The Harvard College Observatory's glass plates, which record a century of changes in the sky, has now been converted into digital form.
Space News & Blog Articles
Are These Baby Pictures of the Milky Way?
Newly detected stellar aggregations in the Milky Way could be the remnants of protogalaxies from its formation — or just resonances with the galaxy's bar.
April Fool’s on the arXiv, 2024 edition
On this April 1st, astronomers reveal fascinating discoveries inspired by astrology, pasta, Star Wars, and flamingos.
April Podcast: Planets in Transition
April’s evening skies offer plenty of stars to check out. However, aside from Jupiter low in the west, planets are in short supply. Our latest Sky Tour podcast helps you track down Mars, Saturn, and much during April’s pleasant nights.
Pluto TV will rally to make Pluto a planet again on April 1 (it's no joke)
Pluto may have lost its status as a full-fledged planet in 2006, but that doesn't mean it's a joke of a world this April Fools' Day and the folks behind Pluto TV want to make that clear.
Hubble Space Telescope finds bucket of cosmic Easter eggs — 500 blue and red stars
Observations for the ULLYSES program, the Hubble Telescope's largest operation yet, are now completed. Scientists are now diving into some cosmic Easter treats.
'Everything is interrelated.' For the Navajo Nation, the April 8 solar eclipse is a spiritual experience
While many Americans are deciding where to go and how to experience the total solar eclipse on April 8, Navajo (Diné) astronomers explain the vast differences in how their culture views these celestial events.
NASA's mini moon rovers go for a test drive ahead of 2025 private lunar launch (photos)
NASA's CADRE mini rovers have been test driven across the agency's "Mars Yard" and subjected to various other tests to confirm they are ready to launch to the moon.
Life on Enceladus? Europe eyes astrobiology mission to Saturn ocean moon
The future European Space Agency mission could include an orbiting spacecraft as well as a lander, both of which would sample ocean material in Enceladus' plumes.
A Supermassive Black Hole with a Case of the Hiccups
Can binary black holes, two black holes orbiting each other, influence their respective behaviors? This is what a recent study published in Science Advances hopes to address as a team of more than two dozen international researchers led by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) investigated how a smaller black hole orbiting a supermassive black hole could alter the outbursts of the energy being emitted by the latter, essentially giving it “hiccups”. This study holds the potential to help astronomers better understand the behavior of binary black holes while producing new methods in finding more binary black holes throughout the cosmos.
We asked over 50 women space leaders for words of inspiration. Here's what they told us
Current leaders across the space industry share wisdom and advice as we reflect on the achievements of women in space during Women's History month.
Meteorites: Why study them? What can they teach us about finding life beyond Earth?
Universe Today has explored the importance of studying impact craters, planetary surfaces, exoplanets, astrobiology, solar physics, comets, planetary atmospheres, planetary geophysics, and cosmochemistry, and how this myriad of intricately linked scientific disciplines can assist us in better understanding our place in the cosmos and searching for life beyond Earth. Here, we will discuss the incredible research field of meteorites and how they help researchers better understand the history of both our solar system and the cosmos, including the benefits and challenges, finding life beyond Earth, and potential routes for upcoming students who wish to pursue studying meteorites. So, why is it so important to study meteorites?
China's Relay Satellite is in Lunar Orbit
On March 20th, China’s Queqiao-2 (“Magpie Bridge-2”) satellite launched from the Wenchang Space Launch Site LC-2 on the island of Hainan (in southern China) atop a Long March-8 Y3 carrier rocket. This mission is the second in a series of communications relay and radio astronomy satellites designed to support the fourth phase of the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program (Chang’e). On March 24th, after 119 hours in transit, the satellite reached the Moon and began a perilune braking maneuver at a distance of 440 km (~270 mi) from the lunar surface.
Live coverage: SpaceX to launch 23 Starlink satellites onboard Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral
SpaceX’s Starlink V2 Mini satellites inside a payload processing facility at Cape Canaveral. Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX hopes to follow the successful launch of a European television satellite with a pair of its own Starlink missions from both Florida and California. The first Falcon 9 flight is scheduled to depart from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station at pad 40.
The Hubble Aims Its Powerful Ultraviolet Eye at Super-Hot Stars
Some stars are so massive and so energetic that they’re a million times brighter than the Sun. This type of star dominated the early Universe, playing a key role in its development and evolution. The first of its kind are all gone now, but the modern Universe still forms stars of this type.
Live coverage: Eutelsat mission marks first of possible triple Falcon 9 launch day for SpaceX
A Falcon 9 rocket stands ready to launch the Eutelsat 36D mission at Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on March 30, 2024. Image: Spaceflight Now
SpaceX is aiming for an ambitious launch cadence on Saturday evening with potentially three launches on tap in fewer than five hours. The first two Falcon 9 rockets are set to depart from Florida’s Space Coast with the last mission taking off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Dune: What the climate of Arrakis can tell us about the hunt for habitable exoplanets
Dune: What the climate of Arrakis can tell us about the hunt for habitable exoplanets
This Week In Space podcast: Episode 104 — The Artemis Accords, Ecuador, and You
On Episode 104 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with National Space Society chapter leader Robert Aillon about NASA's Artemis Accords.
April 8 total solar eclipse: Why this eclipse repeats itself every 54 years
The total solar eclipse on April 8 is part of a repeating pattern of eclipses that last visited North America in 1970. Here’s why the same eclipse repeats every 54 years.
Spaceflight tripleheader! SpaceX planning 3 launches in 5-hour span today
SpaceX aims to launch three Falcon 9 rockets today (March 30) from both coasts in a roughly five-hour span.
Why are some supermassive black hole jets so short? Astronomers may have cracked the case
New observations provide an intriguing window into what happens when a slumbering black hole awakens to devour a star.