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CubeSat instrument extends solar storm warnings 10x

The sun is the reason life exists on our small, blue planet. It provides solar radiation that warms the planet and ignites intricate biochemical processes like photosynthesis, producing oxygen for life to breathe. However, ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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. ...

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.

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 ...

More news

Space Exploration
Japan's Hayabusa2 achieves first-ever laser ranging experiment with an asteroid
Astronomy
Rubin observatory peers deep into the famous COSMOS field
Planetary Sciences
Scientists discover a strange new form of ice that could help explain the interiors of Neptune and Uranus
Planetary Sciences
What's carving active gullies on Mars? It's not water
Astronomy
How big can the universe's first starbursts get?
Planetary Sciences
Release of open AI model trained on 17 years of lunar data maps ice, craters and volcanoes
Astronomy
eROSITA's second data release catalog delivering most comprehensive high-energy census of the cosmos to date
Space Exploration
A new surface atlas of Phobos will help MMX mission collect its samples
Astronomy
Continuous video of black hole radio observations challenges shock wave theory
Astronomy
A galaxy with almost no stars? New Cloud-9 observations strengthen the case
Astrobiology
Asteroid Ryugu's dust reveals nitrogen's slow concentration into complex molecules
Planetary Sciences
Mercury is shrinking more than we thought
Planetary Sciences
'Fingerprints' inside the sun could reveal if it once swallowed a planet
Space Exploration
Scientists want to 3D print houses on Mars with the help of yeast
Planetary Sciences
Sun's largest sunspots may have potential to trigger superflares
Planetary Sciences
BepiColombo measures Mercury's particle bombardment up close
Astronomy
Ancient Swedish Goths had surprisingly accurate calendars
Astronomy
A wandering black hole caught feeding on the run
Planetary Sciences
JWST discovers that Chariklo's invisible rings are changing
Astronomy
Helium measurements clarify conditions seconds after the Big Bang

Other news

Molecular & Computational biology
New peanut genome map uncovers hidden gene, boosts dense-planting yields 20%
Earth Sciences
Great Salt Lake's ancient past reveals how quickly fresh water can disappear
Archaeology
Not all roads lead to Rome: Research challenges what we think we know about Roman roads
Plants & Animals
Home advantage or pastures new? High-Arctic shorebirds rarely return to the same breeding area
Cell & Microbiology
Mitotic chromosomes may assemble from pre-existing chromatin 'building blocks' during cell division
Plants & Animals
Wild dogs make the longest recorded journey of any terrestrial mammal in Africa
Environment
Record-breaking levels of plastic found in seabirds, with almost 900 pieces found in one bird alone
Earth Sciences
Greenhouse gas benefits of agricultural irrigation far outweigh emissions costs, study finds
Cell & Microbiology
Biophysical model suggests how cells optimize information gathering without using too much energy
Cell & Microbiology
Heat-stable enzyme from deep-sea microbe turns nitrogen gas into ammonia
Cell & Microbiology
Avoiding a sticky situation: How cells stop messenger RNAs from clumping together
Plants & Animals
For many group-living females, breeding and raising young are shared endeavors
Environment
Satellite data reveal ESG scores track public image more than actual forest loss
Cell & Microbiology
How individual cells 'surf' chemical waves to form a collective
Agriculture
Fertilizer study reveals where the world can boost food production and cut pollution
Social Sciences
Examining Americans' complicated relationship with science
General Physics
Novel particle beam could challenge Einstein's theory of gravity
Cell & Microbiology
Marine bacteria team up to break down one of the ocean's toughest carbon-storing molecules
Biochemistry
Scientists create 'super ice' that is ten times stronger and far harder to shatter
Archaeology
Ancient DNA traces medieval migration from Sweden to Finland

Electyrolyzer experiment designated ready-to-fly by NASA

A Southwest Research Institute and University of Texas at San Antonio experiment has passed a critical NASA review, designating it ready for parabolic flight testing. The two institutions will evaluate the performance of ...