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Astronomy & Space news
Computer scientist tracks satellites with automated observatory built from off-the-shelf technology
Allen Schnibben's interest in space started when he was a child. "I picked up some books about the solar system when I was in elementary school. In middle school, I got a telescope and I started observing the night sky as ...
Astronomy
23 minutes ago
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A gamma-ray burst's engine stayed active for nearly a month, breaking the previous record
Astronomers have observed the longest-lasting central engine activity ever recorded from a gamma-ray burst. The burst occurred at a redshift of 0.8577, and the activity lasted about 27 days in the burst's own rest frame—around ...
Simulated moon soil and recyclable thermoplastics could help build future space infrastructure
Transporting material from Earth to the moon is an expensive proposition: By some estimates, moving a single kilogram (2.2 pounds) can cost more than $1 million. Any plan to build a permanent human habitat up there will depend ...
Space Exploration
2 hours ago
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Webb captures commotion from nebula's stellar jets
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has unveiled numerous stars formerly hidden by clouds of dust in a stellar nursery known as NGC 7129—a cauldron of cosmic creation, 3,300 light-years from Earth. Webb captured infrared ...
Astronomy
7 hours ago
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Where are the best places for life in the cosmos? A universe in a supercomputer yields an answer
Earth seems like a troubled place right now, but at least our cosmic surroundings appear peaceful. This is not universally true, as explosions, collisions and other dangers lurk in other places and times.
Astronomy
10 hours ago
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Stem cells survive unexpectedly rough space travel
In early 2024, laboratory-grown neurospheres (i.e. clusters of neural stem cells) were sent to the International Space Station (ISS) to be exposed to microgravity. The return trip was delayed several times due to bad weather ...
Space Exploration
8 hours ago
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NASA's Curiosity rover catches stunning Martian dawn
A newly released panorama captured by NASA's Curiosity rover offers the most detailed view yet of distant, wind-carved Martian cliffs, highlighting features the mission's scientists have long been waiting to see up close. ...
Planetary Sciences
4 hours ago
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Unusual stars may not owe their origins to hypernovae after all
Evidence for hypernovae, theorized to be the most powerful explosions in the universe, has been disputed in two papers by University College London (UCL) researchers.
Astronomy
8 hours ago
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Striking new images of unique supernova remnant reveal pearl-like chains
The only known supernova remnant of its kind in the Milky Way has an unexpectedly intricate structure: chains of gas knots resembling pearls on a string, each wide enough to fit the solar system multiple times. Using the ...
Astronomy
8 hours ago
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To keep GPS constellations from drifting, look to the moon
Global positioning systems are a key feature in everyday life for much of the world's population. Whether it's ensuring a ship delivers its goods safely or helping you avoid a road closure on your commute home, GPS can help.
Space Exploration
10 hours ago
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Neutrons, rotating black holes, and a galactic PeVatron at the center of the Milky Way
Galactic black holes are cosmic mitochondria, powerhouses of the universe. Most of the energy these supermassive black holes produce comes from the material surrounding them: superheated plasma in their accretion disks interacting ...
Astronomy
23 hours ago
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Tiny ancient black holes may live in a five-dimensional world
Primordial black holes (PBHs) don't exist as far as we know. But if they did, these hypothetical objects would have formed in the early universe rather than from dying stars, and they may even make up dark matter. That's ...
Astronomers catch a star slowly snacking on a brown dwarf, 300 light years away
Like Earth, most planetary bodies circle their star in stable, detached orbits. These companionable systems can suddenly change when a planet comes too close to its star. In such a close encounter, a star can pull the planet ...
Astronomy
Oct 5, 2026
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Quantum interactions may have locked early universe's fields into existing energy states
The universe may be trapped in its own comfort zone, and a researcher in the College of Engineering and Computer Science has helped explain why it cannot seem to leave. A new study suggests the universe could be locked into ...
Astronomy
Oct 5, 2026
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The phoenix planet: Astronomers find a world reborn from its star's ashes
Astronomers have discovered the first example of a second-generation planet orbiting a white dwarf, a world that appears to have formed from the remains of the dead star it now orbits.
Astronomy
Oct 5, 2026
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Electrical technique could help identify signs of life in space
The truth is out there—but identifying signs of life in space involves an intense search for biosignatures within our solar system and beyond. However, developing sensitive yet compact technologies capable of detection has ...
Astrobiology
Oct 5, 2026
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Space radiation sparks: A biological cascade of cancer
Deep space travel comes with a huge potential downside—radiation exposure that can kill an astronaut either quickly or slowly over time if not managed correctly. But what exactly does that mean, and is there any way to handle ...
Astronomy
Oct 5, 2026
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X-rays and AI reveal how spacecraft heat shields burn in real time
Heat shields are one of the most important parts of any spacecraft that intends to enter an atmosphere. And the material they are made of is critical. Improving them has been a challenge, though, as researchers typically ...
Astronomy
Oct 5, 2026
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Gamma-ray search sets new limits on dark matter annihilation in the inner Milky Way
Dark matter could be a type of matter in the universe that does not emit, absorb or reflect detectable light and appears to interact very weakly with regular matter. Although physicists have observed gravitational effects ...
Hidden X-ray phase revealed in likely neutron star merger
An international team of astronomers, including researchers from the Department of Physics and the Hong Kong Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (HKIAA) at The University of Hong Kong (HKU), has discovered a previously ...
Astronomy
Oct 4, 2026
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More news
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Webb provides crash course on planet-shattering collisions
Earth and Mars: Built from different cosmic recipes
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Starship's first orbital flight put its heat shield to the test
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SpaceX's Starship rocket does its job during first orbital flight
