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Astronomy & Space news
Solar flares and stellar flares hit differently
The sun is not only our closest stellar neighbor, it's also the star we understand the most. As we've observed it over the centuries, we've learned that the sun is not an immortal constant. It goes through active and quiet ...
Astronomy
22 minutes ago
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Galactic globular cluster loses stars through tidal stripping, observations reveal
Using the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT), astronomers have observed a nearby galactic globular cluster known as NGC 6569. Results of the observational campaign, published December 22 on the arXiv preprint server, indicate ...
When stars fail to explode
Many stars die spectacularly when they explode as supernovae. During these violent explosions, they leave behind thick, chaotic clouds of debris shaped like cauliflowers. But supernova remnant Pa 30 looks nothing like that.
Astronomy
Jan 2, 2026
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Astronomers measure both mass and distance of a rogue planet for the first time
While most planets that we are familiar with stick relatively close to their host star in a predictable orbit, some planets seem to have been knocked out of their orbits, floating through space free of any particular gravitational ...
Curiosity sends holiday postcard from Mars
Team members working with NASA's Curiosity Mars rover created this "postcard" by commanding the rover to take images at two times of day on Nov. 18, 2025, spanning periods that occurred on both the 4,722nd and 4,723rd Martian ...
Astronomy
Jan 2, 2026
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The interstellar comet that's spilling its secrets
When 3I/ATLAS swept past the sun in late October 2025, it became only the third confirmed visitor from interstellar space ever detected. Unlike the mysterious 'Oumuamua, which revealed almost nothing about itself during its ...
Planetary Sciences
Jan 2, 2026
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Could TRAPPIST-1's seven worlds host moons?
Forty light-years away, seven Earth-sized planets orbit around a dim red dwarf star in one of the most tightly packed planetary systems ever discovered. The TRAPPIST-1 system has captivated astronomers since 2017, with three ...
Astronomy
Jan 2, 2026
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Space mice come home and start families
Four mice went to space as astronauts. One came back and became a mother. And that simple fact might matter more than you'd think for humanity's future beyond Earth.
Space Exploration
Jan 2, 2026
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Searching for light dark matter by tracking its direction with quantum sensors
Dark matter is an elusive type of matter that does not emit, absorb or reflect light, interacting very weakly with ordinary matter. These characteristics make it impossible to detect using conventional technologies used by ...
Finding runaway stars to help map dark matter in the Milky Way
Hypervelocity stars have, since the 1920s, been an important tool that allows astronomers to study the properties of the Milky Way galaxy, such as its gravitational potential and the distribution of matter. Now astronomers ...
Study unveils the dual nature of a young stellar object
Astronomers from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in India and elsewhere have conducted a long-term photometric and spectroscopic study of a young stellar object known as V1180 Cassiopeiae. ...
Experiment nixes 'sterile' neutrino explanation of previous unexpected measurements
Experimental particle physicists working at the MicroBooNE experiment at Fermilab National Accelerator Laboratory have found evidence against the existence of a "sterile" type of neutrino hypothesized to be responsible for ...
Astronomy
Jan 1, 2026
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Einstein Probe detects an X-ray flare from nearby star
Using the Einstein Probe (EP), astronomers have detected a new X-ray transient event, which turned out to be an X-ray flare from the star PM J23221-0301 located about 150 light years away. The finding was reported in a research ...
Wind-battered Lick Observatory rushes to shield historic telescope after dome damage
Winds exceeding 110 mph that tore across the top of Mount Hamilton early Christmas morning blasted a massive steel protective door off the iconic white dome at Lick Observatory.
Space Exploration
Dec 31, 2025
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Most sensitive radio observations to date find no evidence of technosignature from 3I/ATLAS
Since the interstellar object (ISO) 3I/ATLAS was first discovered on July 1, 2025, it has garnered much attention, including speculation, hopes and fears that it may somehow contain evidence of technologically advanced civilizations ...
ASKAP discovers a spectacular outflow in a nearby galaxy
Using the Australian Square Kilometer Array Pathfinder (ASKAP), an international team of astronomers has discovered a spectacular bipolar outflow from the disk of a nearby galaxy known as ESO 130-G012. The finding was reported ...
NASA's Chandra rings in the new year with the Champagne Cluster
Celebrate the New Year with the "Champagne Cluster," a galaxy cluster seen in this new image from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical telescopes.
Astronomy
Dec 30, 2025
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The year's first meteor shower and supermoon clash in January skies
The year's first supermoon and meteor shower will sync up in January skies, but the light from one may dim the other.
Space Exploration
Dec 30, 2025
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Image: JWST captures colliding spiral galaxies
Mid-infrared observations from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, shown in white, gray, and red, are combined here with X-ray data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, highlighted in blue. Together, these different wavelengths ...
Astronomy
Dec 30, 2025
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The Star of Bethlehem might have actually been a comet described in an ancient Chinese text
Many researchers have spent decades attempting to decode biblical descriptions and link them to verifiable historical events. One such description is that of the Star of Bethlehem—a bright astronomical body that was said ...
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SpaceX defends airspace safety ahead of Florida Starship launch plans
Russia's plans for a space station include 'recycling' its ISS modules
A coral reef's daily pulse reshapes microbes in surrounding waters
Physicists repair flaw of established quantum resource theorem
Sunlight-driven nanoparticles enable cleaner ammonia synthesis at room temperature
Hunting for dark matter axions with a quantum-powered haloscope
