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Researchers have been provided with a detailed analysis of lakes and reservoirs in the Ohio River Basin through data collected by the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite. According to reports, the U.S.-European mission, a collaboration between NASA and CNES (Centre National d’Études Spatiales), has delivered critical insights into freshwater systems. Spanning an area comparable to France, the basin, which serves over 25 million residents, has been under close observation. The satellite has monitored global water heights across oceans, rivers, lakes, and reservoirs since early 2023, providing comprehensive coverage every 21 days. Its data, released earlier this year, includes water level measurements and spatial extent, offering an unparalleled understanding of water storage and movement.

Significance of High-Resolution Water Data

The information generated by SWOT is being used to calculate changes in water storage over time. As per a report by NASA, researchers can now evaluate river discharge with greater precision, enabling a clearer picture of how water moves through various stretches of rivers. Visual data for the Ohio River Basin, collected between July 2023 and November 2024, show water levels ranging from over 1,600 feet above sea level to under 330 feet, with variations marked in yellow and dark purple. These insights are expected to assist hydrologists in assessing local and watershed-wide water availability, the report further added.

Challenges in Freshwater Data Collection

Sources reveal that understanding water availability has traditionally been hindered by inconsistent data collection methods. While ground sensors and airborne surveys provide some coverage, their spatial and temporal limits necessitate additional data from satellites. However, these measurements often require integration with computer models, which have struggled to accurately represent regulated basins like the Ohio River Basin due to dam operations.

SWOT’s unified approach to measuring water levels and extent is reportedly providing a broader perspective. Colin Gleason, hydrologist and member of the SWOT science team, has stated to various publications that this data facilitates better collaboration among water managers. Researchers are still navigating the extensive data, but the potential to revolutionise water management practices has been highlighted.

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Hubble Unveils Dark Matter Web in Stunning Abell 209 Galaxy Cluster Image

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11 hours ago

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July 20, 2025

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Hubble Unveils Dark Matter Web in Stunning Abell 209 Galaxy Cluster Image

NASA/ESA’s Hubble Space Telescope has released a striking new picture of the large galaxy cluster Abell 209, 2.8 billion light-years from us in the Cetus constellation. The enormous cluster contains over 100 galaxies held together by gravity, but what is seen is only half the tale. Underneath the shining galaxies is a tangled web of unseen scaffolding—hot, diffuse gas and a vast amount of dark matter. Although invisible, these elements define the universe through their gravitational pull. The strong lenses of Hubble enable scientists to study these invisible elements and the twisted spacetime that they create.

Technological advancement

According to NASA website, the new image was taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Twelve exposures taken through different color filters were combined to make the full view. The final picture has a golden glow from dozens of bright elliptical galaxies clustering at the center, along with a few blue spiral galaxies at the edges. , Hubble avoids Earth’s blur to make distant galaxies appear pinpoint-sharp . In visible light, the largest galaxies appear as smooth golden orbs, while the spiral galaxies shine a faint blue. Hubble demonstrates a technological brilliance by merging optical and infrared data into one striking cosmic portrait.

Scientific revealations

Hubble scientists say images like this can help answer fundamental questions about dark matter and dark energy. The space between Abell 209’s galaxies is laced with X-ray–hot gas and dominated by dark matter. Only about 5% of the cosmos is ordinary matter; roughly 25% is dark matter and 70% is dark energy.

A massive cluster acts like a natural lens: its gravity slightly warps the light from more distant galaxies. In the Hubble image, a few faint background galaxies appear stretched into curved streaks. By measuring these distortions, scientists can map the cluster’s total mass (including dark matter). This lets them test theories about how the universe has grown under the influence of dark matter and dark energy

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Magnetic Wave Detection Uncovers Elusive Lithium in Mercury’s Thin Exosphere

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12 hours ago

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July 20, 2025

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Magnetic Wave Detection Uncovers Elusive Lithium in Mercury’s Thin Exosphere

Using a new technique based on magnetic-wave analysis, scientists have, for the first time, discovered lithium in the atmosphere of Mercury. Published in Nature Communications, the study constitutes the first detection of lithium around the smallest planet in our solar system. The exosphere of Mercury, Unlike thickened atmospheres, the thin shell of particles that constitutes Mercury’s exosphere can render direct searching methods inadequate. Instead of searching for atoms, scientists analysed pick-up ion cyclotron waves—an electromagnetic fingerprint left behind when solar wind interacts with freshly ionised lithium. These faint signals finally confirmed lithium’s long-speculated presence.

MESSENGER Data Reveals Lithium Traces from Meteoroid Impacts in Mercury’s Exosphere

As per the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the research team led by Daniel Schmid reviewed four years of magnetic field data collected by NASA’s MESSENGER spacecraft. Twelve short-lived events—each lasting mere minutes—revealed these lithium-specific wave signatures.

The waves are generated when solar ultraviolet radiation ionises lithium atoms, and temporary lithium wind blows the ionised atoms into space, which increases the speed of the formation of electromagnetic instabilities. These perturbations induce oscillations at a single cyclotron frequency, determined by the mass and charge of lithium (such that it is identified as lithium indirectly by magnetic measurements).

Lithium has been difficult to find, as the rare alkali metal is thinly scattered. The traditional particle detectors on Mariner 10 and MESSENGER couldn’t directly capture it. The most likely candidate is meteoroid impacts, which would cause heated vapour clouds in the collision and throw lithium into the exosphere.

Mercury’s surface is continuously replenished by extraterrestrial bombardment, according to a study linking detected events to meteoroid strikes by objects 13-21 centimetres in radius. These high-speed collisions can vaporise up to 150 times their own mass, endowing the atmosphere with volatiles such as lithium.

Schmid’s study reveals that such processes could also account for the retention or acquisition of volatile elements in other airless bodies, which would transform our understanding of the geochemical story of Mercury and open up new steps in exosphere exploration.

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Indian Scientists Unravel the Mystery Behind Rare Aurora Over Ladakh

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13 hours ago

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July 20, 2025

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Indian Scientists Unravel the Mystery Behind Rare Aurora Over Ladakh

In a village in Ladakh, there was experienced an eruption in the sky which turned the sky into red and green auroras on May 10, 2024. This has not been seen in the past 10 years. It got triggered by the fiery solar storm, called Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) which are magnetised and thrown from the Sun at a million km per hour distance. Such arruptions in masses, triggered by the filament eruptions and solar flames sped to millions of kilometer towards our planet. This kind of rare aura has been ignited from the fiery solar storm.

Indian Scientists Investigate

According to organiser, The indian scientists’ team, led by Dr. Wageesh Mishra, used the data from NASA, ESA and other ground facilities to find this auroral phenomenon at the Indian Astronomical Observatory, by applying the Flux Rope Internal State (FRIS) model in order to broaden the coronograph images. The evolving temperature, magnetic fields and structure of the Coronal Mass Ejections were mapped at the time of interplanetary journey. This is the first global study to chronicle CME thermal dynamics from the Sun to Earth, which is published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

Unexpected Reheating of CMEs

In contrast to the expectations, the CMEs didn’t cool with their expansion. In fact, they heat up at their midway, absorbing heat and maintaining a constant temperature over time they impact Earth. This thermal restructuring is due to the collision of two CMEs, where the electrons release high temperatures and ions release mixed lower and higher temperatures predominantly.

Magnetic Collision Triggers Lights

Data from NASA’s Wind Spacecraft, when a solar storm reached Earth, shows that the plasma covered Earth in double flux ropes. These are twisted magnetic structures which can trigger potential geomagnetic disturbances. Such an entangled magnetic field brought auroras as far south. i.e. Ladakh, and produces a spectacular light show that was seen by the citizens of that place.

Global Impact and Research Breakthrough

This finding held significant implications for global space weather forecasting and India. Through the understanding of the interaction of CMEs’ thermal and magnetic changes, the scientists could better develop the early-warning systems for power grid issues, navigation outages and satellite disruptions.

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