ScienceDaily: Space & Time News

A newly discovered comet has excited the astronomical community this week because it appears to have originated from outside the solar system. The official confirmation that comet C/2019 Q4 is an interstellar comet has not yet been made, but if it is interstellar, it would be only the second such object detected.

Food scientists have developed a groundbreaking, user-friendly mathematical model for NASA to help ensure that astronauts' food remains rich in nutrients during extended missions in space.

Saturn is so beautiful that astronomers cannot resist using the Hubble Space Telescope to take yearly snapshots of the ringed world when it is at its closest distance to Earth. These images, however, are more than just beauty shots. They reveal a planet with a turbulent, dynamic atmosphere.

Researchers recently confirmed that the aurora-like lights known as STEVE are not actually aurora, but instead a unique phenomenon. The project used a spectrograph to examine the light from the phenomenon and identify what kind of emissions they give and in what patterns and wavelengths. Results could help scientists further understand how space weather affects technology used in processes such as communications between Earth and spacecraft.