Get ready for the transit of Venus

Scientists and amateur astronomers around the world are preparing to observe the rare occurrence of Venus crossing the face of the Sun on 5-6 June, an event that will not be seen again for over a hundred years.

Galactic crash may have triggered solar system formation

The formation of the Sun, the Solar System and the subsequent emergence of life on Earth may be a consequence of a collision between our galaxy, the Milky Way, and a smaller galaxy called Sagittarius, discovered in the 1990s ...

Integral challenges physics beyond Einstein

(PhysOrg.com) -- ESA's Integral gamma-ray observatory has provided results that will dramatically affect the search for physics beyond Einstein. It has shown that any underlying quantum 'graininess' of space must be at much ...

Hibernating for a trip to Mars, the way bears do

Hibernating astronauts could be the best way to save mission costs, reduce the size of spacecraft by a third and keep crew healthy on their way to Mars. An ESA-led investigation suggests that human hibernation goes beyond ...

World-first firing of air-breathing electric thruster

In a world first, an ESA-led team has built and fired an electric thruster to ingest scarce air molecules from the top of the atmosphere for propellant, opening the way to satellites flying in very low orbits for years on ...

Satellites confirm sinking of San Francisco tower

The Sentinel-1 satellites have shown that the Millennium Tower skyscraper in the centre of San Francisco is sinking by a few centimetres a year. Studying the city is helping scientists to improve the monitoring of urban ground ...

High-gravity water waves

What might look like jelly being stirred is actually water subjected to 20 times normal Earth gravity within ESA's Large Diameter Centrifuge—as part of an experiment giving new insight into the behavior of wave turbulence.

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