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Astronomy & Space news
Laser altimeter BELA ready to explore Mercury's surface
Launched on Oct. 20, 2018, the joint ESA/JAXA BepiColombo mission has traveled for almost eight years, using a carefully planned but eventful sequence of planetary flybys and solar-electric propulsion to gradually approach ...
Planetary Sciences
20 minutes ago
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A famous galaxy's black hole has been hiding its most violent behavior
Astronomers have found that a nearby galaxy's black hole is blasting out a far more powerful and hidden gas outflow than previously realized. Studying NGC 1068, a well-known galaxy with an actively feeding black hole at its ...
Could the clues to ancient alien civilizations be hiding in moon dust?
Most of our experience with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) has focused on capturing radio signals that alien species have sent out, whether intentionally or unintentionally. That creates a huge "synchronicity" ...
Astrobiology
5 hours ago
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Active black holes reveal star-forming rings and shock waves in nine nearby galaxies
A new study of nine nearby galaxies has shown that actively growing supermassive black holes may contribute to, rather than prevent, star formation in their host galaxies.
Astronomy
19 hours ago
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A new design for a plasma engine fuels on only thin air
Choosing an orbit for a satellite always comes with trade-offs. Very low Earth orbit (VLEO), between 100–450 km (62–280 miles), has distinct advantages. Remote-sensing cameras can take better pictures, communications and ...
Space Exploration
14 hours ago
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Series of reactions reveals how complex carbon chemistry can begin in frigid space
Before there was Earth, there was chemistry. In the unimaginable cold, dark clouds where stars and planets are born, carbon molecules assemble into more complex forms—starting a chemical journey that could eventually deliver ...
Astrobiology
21 hours ago
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How the 2024 solar superstorm drained Earth's radiation belt
In May 2024, Earth experienced its most intense geomagnetic storm since the Halloween storms of 2003. This "superstorm" filled night skies in many parts of the world with colorful aurorae, and it disrupted some infrastructure, ...
Planetary Sciences
23 hours ago
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Dense galaxies are carving out a bubble in the early universe
When JWST's first science results started rolling in, it was a triumph for scientific vision and persistence. For years, the fate of the powerful space telescope was uncertain. It went way over budget, and for 25 years, troubling ...
Astronomy
13 hours ago
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Bizarre galactic radio source remains active for two decades with no detectable X-rays
Astronomers have identified a peculiar radio transient in the Milky Way that has remained active for more than two decades, defying the behavior expected of known classes of galactic radio sources. The paper posted to the ...
Physicists zoom into the birth of cosmic rainstorms with new CERN study
Every second, particles zip through your body at nearly the speed of light. They rain down from a storm high in the sky, where cosmic rays, a powerful type of interstellar matter, constantly strike atoms in Earth's atmosphere. ...
Astronomy
Sep 14, 2026
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No cities on the moon—there isn't enough water, scientists say
The discovery of water in dark craters at the moon's poles has sparked a "moon rush" to establish bases there, followed by villages, cities and heavy industry. How sustainable is this rush?
Space Exploration
Sep 14, 2026
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Gravitational-wave analysis narrows the search for black hole impostors
Black holes are regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. When two black holes orbit each other and merge, they produce gravitational waves (i.e., ripples in spacetime) that ...
Researchers pinpoint key early-universe measurement with record precision
An international team, including researchers from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, has reached a major milestone in "precision cosmology" by measuring the amount of helium created in the universe's first five minutes ...
Astronomy
Sep 13, 2026
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JWST ruled out finding tiny moons around an exoplanet—that's great news
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has opened many wonders of the cosmos to scientists since it began science operations a few years ago. But one thing it hasn't done is find an "exomoon." These still-theoretical moons ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 13, 2026
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Astronomers unmask a supernova impostor
A distant star has captured astronomers' attention over the past decade, teasing them with indications that it will soon explode as a supernova. But new research shows that something else entirely is behind the star's outbursts. ...
Astronomy
Sep 13, 2026
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Masked tectonic structures suggest Mercury contracted 40% more than its visible scars alone indicate
The surface of Mercury is filled with craters, ridges and steep cliffs. Over billions of years, as the planet's interior cooled, the planet also shrank. Just as the skin of a drying fruit wrinkles when what is inside it shrinks, ...
Planetary Sciences
Sep 13, 2026
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Cataract surgery will be needed in space, surgeon predicts
An eye surgeon with a passion for space since childhood predicts that as astronauts start to make journeys to the moon and Mars in the near future, eye surgery in space will eventually become a necessity.
Space Exploration
Sep 13, 2026
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NASA's next great observatory could spot oceans on distant worlds
We've found more than 5,500 exoplanets so far. Dozens of them are in the habitable zones of their parent stars, where, at least in theory, they could host an ocean. But we've never definitively found a liquid ocean on another ...
Space Exploration
Sep 13, 2026
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Why are the stars around our galaxy's black hole missing their companions?
A new study suggests that the young stars orbiting the Milky Way's central black hole may have a surprisingly ordinary origin. But the black hole's influence may be what makes their origin look more exotic than it really ...
Japan's Hayabusa2 achieves first-ever laser ranging experiment with an asteroid
The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft reached another milestone this summer, a first for space agencies. On Sunday, July 5, the probe conducted the first successful laser-ranging experiment ...
Space Exploration
Sep 12, 2026
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More news
What's carving active gullies on Mars? It's not water
A new surface atlas of Phobos will help MMX mission collect its samples
Mercury is shrinking more than we thought
'Fingerprints' inside the sun could reveal if it once swallowed a planet
Scientists want to 3D print houses on Mars with the help of yeast
Sun's largest sunspots may have potential to trigger superflares
BepiColombo measures Mercury's particle bombardment up close
JWST discovers that Chariklo's invisible rings are changing
Other news
Bubbles the food-stealing dolphin finds shortcut to easy meal
Novel particle beam could challenge Einstein's theory of gravity
Robots and AI uncover unexpected pathway in classic 135-year-old chemical reaction
First confirmed Diplodocus outside North America reshapes Late Jurassic migration picture
Parakeets, male or female, love a good fight
What to know about Europe's push to compete in space
As African space race heats up, Senegal pursues homemade satellites
AI models enable cross-species mapping of cell biology
Structural study explains how cells stabilize protective membrane pockets
