Space News & Blog Articles

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More than 5000 exoplanets have been discovered to date, but what do they look like? ESA’s dedicated exoplanet missions Cheops, Plato and Ariel are on a quest to find out. Cheops will focus its search on mini-Neptunes, planets with sizes between Earth and Neptune, on short orbits around their stars. Cheops will find out how large these planets are, and may detect whether the planets have clouds. Plato will look at all kinds of exoplanets and determine their sizes and ages. Plato’s instruments are so sensitive it may discover the first Earth-like planet on an Earth-like orbit. Finally, Ariel will look at the atmospheres of exoplanets using the technique of transmission spectroscopy and discover what they are made of. Together these missions will discover what exoplanets and their systems look like and they will also reveal how special our own Solar System is.

When the universe's first stars emerged from the cosmic dark ages, they ballooned to 10,000 times the mass of Earth's sun, new research suggests.

Aurora hunters claim that, to look to the night sky in search of these beautiful displays, the dates around the equinoxes are the best.

A newfound, highly adaptable bacterium shows the kind of diverse life to look for on Europa or Enceladus, astronomers say.

The U.K. Space Agency has decided to continue funding a project by Rolls-Royce to create a small nuclear-powered reactor that could serve as a long-term energy source for lunar bases.

Spacewalks and radiation limits were limiting career opportunities for NASA women astronauts. Janet Kavandi pushed back those barriers but says more work is needed.

The European Space Agency’s exoplanet-investigating spacecraft CHEOPS has had its mission extended until at least 2026.

Pioneering American astronomer Maria Mitchell is the star of a children's book using an ancient language she happened to know: Latin.

The moon meets up with Saturn early on Sunday (March 19) with the two celestial objects in conjunction. The arrangement will be only visible in the early morning pre-dawn hours, so plan accordingly.

Here are some interesting facts about Saturn:

China's Zhurong Mars rover may be stuck, but scientists using data from the mission are still hopeful that the vehicle can reactivate and explore once more.

SpaceX aced its 18th orbital mission of 2023 on Friday (March 17), launching 52 of its Starlink internet satellites and landing a rocket on a ship at sea.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has dazzled us plenty already, but the best is yet to come from the observatory, mission team members say.

The smash Paramount+ spinoff series "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" heads to home video and we've got an exclusive clip to share.

A newly discovered distant mini-Neptune planet may possess its own atmosphere, ocean, or a combination of the two, even if they don't last for long.

The Creality Sonic Pad offers plug-and-play firmware modding for compatible 3D printers, giving you faster prints without compromising quality.

SpaceX's huge Starship vehicle could launch on its first-ever orbital test flight next month, if regulatory approvals come through, Elon Musk said.