Space News & Blog Articles

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Astronomers measure 'warp speed' of Milky Way galaxy

The Milky Way is warped, and the alignment of this warp is precessing backwards around the galaxy under the influence of a squashed dark matter halo.

James Webb Space Telescope suggests this exoplanet is our 'best bet' at finding an alien ocean

James Webb Space Telescope data suggests the exoplanet LHS 1140 b is a water world in its star's habitable zone that sports a lovely, temperate ocean.

Watch SpaceX launch Turkey's 1st homegrown communications satellite today

SpaceX will launch Turkey's first domestically produced communications satellite today (July 8), and you can watch the action live.

Hurricane Beryl makes landfall as Category 1 hurricane along eastern Texas (video)

The strongest hurricane to occur this early in the year makes landfall in Matagorda, Texas, as a Category 1 early Monday (July 8) morning.

Live coverage: SpaceX to launch Turkish satellite on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral

The first home-grown communications satellite 6A satellite is encapsulate inside SpaceX Falcon 9 payload fairings ahead of its planned launch on July 8, 2024. Image: SpaceX

Turkey is poised to launch its first home-grown communications satellite aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Turkey’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu called the Türksat 6A geostationary satellite “the symbol of our independence”.

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'Star Trek' legend Jonathan Frakes to direct new series, 'Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime'

Jonathan Frakes will direct a new miniseries adaptation of the "Arthur C. Clarke's Venus Prime" novels.

Extreme 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet stinks like rotten eggs and has raging glass storms

As if deadly rains of glass, temperatures hot enough to melt lead, and sidewise 5,000 mph winds weren't unfriendly enough, the JWST has found a Jupiter-sized exoplanet also stinks of rotten eggs.

Weird physics at the edges of black holes may help resolve lingering 'Hubble trouble'

The expansion of the universe may not be accelerating at the edges of black holes. If this is the case at all event horizons, this may explain "Hubble tension," and the worst prediction in physics.

The Young Professional Satellite - From Theory to Reality (episode 2)

Video: 00:14:53

In the second episode of this docu series, we take a closer look into what it took to build ESA’s Young Professional Satellite (YPSat). YPSat’s mission objectives are to capture the key moments of Ariane 6’s inaugural flight and take in-orbit pictures of Earth and space. To achieve this, the satellite requires the multiple sub-systems to work in harmony and adhere to a pre-defined mission sequence.

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After 14 years in space, NASA's prolific NEOWISE asteroid-hunter is about to shut down

A NASA asteroid-hunting mission is coming to a close, paving the way for the next generation of planetary defense efforts.

Highlights from ESA’s first open day in the UK

Video: 00:02:54

On Saturday 29 June, thousands of visitors made their way to ESA’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications (ECSAT), as part of the very first ESA open day to be held in the UK. 

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Mapping the Milky Way’s Dark Matter Halo

Anytime astronomers talk of mapping the Milky Way I am always reminded how tricky the study of the Universe can be. After all, we live inside the Milky Way and working out what it looks like or mapping it from the inside is not the easiest of missions. It’s one thing to map the visible matter but mapping the dark matter is even harder. Challenges aside, a team of astronomers think they have managed to map the dark matter halo surrounding our Galaxy using Cepheid Variable stars and data from Gaia. 

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'This is how we get to Mach 3:' Virgin Galactic's Jameel Janjua on his long journey to space (exclusive)

Jameel Janjua made it 'to the bitter end' in a Canadian astronaut government selection in 2009, but wasn't chosen. He found a different path to space, however: Virgin Galactic.

The Fiery Heart of Antares

A long-ago incident forged a connection with Antares, the topaz-colored star at the heart of the Scorpion.

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Ammonites Were Doing Fine Until the Asteroid Hit

I must confess, I think asteroids and I think of movies like Deep Impact or Armageddon! Scientists think that an asteroid like the ones that appeared in the Hollywood blockbusters struck Mexico 66 million years ago and led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. It now seems they may not have been the only ones that were wiped from our planet. Ammonites are marine mollusks that flourished for 350 million years but they were wiped out too. Some research suggests they were struggling in North America but thriving in other parts of the world. 

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A Handy Attachment Could Make Lunar Construction a Breeze

Moving large amounts of regolith is a requirement for any long-term mission to the Moon or Mars. But so far, humanity has only sent systems capable of moving small amounts of soil at a time – primarily for sample collection. Sending a large, dedicated excavator to perform such work might be cost-prohibitive due to its weight, so why not send a bulldozer attachment to a mobility unit already planned for use on the surface? That was the thought process of an interdisciplinary team of engineers from NASA and the Colorado School of Mines. They came up with the Lunar Attachment Node for Construction and Excavation – or LANCE.

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Europe's new Ariane 6 rocket launching for 1st time ever this week

Europe's new heavy-lift Ariane 6 rocket is set to make its long-delayed debut on Tuesday (July 9).

European Space Agency makes final preparations for inaugural Ariane 6 launch

The Ariane 6 rocket stands at the launch pad at the Europe Spaceport in French Guiana following the removal of the mobile launch gantry. Image: M. Pédoussaut/ESA

To quote the title track of Swedish rock band Europe’s third album, “It’s the final countdown” for the long awaited Ariane 6 to finally take flight. After running years behind schedule, the European Space Agency (ESA) and Arianespace are less than a week from the planned debut.

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Space radiation can damage satellites − my team discovered that a next-generation material could self-heal when exposed to cosmic rays

The space environment is harsh and full of extreme radiation. Scientists designing spacecraft and satellites need materials that can withstand these conditions.

Astrophotographer captures stunningly detailed photos of our 'fuzzy' sun

Check out these three incredible solar images taken by astrophotographer Mark Johnston from his backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Jumping on an asteroid: How VR is being used to visit worlds we can never reach

At the 2024 Astronomical Society of Australia's Annual Scientific Meeting, I got to walk on an asteroid in virtual reality. Here's what I found in Ryugu World.


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