Using the James Webb Space Telescope astronomers have observed a supermassive black hole "killing" its galaxy by starving it of the material needed to birth new stars.
Space News & Blog Articles
Collisions could increase chance of 'God of Destruction' asteroid Apophis hitting Earth
Apophis will come close enough to Earth to be seen with the naked eye in 2029, but a chance encounter with another asteroid could steer 'God of Destruction' space rock destructively close on a future pass.
Earth’s Shadow Nicks the Moon During This Week’s Partial Lunar Eclipse
The Moon just brushes the umbral shadow of the Earth during Tuesday night’s partial lunar eclipse.
'Astroneer' is getting a surprise expansion 8 years after launch (video)
Looking for your next space exploration game? Astroneer is getting its first expansion soon and might be the playful odyssey you're looking for.
This Nikon Z6 II mirrorless camera bundle is now $500 off
We think the Nikon z6 II mirrorless camera is one of the best cameras for astrophotography and now this bundle is $500 off.
Aurora alert: Powerful geomagnetic storm could spark northern lights across US and Europe tonight
Northern lights could be visible over mid-latitudes across the US and Europe tonight, Sept. 16. A geomagnetic storm watch has been issued by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.
China prepares for 1st launch of new Long March 8A rocket
China's new Long March 8A rocket could fly for the first time by the end of the year, helping the country build a number of planned satellite megaconstellation.
Mars has an Amazing Variety of Clouds
Mars has always held a special place in our hearts, likely from hints over the decades of perhaps finding signs of life, albeit fossilised and primitive. It’s been the subject of study from telescopes and space missions alike, most notably ESA’s Mars Express which has been observing the red planet for 20 years. Over the two decades of observation it has studied an amazing variety of atmospheric phenomenon which have now been catalogued in a new ‘Cloud Atlas.’ Many will be familiar to sky watchers on Earth but some are very different.
'Surprising' warmth above Antarctica is earliest observed on record
Temperature fluctuations above Antarctica in winter show the earliest warming of the stratosphere on record.
James Webb Telescope goes 'extreme' and spots baby stars at the edge of the Milky Way (image)
The James Webb Space Telescope has taken things to the extreme, studying the outer edge of our own galaxy, the Milky Way and producing a stunning new image.
Tiny Glass Beads Reveal Signs of Recent Volcanism on the Moon
Glass beads in samples from China’s Chang’e 5 mission show that volcanic eruptions occurred on the Moon within the past 120 million years or so.
Can a Greenhouse with a Robotic Arm Feed the Next Lunar Astronauts?
Continuous human habitation of the Moon is the state aim of many major space-faring nations in the coming decades. Reaching that aim requires many tasks, but one of the most fundamental is feeding those humans. Shipping food consistently from Earth will likely be prohibitively expensive shortly, so DLR, Germany’s space agency, is working on an alternative. This semi-autonomous greenhouse can be used to at least partially feed the astronauts in residence on the Moon. To support that goal, a team of researchers from DLR released a paper about EVE, a robotic arm intended to help automate the operations of the first lunar greenhouse, at the IEEE Aerospace conference in March.
Early Dark Energy Could Resolve Two of the Biggest Mysteries in Cosmology
Of all the mysteries facing astronomers and cosmologists today, the “Hubble Tension” remains persistent! This term refers to the apparent inconsistency of the Universe’s expansion (aka. the Hubble Constant) when local measurements are compared to those of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Astronomers hoped that observations of the earliest galaxies in the Universe by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) would solve this mystery. Unfortunately, Webb confirmed that the previous measurements were correct, so the “tension” endures.
Studying Stars from the Lunar Surface with MoonLITE, Courtesy of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services
Optical interferometry has been a long-proven science method that involves using several separate telescopes to act as one big telescope, thus achieving more accurate data as opposed to each telescope working individually. However, the Earth’s chaotic atmosphere often makes achieving ground-based science difficult, but what if we could do it on the Moon? This is what a recent study presented at the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2024 hopes to address as a team of researchers propose MoonLITE (Lunar InTerferometry Explorer) as part of the NASA Astrophysics Pioneers program. This also comes after this same team of researchers recently proposed the Big Fringe Telescope (BFT), which is a 2.2-kilometer interferometer telescope to be built on the Earth with the goal of observing bright stars.
Could we turn the sun into a gigantic telescope?
Using a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, it might be possible to use the sun as a gigantic telescope to peer deep into space.
SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn astronauts splash down to end historic spacewalk mission
The four Polaris Dawn astronauts splashed down safely off the coast of Florida today (Sept. 15), bringing an end to their historic commercial mission.
Polaris Dawn crew aims for early Sunday splashdown in Gulf of Mexico
Update: Splashdown occurred at 3:37 a.m. EDT (0737 UTC)
SpaceX's private Polaris Dawn astronauts will return to Earth early Sunday. Here's how to watch live online
After five days in space aboard a SpaceX Crew Dragon, the crew of Polaris Dawn will return to Earth early TKday, and you can watch the landing live.
New Video Shows How Tiny Spacecraft Will “Swarm” Proxima Centauri
Earlier this year, NASA selected a rather interesting proposal for Phase I development as part of their NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program. It’s known as Swarming Proxima Centauri, a collaborative effort between Space Initiatives Inc. and the Initiative for Interstellar Studies (i4is) led by Space Initiative’s chief scientist, Marshall Eubanks. The concept was recently selected for Phase I development as part of this year’s NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program.
Astronauts 3D-print first metal part while on ISS
ESA scientists have successfully demonstrated 3D printing of a metal part in space for the first time.
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 128 —Starliner is Back! What Now?
On Episode 128 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk about what's going on with Boeing's Starliner CST-100 spacecraft.