant world using a revolutionary propulsion technology.

A new feasibility study, posted to the arXiv preprint server, has examined two cutting-edge approaches to technology that would reach Sedna within this narrow window of opportunity. The first involves the direct fusion drive (DFD), a conceptual nuclear fusion engine, designed to produce both thrust and electric power. For the DFD, researchers assume a 1.6 MW system with constant thrust and specific impulse, representing a massive leap beyond current propulsion technology.

The second approach involves an ingenious variation on solar sailing technology. Rather than relying entirely on solar radiation pressure, this concept uses thermal desorption instead. This is a process where molecules or atoms that are stuck to a surface are released when that surface is heated up, and it's this process that produces the propulsion. It would be assisted by a gravity assist maneuver around Jupiter, using the planet's immense gravitational field as a gravitational slingshot.

...With an estimated mass of around 100 times that of Earth or 0.3 times the mass of Jupiter, TWA 7b is ten times lighter than any exoplanet previously directly imaged.

TWA 7b was discovered in the debris rings that surround the low-mass star CE Antilae, also known as TWA 7, located around 111 light-years from Earth.

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From distant stars and galaxies to asteroids whizzing through the solar system, this next-generation facility unveils its first imagery and brings the night sky to life like never before

• First images: The first published images show the enormous diversity of objects that the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has captured in its images. The images are so large that no single screen is sufficient to display all the details. All images are available for download on the observatory's website.
• Comprehensive sky survey: The observatory will conduct a ten-year survey of the southern sky, investigating the influence of dark matter and dark energy on the distribution of galaxies in the universe, as well as variable phenomena such as supernovae and the flaring of galaxy cores when they swallow matter.
• Telescope of records: With an 8.4-metre telescope and the world's largest digital camera, the observatory captures large amounts of data.