Space News & Blog Articles

Scientists have created a groundbreaking computer simulation that mimics what the Square Kilometre Array Low-frequency (SKA-Low) telescope will see when it searches for signals from the universe's earliest epochs. This simulation represents a major step forward in preparing for one of astronomy's most ambitious goals: directly observing the Cosmic Dawn and Epoch of Reionisation.

The field of exoplanet studies continues to grow by leaps and bounds, with over 5,900 confirmed discoveries to date. Thanks to improved methods, instruments, and next-generation telescopes, the field is transitioning from exoplanet discovery to characterization. This is one of the main science objectives of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and it has not disappointed! Thanks to Webb's advanced optics and sophisticated instruments, scientists can directly image exoplanets and gain new insights into how they form and what their atmospheres are composed of.

Most scientists agree that supernova explosions have affected Earth's climate, though the details are not all clear. They likely cooled the climate several times in the last several thousand years, just as humanity was becoming established around the world. The evidence is in telescopes and tree rings.

For most of us, dust is just something we have to clean up. For astronomers, interstellar dust is a hindrance when they want to study distant objects. However, recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations of a distant galaxy are changing that. This infrared-sensitive observatory is letting them find a way to use dust to understand the evolution of early galaxies. In addition, it uncovered a special property of that galaxy's ice-covered dust, indicating it could be similar to the materials that formed our Solar System.

The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun follows during a year. It's an imaginary line that the planets follow, with some small deviations, around the Sun. Spacecraft find it easier to follow the ecliptic because it's generally more energy efficient. However, the Solar Orbiter isn't on the ecliptic and it's giving us our first up-close looks at the Sun's poles.

When Apollo astronauts first set foot on the lunar surface, they expected to find grey rocks and dust. What they didn't anticipate was discovering something that looked almost magical: tiny, brilliant orange glass beads scattered across the Moon's landscape like microscopic gems. These beads, each smaller than a grain of sand, are actually ancient time capsules from when the Moon was volcanically active billions of years ago. The beads formed some 3.3 to 3.6 billion years ago during volcanic eruptions on the surface of the then, young satellite.