Space telescopes as a research area encompass the scientific and technical study, design, deployment, and utilization of astronomical observatories operating above Earth’s atmosphere to access wide spectral ranges (e.g., ultraviolet, X-ray, gamma-ray, infrared) and achieve high-precision photometry, spectroscopy, and imaging. The field addresses orbital dynamics, thermal and structural stability, detector and optics optimization, contamination control, and data calibration pipelines. Research includes mission architecture, survey strategies, multi-messenger and time-domain coordination, and methodologies for extracting cosmological, stellar, and planetary parameters from space-based observations, as well as technology development for next-generation observatories and constellations.
Using various ground-based and space telescopes, an international team of astronomers has observed a highly variable young star known as DR Tauri. Results of the observational campaign, published May 12 on the arXiv preprint ...
When the JWST came to life and began observations, one of its first jobs was to gaze back in time at the early universe. The Assembly of Galaxies is one of the space telescope's four main science themes, and when it observed ...
Astronomy
May 19, 2025
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Multiple space agencies will send missions to the moon this decade and the next, with plans to establish infrastructure that will allow for many returns. This includes NASA's Lunar Gateway and Artemis Base Camp, the Chinese-Roscosmos ...
Astronomy
May 19, 2025
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Astronomers have employed NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Very Large Telescope (VLT) to conduct a detailed study of a chemically peculiar star known as HD 72968. Results of the study, published ...
Exoplanets—planets that orbit stars beyond our solar system—have transformed our understanding of the universe. Since the first confirmed discovery in the 1990s, more than 5,000 have been identified, ranging from scorching ...
Planetary Sciences
May 16, 2025
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Using the Spektr-RG (SRG) space observatory, astronomers from the Russian Academy of Sciences have investigated dozens of X-ray sources in all-sky surveys, which resulted in the detection of 11 new active galactic nuclei. ...
The spiral galaxy NGC 3596 is on display in this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image that incorporates six different wavelengths of light. NGC 3596 is situated 90 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, ...
Astronomy
May 12, 2025
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The 2026 NASA budget proposal would slash around US$6 billion (£4.4 billion) in funding. This is a huge reduction, amounting to around 25% of recent NASA budgets. The savings would mainly come from NASA science programs, ...
Space Exploration
May 12, 2025
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NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) utilizes mid-infrared spectroscopy to precisely analyze molecular components such as water vapor and sulfur dioxide in exoplanet atmospheres. The key to this analysis, where each molecule ...
Optics & Photonics
May 9, 2025
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87
Over the past decade or so, astronomers have speculated about the characteristics of rogue planets in the Milky Way galaxy. These "free-floating" worlds don't orbit stars, but instead roam the spaceways. They're hard to spot ...
Planetary Sciences
May 9, 2025
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