There’s an unusual paradox hampering research into parts of the Milky Way. Dense gas blocks observations of the galactic core, and it can be difficult to observe in visible light from our vantage point.   But distant galaxies don’t always present the same obstacles. So in some ways, we can observe distant galaxies better than

Riding atop a pillar of flames, fumes, and dust, two NASA astronauts – Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley – ascended to space on Saturday with the help of a Falcon 9 rocket. The launch by SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk in 2002, represents the rocket company’s first flight of humans to orbit. It’s also the first

Earlier this year, a comet that wandered into the Solar System from a distant star appeared to have met its demise when it started to break apart. But appearances can be deceiving, and a new analysis of 2I/Borisov’s fragmentation has found that the main body of the comet will survive its encounter with the Solar

Eclipse season resumes on June 5th, with a fine penumbral lunar eclipse. Are you cursing the June Full Moon as it thwarts your dreams of deep-sky imaging this week? Fear not; said Moon is actually the first astronomical draw for June 2020, as this coming weekend’s Full Moon marks the start of the second eclipse season

Neutron stars are rising to the top of the list of the most delicious objects in the Universe. First, it was dense “nuclear pasta” beneath their crusts. Now, we have fresh evidence that the cores of the most massive neutron stars are made up of an exotic ‘soup’ of subatomic particles called quarks.   Physicists

Mars – glorious, dusty, complex Mars – may once have been even more dazzling. New research provides even more evidence that a rubbly ring once circled the Red Planet. The new clue lies in Deimos, the smaller of the two Martian moons. It’s orbiting Mars at a slight tilt with respect to the planet’s equator

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has spotted a distant black hole shooting out jets of material, at close to the speed of light. No worries, this beast is about 10,000 light years away from us. It’s more of a spectacle than a danger.   But it’s a spectacle laden with scientific insights. I know what you

The Universe is not a structureless mish-mash of space stuff, but there’s still a lot we don’t know about how it’s put together. Although we know that everything is connected by a vast, filamentary web, we tend to operate under the assumption that the distribution of galaxies among those filaments is somewhat random.   In

Unlike Earth, Mars doesn’t have a global magnetic field to protect it from the rigours of space weather – but it does have spots of local, induced magnetism. Now, researchers have been able to create an incredible, detailed map of the electric currents that are responsible for shaping these magnetic fields.   It gives scientists

Strange, powerful signals from deep space called fast radio bursts are slippery little suckers. Most of them just flash once, a mysterious huge spike in the radio data out of nowhere, lasting just milliseconds at most. They can’t be predicted, and because they’re so brief, they’re incredibly hard to trace.   Hard; but not impossible.

The Sun has been pretty quiet lately. Over the last few years, its flare activity has been relatively weak and infrequent… but it may be about to kick up again. On May 29, it was filmed spitting out its biggest flare since October 2017.   This could be a sign that the Sun has already

Earlier this month, astronomers announced the discovery of something incredible – a brand new type of asteroid… with a tail. But in an update, the researchers have announced their original classification was incorrect. The strange object is in fact a comet in disguise, although it doesn’t really make it any less odd.   So what

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley have once again helped make history for SpaceX, the rocket company founded by Elon Musk, by docking to a football field-size laboratory above Earth.   After careening into space on Saturday atop a Falcon 9 rocket, the astronauts’ spaceship – a Crew Dragon capsule they later named “Endeavour” –

SpaceX launched its most precious cargo yet into space on Saturday: two NASA astronauts and a plush, sequined dinosaur toy. At 3:22 pm ET, a Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, carrying the Crew Dragon spaceship that SpaceX designed and NASA funded.   It’s the first time a commercial spacecraft has carried humans into space,

SpaceX and NASA have successfully launched the first crewed mission into space from US soil in nine years. At 3:22 pm ET on 30 May 2020, SpaceX became the first private space company to deliver NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).   The two astronauts onboard the Crew Dragon are Bob Behnken and Doug

Updated: After the launch attempt on Wednesday had to be scrubbed due to weather, SpaceX and NASA have successfully launched a truly historic mission. At 3:22 pm ET on 30 May 2020, SpaceX became the first private space company to deliver NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS).   This marks the first time since

SpaceX and NASA are gearing up for a historic mission: On Saturday, they plan to launch humans in a commercial spacecraft for the first time ever and restore the US’s ability to send its own astronauts into space.   If clouds don’t delay the launch again (as they did on Wednesday), NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug

To realize its ambitious plans for sending up to 100 passengers to the Moon and Mars inside a massive Starship spacecraft, SpaceX is racing through prototypes. During its fifth static fire today, the fourth Starship prototype, called SN4, erupted in a gigantic fireball around 2:50 pm Eastern time on Friday. Thanks to a live stream,

Using state-of-the-art astronomical instruments, an international team of researchers has confirmed the existence of Proxima b, an Earth-like planet that’s orbiting the closest star to our Solar System, Proxima Centauri.   “Confirming the existence of Proxima b was an important task, and it’s one of the most interesting planets known in the solar neighborhood,” Alejandro Suarez Mascareño,

On the evening of Wednesday 27 May, residents of northern Turkey were treated to a spectacular light show. Videos on social media show what appears to be a meteor streaking across the sky, before exploding in the air with a thunderous boom.   Turkish news website Daily Sabah reports that a “ball of light” was

SpaceX was set to launch astronauts for the first time on Wednesday, thereby restoring NASA’s human spaceflight program. But then storm clouds rolled in. The rocket was fuelled and sitting on the launchpad. Officials had conducted final reviews to make sure everything was ready for liftoff, which was scheduled for 4:33 pm ET. NASA astronauts

Today is the day. At 4:33 pm ET, SpaceX is on track to become the first private space company to deliver NASA astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The final launch preparations for the Demo-2 mission are currently taking place at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and we’re here to bring you a live blog of

On Wednesday at 4:33 pm ET, SpaceX plans to rocket its first people into orbit since Elon Musk founded the company 18 years ago. If successful, the historic mission would also resurrect NASA’s ability to launch its astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The US space agency flew its last space shuttle in July 2011 and has relied on

One of the biggest cosmic mysteries has just been used to investigate another huge mystery. Astronomers used powerful bursts of radio waves traced back to distant galaxies to probe the space between the stars – and revealed where the Universe’s missing matter has been hiding.   In the vast chasms that yawn between galaxies, gas

This much we knew: some 66 million years ago an asteroid roughly twice the diameter of Paris crashed into Earth, wiping out all land-dwelling dinosaurs and 75 percent of life on the planet.   What remained a mystery was whether it was a direct hit or more of a glancing blow, and which would be

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. – commonly known as SpaceX – is slated to send two astronauts into space on Wednesday. Despite not yet being 20 years old, the company has already developed a creation myth: on 28 September 2008, its first rocket Falcon 1 launched for the fourth time.   ​”I messed up the first

Planet Nine is a theoretical, undiscovered giant planet in the mysterious far reaches of our Solar System. The presence of Planet Nine has been hypothesized to explain everything from the tilt of the Sun’s spin axis to the apparent clustering in the orbits of small, icy asteroids beyond Neptune.   But does Planet Nine actually

A swirl spotted in the turbulent disc of dust encircling a young star called AB Aurigae was revealed last week in high resolution, and to much fanfare in the astronomy community. Such a distinctive disturbance, researchers suggested, could be the signature of a baby exoplanet in the process of forming.   Although this baby exoplanet

In the early days of the Universe, 10.8 billion years ago, astronomers have just found a galaxy wearing the battlescars of a cosmic brawl. It’s not a blob or disc of stars, like most galaxies, but a giant doughnut – with a huge hole punched right through its centre.   This classifies it as a

In the beginning, everyone was skeptical. But Elon Musk’s SpaceX defied expectations – and on Wednesday hopes to make history by ferrying two NASA astronauts into space, the first crewed flight from US soil in nine long years.   US President Donald Trump will be among the spectators at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to

Was life on Earth a fluke? Perhaps not. New research suggests that the emergence of life on Earth, while far from a guaranteed outcome, was in fact a probable event – although the odds of intelligent life evolving remain rather less favourable.   In a new study, astronomer David Kipping from Columbia University examines these

The search for life elsewhere in the Universe goes on, but such is the vastness of space, any helpful tips that can point us towards the planets most likely to be habitable are really useful – and scientists think they’ve just discovered another clue.   A new study outlines what researchers are calling a climate

Scientists found something peculiar coming from the center of the Milky Way galaxy: a previously-unnoticed signal they think is coming from the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy.   The team of Keio University researchers think that the signal is caused when the accretion disk around the black hole flares up and

NASA gave the green light on Friday to next week’s launch of two astronauts aboard a SpaceX vessel – the first crewed space flight from US soil in nine years and a crucial step towards ending American dependence on Russian rockets.   Top officials at the US space agency and Elon Musk’s company had been

About half of all the star systems in the galaxy are made of pairs or triplets of stars. Our Solar System features just one star, the Sun, and a host of (relatively) small planets. But it was almost not the case, and Jupiter got right on the edge of becoming the Sun’s smaller sibling.  

In the far reaches of the Solar System, past the orbit of Neptune, things start getting trickier and trickier to see. Directly imaging small objects out in the darkness of the Kuiper Belt – where Pluto resides – is really difficult, which makes a recent discovery all the more exciting.   If you know where

We tend to think of asteroids and comets as pretty strictly delineated categories. Comets have long, looping orbits and are loaded up with volatile ices that sublimate, generating a dusty, misty halo and tail when the comet comes close to the Sun. Asteroids, on the other hand, are generally considered rocky, dry and inert, with

That breadth will help scientists test Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and search for signs of “dark energy,” a mysterious force that makes up 68 percent of the Universe and drives its expansion. “[Roman] is somebody I’ve really admired. It makes me excited and proud to be associated with a mission that’s named after

I always remember hearing the comparison of how the Space Shuttle’s main engines would drain an average family swimming pool in under 25 seconds. Or that the Saturn V used the equivalent of 763 elephants of fuel. But just how much fuel does a rocket burn during its ascent to orbit? As you might expect,

Around 13.8 billion years ago, somehow the Universe popped into existence. But it didn’t come fully equipped. At some point, the first stars formed, and the first galaxies. How and when this happened is still a mystery astronomers are trying to solve… but one galaxy could have a vitally important key.   It’s called DLA0817g

A swirling, twisted cloud of dust and gas over 530 light-years away isn’t just a tumultuous wonder. It’s a new piece of the puzzle as to how planets grow from tiny grains to giant globes.   Astronomers have obtained breathtaking new near-infrared images of the protoplanetary disc around the young star AB Aurigae. These images

The northern lowlands and sedimentary regions of Mars are dotted with curious formations. Tens of thousands of conical hills, many topped with small craters, and surrounded by deep channels scoured from the surface by flowing liquid.   That sounds a lot like volcanoes found here on Earth – but on a planet like Mars, where

Because we are normal people living in normal times, normal things are happening. Like news tabloids reporting that the Sun is in “lockdown”, and that Earth is doomed to crazy weather famine and… earthquakes, for some reason.   Well, you can relax. Nothing the Sun is currently doing is going to create freezing weather, famine,

Neutrinos are mysterious and elusive particles. They have a tiny mass, no electric charge, and they interact with other matter only rarely. They are also extremely common. At any moment, about 100 billion neutrinos are streaming through every square centimeter of your body. Neutrinos were produced by the big bang, and are still being produced

Over the next few years, we’ll finally be heading back to the Moon. But with nearly 50 years in between our last Moon jaunt and this one, a lot has changed. With private companies becoming a huge part of space programs and the rise of many international space agencies, space is getting rather crowded, so some new rules

Another ancient star has been found lurking in the Milky Way. Around 35,000 light-years away, a red giant star named SMSS J160540.18–144323.1 was found to have the lowest iron levels of any star yet analysed in the galaxy.   This means that it’s one of the oldest stars in the Universe, probably belonging to the

To call the Universe vast would be an understatement. It is, as far as we know, without boundary – so big that we don’t even know if it’s finite or not. Either way, the space we can observe is teeming with fascinating objects, interactions, stars, galaxies, gases, dust, rocks, and planets.   It’s useful, in our

It was the year 2000, and an ancient meteor was at the end of a very long journey. On a winter’s morning, it exploded in the skies above Canada, raining hundreds of meteoric shards upon the frozen surface of Tagish Lake in British Columbia.   Collectively, these fragments are called the Tagish Lake meteorite, and