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Astronomy & Space news
Interplanetary spacecraft capture a coronal mass ejection component hidden from Earth
During a coronal mass ejection (CME), the sun hurls billions of tons of magnetized plasma into space. These eruptions are among the most powerful events in the solar system, and when they are aimed toward Earth, they can ...
Stellar eruptions in the laboratory: First experimental evidence for their suppression in strong magnetic fields
An international team of astrophysicists and plasma physicists has provided the first experimental evidence that strong magnetic fields surrounding active stars can completely suppress coronal mass ejections. This offers ...
Astronomy
8 hours ago
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Stellar spin may explain why repeated black hole flares grow dimmer
At the center of most galaxies lies a supermassive black hole, with a mass millions to billions of times that of our sun and some of the most extreme gravity in the universe.
Astronomy
8 hours ago
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New solar system models show Earth is no fluke
Over the past three decades, computer models of planetary system formation have gone from fairly crude representations to sophisticated simulations using thousands of different starting points.
Planetary Sciences
11 hours ago
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China is launching a moon mission to find water ice
We've known for nearly two decades that some form of water exists on the moon. What we still don't know is exactly how much accessible water ice lies inside permanently shadowed craters, how deeply it is buried or what form ...
Space Exploration
12 hours ago
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ALMA uncovers sulfur for the first time around a rare class of supergiant star
Astronomers have discovered a chemically rich collection of sulfur-bearing molecules surrounding the rare massive star HD 87643. The observations include the first detection of sulfur monoxide and sulfur dioxide around a ...
Rescue mission is called off for NASA's aging Swift space telescope
The mission to save NASA's sinking Swift Observatory was called off Wednesday, dooming the telescope to a fiery reentry later this year.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
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Global sand dunes map reveals clues to distant worlds, including Mars
A new study from Monash University has delivered the most complete and accurate digital map of Earth's windblown sand dunes to date. The research, published in Nature Communications, answers long-standing questions about ...
Planetary Sciences
Aug 20, 2026
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Japan to launch probe for Mars moons in October: Space agency
Japan's ambitious mission to collect and bring back samples from one of Mars' moons will lift off Oct. 20, the space agency announced Thursday.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
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Interstellar travel IV: Solar, magnetic, & directed-energy sails
Welcome back to our series on interstellar travel! In our first installment, we examined attempts to realize nuclear propulsion and how the technology could be used to reach the nearest star. In our second, we examined how ...
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2026
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What beats seeing eclipses from space? Try the northern and southern lights
Eclipses may be wondrous, but nothing beats seeing the northern and southern lights from space.
Space Exploration
Aug 20, 2026
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Astronomers catch hot birth of galaxy cluster more than 11 billion light-years away
Astronomers have detected an enormous cloud of gas tens of millions of degrees hot surrounding one of the most extreme structures known in the early universe. The study offers one of the clearest views yet of a galaxy cluster ...
Dark Stars may have left gravitational-wave echoes across the universe
A mysterious background of extremely low-frequency gravitational waves detected by networks of pulsars may carry information about events that began more than 13 billion years ago—including the formation of some of the first ...
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2026
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Fastest known Milky Way star offers new test of supermassive black hole's spin
Astronomers have discovered the fastest known star in our galaxy, the Milky Way, orbiting the black hole at its center. The star, named S301, was detected with the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope Interferometer ...
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2026
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Racing to build a radio telescope on the moon
Remember the "Wow!" signal? That high-energy radio signature occurred in 1977, when Earth was much "quieter" in the radio band. If it happened today, it probably wouldn't even move the needle on the background noise of human ...
Astronomy
Aug 19, 2026
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Human-related microbes may survive moon's South Pole
Some of Earth's microbes likely to hitch a ride to space with human explorers could survive in the shaded nooks and crannies of the moon's South Pole region, NASA scientists say.
Astrobiology
Aug 19, 2026
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Interworld Slingshot: Exploring a new way to find resources in space
Before people can mine resources on the moon, asteroids or Mars, they need to answer a few key questions: What is there? How much is there? And where can it be found? A team led by SETI Institute research scientist Pablo ...
Space Exploration
Aug 19, 2026
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VR supports research into spaceflight-related mental health
As humanity gets closer to the possibility of long-term interplanetary travel, psychologists have started raising concerns about astronauts' mental health. Researchers at Texas A&M University conducted research on sailors ...
Space Exploration
Aug 19, 2026
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China successfully recovers rocket stage on land for the first time
China has successfully recaptured the first stage of a rocket on land for the first time, state media reported Wednesday, as the country seeks to advance its space program.
Space Exploration
Aug 19, 2026
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Ruby-forming mineral found by Mars rover hints at violent impacts
So far, most of the minerals found on Mars tell a story of lava poured out by ancient volcanoes, followed by long stretches in which water trickled through and slowly reshaped the rock. However, some rocks scattered across ...
More news
NASA's LRO images Falcon 9 crater on moon, learns new details
A single asteroid impact may explain the appearance of Mars' moon Deimos
Mars attacks: How much dust from the red planet is safe to breathe?
ISS hosts first spacewalk by a Frenchwoman
How ancient trees are warning us about the next enormous solar storm
Japan aims for the moons of Mars
Other news
Laser-cut aluminum foil could replace costly terahertz polarizers
Twenty years and 7,500 fossils reveal what blurs Earth's marine fossil record
Scientists uncover environmental cues behind black bear hibernation
Neptune's tiny moons tell the story of Triton's destructive capture
Exploring the moon will require rovers that can think for themselves
Constipation is common in astronauts—blood tests provide new answers
Lab-grown brain models gain a sense of place
Breaking up of swan families in winter disrupts spring migration
