It will take 20,000 years for our earliest probes to reach Alpha Centauri
The earliest explorations of the universe beyond our solar system were made by four probes launched in the 1970s -- Pioneer 10 and 11 and Voyager 1 and 2. But where will these early probes end up? And how long will they travel before finding another star? A new study uses data from the Gaia space telescope to find out.
NASA’s Mars 2020 rover will search for evidence of ancient life on red planet
NASA has shown its Mars 2020 rover to journalists for the first time. With construction and testing now completed, the rover will be packed up and shipped to Florida ahead of final testing before launch in 2020. The rover has an ambitious mission: To search for evidence that life once existed on the red planet.
NASA wants to launch a new space telescope to search for a second Earth
With environmental catastrophes befalling Earth and an increasing population, there's an argument that for humanity to survive, we'll need to find a new planet. A proposal from NASA is for a telescope to do just that: The Habitable Exoplanet Observatory would search for a "second Earth" where humanity could relocate.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch breaks record for longest spaceflight
NASA astronaut Christina Koch has just set the record for the longest single spaceflight stay by a woman. Koch has been in space for 289 days, after arriving on the ISS on March 14 this year. She has overtaken the previous record set by Peggy Whitson, a now-retired NASA astronaut.
Is one of the brightest stars in the sky about to go supernova?
In the constellation of Orion sits one of the brightest stars in the sky -- Alpha Orionis, aka Betelgeuse. Astronomers think dramatic events could be stirring in this system, with the star ready to explode in a supernova, following reports that the light from Betelgeuse has faded to around half of its usual magnitude.
Doctors are fighting brain cancer by growing mini-brains
Glioblastoma is one of the most common and aggressive forms of brain cancer, and it is particularly difficult to treat. Now, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania have come up with a new approach to treatment, by growing organoids based on a patient's own tumor to find the most effective treatments.
China launches its largest rocket ever, the Long March-5
China launched its largest-ever rocket this week: The Long March-5 Y3 rocket took off from the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan Province, carrying a Shijian-20 satellite, as reported by China's state news agency Xinhua. Just over half an hour later, the satellite achieved its planned orbit.
Ten years in space: Remembering a decade of achievements in the final frontier
As we approach the end of 2019, we can look back and celebrate a remarkable set of achievements in our understanding and exploration of the universe beyond our planet. Here are ten of the finest achievements in space of the last 10 years.
Astronomical union enlists people from 112 countries to help name exoplanets
With an ever-growing number of exoplanets being discovered, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) recently turned to the public for help with naming them all. The IAU created the NameExoWorlds project to collect suggestions from national campaigns in 112 countries, with more than 780,000 people voting.
See ExoMars rover’s parachutes deploy at 125 mph ahead of its landing on Mars
One challenge of missions to Mars is landing heavy items like rovers safely on the surface. The European Space Agency's upcoming ExoMars mission will need a descent module containing a rover to slow from 13,000 miles per hour as it enters to planet's atmosphere to a gentle landing pace in just six minutes.
Mars has auroras of its own, which could explain why the planet lost its water
Here on Earth, you can see the aurora of the Northern Lights. It turns out that Mars has its own auroras too, called proton auroras, but they give off ultraviolet light. Scientists have been investigating the relationship between these proton auroras and the fact that Mars lost its water over time.
Spitzer Space Telescope uses infrared light to image a stellar playground
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured a beautiful image of the Perseus Molecular Cloud by observing infrared radiation which makes the cloud glow. The cloud is over 500 light-years old and is located relatively nearby to Earth, at around 1000 light-years away.
Boeing successfully landed its troubled Starliner capsule today
The first orbital flight test of Boeing's Starliner has not gone as planned. On Friday morning, the craft was scheduled to launch an uncrewed mission to the ISS, but it entered the wrong orbit and has not made it to the space station. Now, the craft has headed back to Earth and landed early on Sunday morning.
Astronomers spot a cosmic ‘candy cane’ in the center of the Milky Way
It seems that the Milky Way is hanging up its Christmas decorations, as a new image of our galaxy's central zone reveals a structure that looks rather like a candy cane. Data for the image was captured by an instrument called the Goddard-IRAM Superconducting 2-Millimeter Observer, or GISMO.
European Space Agency launches Cheops satellite to investigate exoplanets
This decade has seen an explosion of research into exoplanets -- planets orbiting stars other than our sun. Now, the European Space Agency (ESA) is beginning its own exoplanet mission with the launch of the Characterizing Exoplanet Satellite, aka Cheops, which will look for information about already-discovered planets.
ISS receives new hardware for the coolest experiment in the universe
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station have taken custody of new hardware including an atom interferometer for the Cold Atom Lab, a particle physics experiment that can chill atoms down to almost absolute zero, allowing scientists to see how atoms behave when moving at slow speeds.
NASA wants to bring supersonic flights back with the ultra-quiet X-59 craft
Supersonic flights have been banned in the U.S. since the 1970s due to the noise created by sonic booms. But now NASA is developing a quieter supersonic plane, the X-59, which it hopes will appease regulators and allow faster journeys across the country. The craft has been cleared for final assembly.
Hubble investigates new type of super-puff planet with texture of cotton candy
Our solar system contains three types of planet: Rocky planets, gas giants, and ice giants. We've also found planetary types including lava planets, gas dwarfs, and protoplanets. But observations from Hubble have uncovered a new and most unusual class of planet: A super-puff planet with the density of cotton candy.
Boeing’s first Starliner orbital test flight did not go as planned
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner didn't make it into the correct orbit after its launch early Friday morning, according to NASA. The ship was meant to rendezvous with the International Space Station, but will no longer be able to reach it, NASA said.Â
Astronomers explain what fed hungry supermassive black holes at dawn of universe
When the first stars formed in the Cosmic Dawn, they were swiftly joined by enormous supermassive black holes. But astronomers have long wondered how these black holes were able to form, as they must have fed on huge quantities of dust and gas. Now, they have located a potential food source for these early monsters.
See the most detailed view yet of the center of our galaxy
A beautiful image is the most detailed observation yet of the center of our galaxy, collected by the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope. The image isn't only pretty though. It has also taught astronomers more about the history of star formation in our galaxy.
Stars’ flares can render exoplanets in the habitable zone inhospitable to life
If you've been checking off a list of exoplanets looking for one that's habitable, then a new paper may put a damper on your plans. A letter from an astronomy researcher suggests that exoplanets that lie within the habitable zone of stars may, in fact, be made less habitable due to radiation bursts known as flares.
Galaxies’ spiral arms are formed in sync with their magnetic fields
If you've gazed at pictures of the Milky Way, you might have wondered how our galaxy formed its long, spiral arms. Now, astronomers have gained a clue to this development by looking at another galaxy with spiral arms, NGC 1086, which is located 47 million light-years away in the constellation of Cetus.
European Space Agency will launch a four-armed spacecraft to grab space debris
The European Space Agency (ESA) is launching the first mission to remove a piece of space debris, set for 2025. The ClearSpace-1 mission will collect a piece of the Vespa (Vega Secondary Payload Adapter) second stage which was left by an ESA mission and which weights approximately 100 grams and is the size of a small satellite.
This ancient, dusty galaxy gives clues to the earliest evolution of the universe
Astronomers have observed an ancient, dusty galaxy that forms stars at a tremendous rate. The galaxy is named MAMBO-9, and the light it generates traveled for around 13 billion years to reach Earth. The universe is only 13.8 billion years old, so MAMBO-9 is one of the oldest dusty galaxies yet observed.
SpaceX’s next resupply mission will deliver cannabis into orbit
SpaceX has just sent a cargo ship to the International Space Station (ISS) containing everything from supplies and a floating robot to genetically engineered mice. But for its next shipment to the ISS via Dragon capsule, something even more unusual will be on board: A selection of cannabis plants.
NASA just found a parking spot on an asteroid 170 million miles away
NASA's OSIRIS-REx craft has been exploring asteroid Bennu since last year. But the craft isn't only imaging the asteroid -- it also plans to land on it and collect a sample. Now, after a year of observing the asteroid's surface to find the perfect spot, a landing site has been chosen.
Hubble snaps a picture of interstellar comet Borisov zipping past the sun
In September this year, astronomers spotted an interstellar visitor in our solar system: A comet called Borisov. Astronomers were keen to learn more so they imaged it with the Hubble Space Telescope to see its ice core surrounded by a halo of dust. Now, Hubble has captured the comet once again as it zips past the sun.
Juno spots a new cyclone joining the six storms on the south pole of Jupiter
Last year NASA's Juno spacecraft flew close enough to Jupiter to observe bizarre, geometric storms at its poles. Now, NASA researchers have observed a new cyclone on Jupiter's southern pole, with six windstorms swirling in a hexagonal pattern around a massive central storm.
NASA wants to send an armada of hot air balloons to study Venus
Last month, NASA funded a team of scientists to investigate the possibility of sending a mission to Venus, and now the agency has revealed more about the potential benefits and practicalities of such a mission. One proposal is to use multiple hot air balloons to ride through the Venusian atmosphere.
This giant planet is being evaporated as it orbits its long-dead star
A team of astronomers has seen evidence of the first giant planet orbiting a white dwarf star. Using the Very Large Telescope, the team spotted a planet in orbit around WDJ0914+1914, a white dwarf which is the decayed remnants of a once-bright star. As it fades, it is evaporating the planet in orbit around it.
Russia plans to build telescopes on the moon to protect against asteroids
With recent lunar landing attempts by India and Israel, and a mission to the far side of the moon by China, international interest in our planetary satellite is heating up right now. Now, Russia intends to get in on the action as well, by building an observatory on the moon.
Sony WF-1000X noise-canceling earbuds are still $177 off for Cyber Monday
The last of the Cyber Monday deals is coming to an end. One of the best deals we've spotted still available is on Sony true wireless noise-canceling earbuds which are on sale for less than half price. You can pick up a pair of Sony WF-1000X earbuds at Walmart for just $100, a $177 saving.