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Webb pushes boundaries of observable universe closer to Big Bang

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering on its promise to push the boundaries of the observable universe closer to cosmic dawn with the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed 280 million years after the Big Bang.

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From lunar nights to Martian dust storms: Why batteries struggle in space

Space agencies are no longer talking about visiting the moon, they’re planning on living on it.

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Halley’s Comet wrongly named: 11th-century English monk predates British astronomer

The British astronomer and mathematician Edmond Halley was not, after all, the first to understand the cycle of the comet that now bears his name. This is shown by research conducted by, among others, Professor Simon Portegies Zwart. It was the monk Eilmer of Malmesbury who, as early as the 11th century, linked two observations […]

Multiwavelength variability reveals dust structure in quasars

A research team has investigated quasar variability by tracking optical to mid-infrared (MIR) wavelengths of variability information. This multiband joint analysis provides an opportunity to probe the dust structure in the quasar’s central region and holds promise for revealing key properties such as its scale and distribution. It offers crucial observational evidence for refining the […]

Astrophysicists discover largest sulfur-containing molecular compound in space

Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), in collaboration with astrophysicists from the Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA, have identified the largest sulfur-bearing molecule ever found in space: 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thione (C₆H₆S). They made this breakthrough by combining laboratory experiments with astronomical observations. The molecule resides in the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027, about 27,000 light-years […]

NASA head Isaacman tempers Artemis praise with ideas on the program’s future

Even as NASA celebrated the rollout of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis II over the weekend, NASA’s new administrator, Jared Isaacman, made sure to put an asterisk on the program’s future.

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Hubble uncovers the secret of blue straggler stars that defy aging

Some stars appear to defy time itself. Nestled within ancient star clusters, they shine bluer and brighter than their neighbors, looking far younger than their true age. Known as blue straggler stars, these stellar oddities have puzzled astronomers for more than 70 years. Now, new results using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope are finally revealing […]

NASA and families of fallen astronauts mark 40th anniversary of space shuttle Challenger accident

Families of the astronauts lost in the space shuttle Challenger accident gathered back at the launch site Thursday to mark that tragic day 40 years ago.

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Accessing water on Mars: Examining the best technologies for future missions

A new study has examined how future human missions to Mars could access one of the planet’s most vital resources—water. The “Martian aqua: occurrence of water and appraisal of acquisition technologies” paper, published in the Advances in Space Research journal, presents a comparative analysis of potential water acquisition technologies for use on the red planet. […]

Seismometer networks could track space junk as it falls to Earth

Space debris—the thousands of pieces of human-made objects abandoned in Earth’s orbit—pose a risk to humans when they fall to the ground. To locate possible crash sites, a Johns Hopkins University scientist has helped to devise a way to track falling debris using existing networks of earthquake-detecting seismometers.

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Radio telescopes on the moon could let us observe dozens of black hole shadows

We now have direct images of two supermassive black holes: M87* and Sag A*. The fact that we can capture such images is remarkable, but they might be the only black holes we can observe. That is, unless we take radio astronomy to a whole new level.

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Massive black hole mystery unlocked by researchers

It’s one of astronomy’s great mysteries: how did black holes get so big, so massive, so quickly. An answer to this cosmic conundrum has now been provided by researchers at Ireland’s Maynooth University (MU) and reported today in Nature Astronomy.

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Studying massive and mysterious young protostars with Hubble

Baby pictures are some of a family’s most cherished artifacts. The same thing can be said of the Hubble Space Telescope and the infant stars it immortalizes in its scientific portraits. But while we know how babies are conceived and how they form in great detail, the same can’t be said for star formation.

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Legs made for a Mars landing 

To land on the right foot on the Red Planet, European engineers have been dropping a skeleton of the four-legged ExoMars descent module at various speeds and heights on simulated Martian surfaces.

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Astronomers discover a companion cluster to Czernik 38

Astronomers from the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG) in Cairo, Egypt, have investigated a young open cluster known as Czernik 38. As a result, they found a new open cluster, which turns out to be a companion to Czernik 38. The discovery was detailed in a paper published Jan. 14 on the […]