We live in a Universe studded with black holes. Countless stellar mass and supermassive ones exist in our galaxy and most others. It’s likely they existed as so-called “primordial” black holes in the earliest epochs of cosmic history. Yet, there seems to be a missing link category: intermediate-mass black holes (IMBH). Astronomers have searched for these rare beasts for years and there’s only one possible observation thanks to gravitational-wave data. So, where are they?
Space News & Blog Articles
Virgin Galactic eyes June 8 for final commercial spaceflight on VSS Unity spaceplane
Virgin Galactic aims to launch its seventh commercial spaceflight mission on June 8 during the final flight of its VSS Unity suborbital spaceplane.
SpaceX launches 22 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 flight from Cape Canaveral
A Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on June 7, 2024. The mission, Starlink 10-1, was the first to send Starlink satellites to this shell of the mega constellation. Image: Spaceflight Now
Update 8:57 p.m. EDT: SpaceX adjusted the T-0 liftoff time.
SpaceX launching 22 Starlink satellites from Florida tonight
SpaceX plans to launch yet another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast tonight (June 7).
Jupiter's raging gas cyclones may actually mirror Earth's oceans. Here's how
Jupiter and Earth's oceans have more in common than you might think.
Weird magnetic fields of Uranus and Neptune may come from strange space chemistry
An exotic molecule stabilized by intense pressure found in the icy depths of Neptune and Uranus could help explain a long-standing mystery.
US military test launches 2 unarmed intercontinental ballistic missiles in 2 days
The United States Air Force and U.S. Space Force conducted two routine test launches of unarmed intercontinental ballistic missiles this week from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
Doctor Who 'Dot and Bubble': Why are space slugs eating influencers in Finetime?
In the fifth episode of "Doctor Who," called"'Dot and Bubble," a city has been invaded by giant, human-eating space slugs, and they seem to have a plan.
Hubble to Transition to New Observing Mode, Will Continue Science
NASA engineers are working to extend operations for the venerable space telescope. Observations are expected to continue by mid-June.
SENER’s SIROM system interconnect testing in ESA’s ORL
Video: 00:01:51
SENER is testing the docking capabilities of the SIROM system by launching the MANTIS floating platform into an equally free-floating REACSA at ESA's Orbital Robotics Laboratory. This free-floating tests simulate the dynamics of rigid body contact and present an opportunity to gather valuable insights into the performance of SIROM in approximately 200 docking scenarios.
South Korea creates new KASA space agency, sets sights on the moon and Mars
South Korea has announced the creation of a new space agency and is aiming to land its own spacecraft on the moon and Mars in the coming decades.
Scientists find slowest spinning 'radio neutron star' — it breaks all the dead-star rules
Taking almost a full hour to rotate rather than fractions of a second, ASKAP J1935+2148 is the slowest spinning radio-blasting neutron star ever seen.
'Sudden, brief, and unexpected:' dearMoon crew laments cancellation of private SpaceX Starship moon mission
Crew members selected for a planned flight around the moon funded by Japanese billionaire Yusaku Maezawa shared public feelings of disappointment after the mission's cancellation.
Massive 'El Gordo' galaxy cluster suggests dark matter smashes into itself
El Gordo is a massive collection of colliding galaxies 7 billion light-years away. Its odd behavior could suggest dark matter interacts with itself.
This Week's Sky at a Glance, June 7 – 16
The waxing Moon reenters the sky as an evening crescent. Pollux and Castor keep it company. The Big Dipper hangs straight down. And can you still catch wintry Capella? The colder your latitude the better your chance.
Artificial gravity for Europe in space
Image: ESA and Vast memorandum signature at ILA
Earth from Space: Grand Bahama Island
Image: Ahead of World Ocean Day, the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over the west of Grand Bahama Island, in the Bahamas.
Astronauts are Practicing Lunar Operations in New Space Suits
Through the Artemis Program, NASA will send astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972. While the challenges remain the same, the equipment has evolved, including the rocket, spacecraft, human landing system (HLS), and space suits. In preparation for Artemis III (planned for September 2026), NASA recently conducted a test where astronauts donned the new space suits developed by Axiom Space and practiced interacting with the hardware that will take them to the Moon.
Thruster glitches and helium leaks can't stop Boeing's Starliner astronaut test flight — but why are they happening?
Boeing's Starliner Crew Flight Test faced down thruster glitches and helium leaks to reach the International Space Station on June 6. Why all the glitches and is NASA worried?