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Fermi data help refine orbital parameters of a gamma-ray binary

Using NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Chinese astronomers have observed a gamma-ray binary system known as PSR J2032+4127. Results of the new observations, published February 3 on the arXiv preprint server, shed more light on the orbital parameters of this binary, which could help us better understand its nature.

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Non-biologic processes don’t fully explain Mars organics collected by Curiosity, researchers say

In a new study, researchers say that nonbiological sources they considered could not fully account for the abundance of organic compounds in a sample collected on Mars by NASA’s Curiosity rover. The paper is published in the journal Astrobiology.

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How giant galaxies could form just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang

The existence of massive, elliptical galaxies in the early universe has puzzled astronomers for two decades. An international team led by Nikolaus Sulzenauer and Axel Weiß from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) used data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to shed light on this open question of galaxy formation. They […]

An emotional countdown to the maiden launch of the Ariane 64, Europe’s most powerful rocket

In a tightly controlled manufacturing hangar west of Paris, workers put the finishing touches on an enormous silver-colored engine. In just a few days, a similar machine will help propel the most powerful version of Europe’s Ariane 6 rocket yet, flying for the first time with four boosters.

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JWST uncovers rich organic chemistry in a nearby ultra-luminous infrared galaxy

A study led by the Center for Astrobiology (CAB), CSIC-INTA, using modeling techniques developed at the University of Oxford, has uncovered an unprecedented richness of small organic molecules in the deeply obscured nucleus of a nearby galaxy, thanks to observations made with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

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NASA Langley makes final preparations for Artemis II mission to launch around the moon

When Apollo 17 astronauts returned from the moon in 1972, they visited NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to thank staff for their contributions to the mission, saying “we stood on the shoulders of giants as we shot for the stars.”

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Why has SpaceX not launched from Kennedy Space Center this year?

SpaceX launched 26 missions from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A in 2025, including four human spaceflight missions. That era is coming to an end. A massive crane was put in place this week with speculation it will soon remove the crew access arm from the historic launch site that hosted most of the Apollo […]

Detection system uses gravitational waves to map merging black holes

An international collaboration of astrophysicists that includes researchers from Yale has created and tested a detection system that uses gravitational waves to map out the locations of merging black holes—known as supermassive black hole binaries—around the universe. Such a map would provide a vital new way to explore and understand astronomy and physics, just as […]

When Earth’s magnetic field took its time flipping

Earth’s magnetic field is generated by the churn of its liquid nickel-iron outer core, but it is not a constant feature. Every so often, the magnetic north and south poles swap places in what are called geomagnetic reversals, and the record of these flips is preserved in rocks and sediments, including those from the ocean […]

A new comet was just discovered. Will it be visible in broad daylight?

A newly discovered comet has astronomers excited, with the potential to be a spectacular sight in early April. C/2026 A1 (MAPS) was spotted by a team of four amateur astronomers with a remotely operated telescope in the Atacama desert on January 13.

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JWST discovers a new extremely metal-poor dwarf galaxy

Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), astronomers have discovered a new dwarf galaxy, which received designation CAPERS-39810. Further investigation of CAPERS-39810 revealed that it is an extremely metal-poor galaxy. The discovery was detailed in a paper published January 24 on the arXiv pre-print server.

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NASA hit by fuel leaks during a practice countdown of the moon rocket that will fly with astronauts

NASA ran into exasperating fuel leaks during a make-or-break test of its new moon rocket Monday, calling into question how soon astronauts could take off for a trip around the moon.

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Two huge hot blobs of rock influence Earth’s magnetic field, study reveals

Exploring Earth’s deep interior is a far bigger challenge than exploring the solar system. While we have traveled 25 billion km into space, the deepest we have ever gone below our feet is just over 12 km. Consequently, little is known about the conditions at the base of the mantle and the top of the […]

NASA fuels its moon rocket in a crucial test to decide when Artemis astronauts will launch

NASA fueled its new moon rocket in one final make-or-break test Monday, with hopes of sending astronauts on a lunar fly-around as soon as this coming weekend.

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Perseverance rover completes first AI-planned drive on Mars

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has completed the first drives on another world that were planned by artificial intelligence. Executed on Dec. 8 and 10, and led by the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, the demonstration used generative AI to create waypoints for Perseverance, a complex decision-making task typically performed manually by the mission’s […]