New Webb data suggests that the hot super-Earth 55 Cancri e has a thick atmosphere, perhaps maintained by the planet's magma ocean.
Space News & Blog Articles
Tune into the SpaceZE News Network to stay updated on industry news from around the world.
ESA’s merchandise shines brightest
ESA won the Best Merchandise award at Space Creator Day 2023, a significant recognition by a community of space enthusiasts. The award highlights ESA’s efforts to promote its activities through innovative and attractive designs that appeal to the public.
SETI scientists begin huge new hunt for intelligent aliens
The search for alien technosignatures has dramatically expanded, thanks to a new experiment called COSMIC.
'Missing link' supernova connects star's death to birth of black hole or neutron star
Astronomers have discovered a "missing link" supernova that directly connects the death of a massive star to the birth of a black hole or a neutron star.
Massive Mars dust storm spotted by China's Tianwen-1 probe (photos)
China's Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter spotted a massive dust storm near Olympus Mons, the biggest mountain in the solar system.
China won't beat US Artemis astronauts to the moon, NASA chief says
After declaring last year that we're in a space race, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson is now unconcerned that China will beat the United States in returning astronauts to the moon.
ESA Director General’s Annual Press Briefing
Video: 01:16:00
Watch the replay of ESA's start-of-the-year press briefing looking ahead to 2024. Director General Josef Aschbacher presents this year's key milestones from ESA HQ in Paris: in 2024, Europe will regain its autonomous access to space, with the inaugural flight of the heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6 from Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. Hear more about Hera, the planetary defence mission which will be launched at the end of 2024 and EarthCARE, ESA’s Earth observation mission studying the role that clouds and aerosols play in reflecting solar radiation. Updates are also provided on how commercial European space companies will compete to deliver supplies to the International Space Station by 2028.
DWARFLAB Dwarf II smart telescope review
The book-sized DWARFLAB Dwarf II is a much more budget-friendly smart telescope than the competition, but does it hold its own against them?
Hubble Shows That a Fast Radio Burst Came From a Giant Group of Galaxies
Way back when the cosmos was only five billion years old, a powerful explosion happened in a group of young galaxies halfway across the Universe. It sent out a blast of radiation from one member of that distant galaxy group.
Chinese Rocket Lofts the Einstein Probe and its “Lobster Eyes”
Any astronomical instrument dubbed “Lobster Eyes” is bound to grab attention. It’s actually unlike scientists to give anything creative names, take the big red coloured storm on Jupiter which resembles a spot…aka the Great Red Spot! Lobster Eyes is the name adtoped by the X-ray telescope that just been launched from China and will scan the sky looking for X-rays coming from high-energy transients.
Impact Craters: Why study them and can they help us find life elsewhere?
When we look at the Moon, either through a pair of binoculars, a telescope, or past footage from the Apollo missions, we see a landscape that’s riddled with what appear to be massive sinkholes. But these “sinkholes” aren’t just on the Moon, as they are evident on nearly every planetary body throughout the solar system, from planets, to other moons, to asteroids. They are called impact craters and can range in size from cities to small countries.
Doomed Peregrine moon lander snaps another selfie as it zooms away from Earth (photo)
Astrobotic's Peregrine moon lander snapped another in-space selfie as it cruised away from Earth, toward a date with lunar destiny that it can no longer keep.
A Giant Star is Fading Away. But First, it Had an Enormous Eruption
About 16,000 light-years away, a massive star experienced an unusual dimming event. This can happen in binary stars when one star passes in front of the other. It can also be due to intrinsic reasons like innate variability. But this star dimmed by as much as one-third, a huge amount.
Another Example of a Fantastic Einstein Ring
The most evocative astronomy images take us across space and time to stars and galaxies billions of light-years away. Nestled at the center of this one, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, is a collection of three galaxies. They’re not all that close together, although they appear to be in this image. What’s fascinating about this image is that it’s a fine example of an Einstein gravitational ring—and its discovery was enabled by members of the public!
UAE to provide airlock for NASA's moon-orbiting Gateway space station
The United Arab Emirates will build an airlock for NASA's moon-orbiting Gateway space station, and will get to send an astronaut to the outpost for the contribution.
Hubble Telescope finds surprising source of brightest fast radio burst ever
The brightest fast radio burst ever observed flashed from a group of ancient galaxies, the Hubble Space Telescope has found, and astronomers are surprised.
SpaceX targeting February for Starship's 3rd flight test
SpaceX's massive, reusable Starship rocket made two test flights in 2023, and company representatives now say the third flight test could come as soon as February 2024.
China's 1st launch of 2024 puts 4 small weather satellites into orbit (video)
A Kuaizhou 1A solid rocket launched four Tianmu-1 weather satellites on Jan. 5, on the first of what will be many Chinese missions in 2024.
The Youngest Planetary Disks Ever Seen
How long does planet formation take? Maybe not as long as we thought, according to new research. Observations with the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) show that planet formation around young stars may begin much earlier than scientists thought.
Watch this self-eating rocket prototype engine consume itself then explode (video)
British researchers have tested a prototype self-eating rocket that could launch tiny satellites cheaply and without leaving any debris behind.
Private Peregrine moon lander failure won't stop NASA's ambitious commercial lunar program
Despite anomalies experienced by the Peregrine lunar lander scientists are looking ahead to upcoming missions under NASA's Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
