We already know a decent amount about how planets form, but moon formation is another process entirely, and one we’re not as familiar with. Scientists think they understand how the most important Moon in our solar system (our own) formed, but its violent birth is not the norm, and can’t explain larger moon systems like the Galilean moons around Jupiter. A new book chapter (which was also released as a pre-print paper) from Yuhito Shibaike and Yann Alibert from the University of Bern discusses the differing ideas surrounding the formation of large moon systems, especially the Galileans, and how we might someday be able to differentiate them.
Space News & Blog Articles
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SpaceX aims to launch Starship Flight 10 test flight on Aug. 24
SpaceX is targeting Aug. 24 for the 10th Flight Test for its Starship rocket, following delays from a pad accident and May's failed mission.
Blue Origin's 2nd New Glenn rocket launch will fly twin NASA Mars probes to space on Sep. 29
Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket will launch NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission no earlier than (NET) Sep. 29.
NASA wants new spacecraft to fly to hard-to-reach orbits around Earth and in deep space
NASA has awarded $1.4 million to six companies, to further their ideas about how to get vehicles farther into space cheaply and efficiently.
Russia to launch 75 mice, 1,000 fruit flies on Aug. 20 to study spaceflight effects
Russia is readying its Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite for a planned Aug. 20 launch. The mission will send 75 mice and other specimens on a monthlong mission to Earth orbit.
China’s Crewed Lunar Lander Passes Key Test Milestone
China completes the first tethered test of the Lanyue lunar lander.
JPL Is Ready To Test Mars Samples - If They're Ever Returned
Taking a walk is great for inspiration. There have been numerous studies about how people think more clearly on walks, and how new ideas come to them more frequently while doing so. That’s part of the reason some of the most famous minds in history included a daily walk in their schedule. Just such an inspiration must have happened recently to Nicholas Heinz, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. On a hike in Arizona he found a rock that could be used as an analog of a unique one found by the Perseverance rover on Mars - and decided to take it back to his lab to study it.
A Cosmic Noon Puzzle: Why Did Cosmic Noon Galaxies Emit So Many Cosmic Rays?
Answers to some of cosmology's most pressing questions are obscured by simple dust. It concerns the Cosmic Noon, a period of time that began around two billion years after the Big Bang, when nearly all galaxies experienced a burst of growth and rapid star formation. Galaxies formed stars at rates 10 to 100 times higher than today, and they became more massive through mergers with other galaxies. Dark matter haloes grew rapidly during this time as well. Astronomers want to understand how galaxies grow and evolve, and the Cosmic Noon and its high star formation rate (SFR) and rapid growth is a critical stage in galactic evolution.
X-ray telescope finds something unexpected with the 'heartbeat black hole'
Unexpected X-ray polarization challenges long-held ideas about how black holes behave.
Canada's 1st commercial spaceport is officially under construction. When will it open for launches?
Canada's first commercial rocket launch is set for liftoff as early as the end of August as NordSpace begins building its new spaceport on the country's east coast.
No Evidence for Atmosphere on Trappist-1d
New James Webb Space Telescope observations of the third world in the seven-planet TRAPPIST-1 system rule out a variety of atmospheres.
Every original 'Star Trek' character who has appeared in 'Strange New Worlds'
Going boldly where someone has gone before! The "Star Trek" prequel series is overflowing with characters who debuted in the 1960s.
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 172 — Earth on Mars
On Episode 172 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and guest host Rick Jenet are joined by Erika Alden DeBenedictis to discuss how terraforming Mars might work.
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 171 — What's an UNOOSA?
On Episode 171 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and guest host Isaac Arthur are joined by Rick Jenet to discuss the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).
Astronaut trades meditation for starry sky views in orbit | On the International Space Station Aug. 11-15, 2025
The members of Expedition 73-"B" settle in and get busy conducting science research on board the International Space Station.
Whose moon is it anyway? A matching space quiz
In this quiz, you’ll test your cosmic knowledge by matching each moon to the planet it calls home.
Meet 'lite intermediate black holes,' the supermassive black hole's smaller, much more mysterious cousin
There's a gap in black hole masses, and experts believe here is where 'lite intermediate black holes' reside.
James Webb Space Telescope uncovers 300 mysteriously luminous objects. Are they galaxies or something else?
Deep-field images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope revealed 300 unusually energetic early galaxy candidates, offering new insights into how the universe formed and evolved over 13 billion years ago.
This baby star's big explosion fired back: 'Nature is far more complex than humans think'
Astronomers discovered a star-triggered explosion shaping its dusty disk, revealing a far more chaotic and intense environment than previously thought.
Milky Way and zodiacal light glow above telescopes in Chile | Space photo of the day for Aug. 15, 2025
The Milky Way galaxy glows alongside the zodiacal light over the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile.
