Tiny amounts of water bounce along the surface of the Moon
New data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has shown water on the Moon moves in an intricate cycle, first mixing with lunar soil and then bouncing to a new location or being released into the atmosphere during the relatively warm lunar noon. Once temperatures drop, water returns to the surface.
Hide the cheese: scientists just created supermice that can see in infrared
A team of multidisciplinary scientists has achieved something impressive and frankly a little terrifying: they have used nanotechnology to give mice infrared vision. They injected mice with nanoparticles that gave the creatures infrared vision for up to 10 weeks from just one treatment.
Searching for habitable planets in the Goldilocks Zone of K stars
To find potentially habitable worlds, astronomers search in the "Goldilocks Zone" around stars to find planets where liquid water can exist on the surface. Now a new study has identified types of star called K stars which make especially promising targets to host habitable planets.
The birth of stars creates epic stellar winds which seed new galaxies
In the vast distances between galaxies, space is not empty -- gas and dust collects there and eventually becomes the seed for new stars and galaxies. But where does this matter come from? A study reveals how galactic winds carry material away from sites of star creation and out into intergalactic space.
Is the truth out there? New paper proposes solution to the Fermi paradox
Where are all the aliens? The Fermi paradox asks why, given how vast the universe is, no other civilizations have contacted us here on Earth. A new paper uses computer modelling to show it wouldn't necessarily take all that long for space-faring civilizations to travel across the galaxy.
CERN scientists create antimatter to answer fundamental question of the universe
The Big Bang should have created equal amounts of both matter and antimatter. And yet there is hardly any antimatter in our universe today. Why is that? A new experiment from CERN has been tackling the question by looking at how matter and antimatter could react differently to Earth's gravitational field.
Hubble captures two colliding galaxies merging to form a super-galaxy
Two galaxies are colliding in the distant NGC 6052 in the constellation of Hercules. The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of this pair of galaxies, which were previously believed to be one irregularly shaped galaxy. Eventually the galaxies will merge into one giant new galaxy.
NASA’s Mars InSight lander is facing a rocky road as its drill hits a rock
The InSight lander on Mars has run into trouble this week with its project to drill down into the surface to measure heat from inside the planet. The lander is equipped with a probe that was to dig up to 16 feet down into the surface, but now drilling has been suspended for two weeks.
What does the Milky Weigh? NASA calculates the mass of our galaxy
Astronomers have calculated the approximate mass of the Milky Way. Researchers using the Hubble Telescope and the Gaia satellite have calculated the figure by observing the movement of globular star clusters -- groups of hundreds of thousands of stars which cluster together near the center of the galaxy
SpaceX’s Crew Dragon craft splashes down safely in the Atlantic Ocean
After a week spent hanging out at the International Space Station (ISS), SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft has returned to Earth and landed safely in the ocean off the Florida coast. The craft has now completed its test flight and is ready to start taking astronauts into space.
Beautiful superbubbles may be bombarding the Earth with cosmic rays
Astronomers have identified two superbubbles thousands of light-years across which are made of a lighter gas suspended inside a heavier one. They believe the bubbles were created by an energetic supermassive black hole which gave off bursts of energy, or possibly from the winds generated by young stars.
China’s space station gets the green light in surprise announcement
In a surprise move, the China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) announced that it will be starting the process of building its own space station sooner than expected. It expects to launch a first mission imminently, and aims to have a space station completed by 2022.
Israel’s lunar lander just snapped a selfie on its way to the moon
Israel's Beresheet spacecraft shared an image of itself floating far above the Earth this week. The first privately funded mission to the moon was launched by the Israeli nonprofit SpaceIL at the end of February, marking Israel's first venture to the moon as well. It is set to land at the Sea of Serenity on April 11.
Ninja-like black hole discovered gobbling up a gas cloud 25,000 light-years away
How do you find something you can't see? Japanese astronomers have hunted a hidden black hole by observing the movement of a cloud of gas it is consuming, located 25,000 light-years away from Earth. This is the first intermediate-sized black hole ever found, giving clues to how black holes merge and grow.
See the beautiful first image captured by a new telescope in the Chilean desert
The SPECULOOS project, part of the European Southern Observatory in the Atacama Desert, Chile, is the site of four robotic telescopes named after Jupiter's moons which are used for planet hunting. Now the Ganymede telescope has obtained its first light image, showing the beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 6902.
Ability to twist like magic may make spider silk the robotic muscle of the future
Researchers from MIT have discovered a new property of spider silk that could make it the robotic muscle of the future. The team found that not only are silk fibers very resilient, but they can also twist and contract with great force when exposed to varying levels of humidity.
Drones locate fuzzy friends in Australian koala-spotting mission
Counting koalas is a challenge requiring expert spotters that can give unreliable results. Now researchers have demonstrated drones which can detect heat signatures, use an algorithm to hone in on areas where koalas live, and count the animals even through the foliage of the eucalyptus trees they live in.
Did there used to be liquid water on Mars? New images give clues
Mars may be cold and dry now, but new evidence suggests in the distant past the conditions on the planet were very different. The Mars Express orbiter has captured images of a region of branching valleys and trenches which suggest that liquid water once flowed on the surface.
The Habitable Planet Finder is a new tool to locate Earth-like exoplanets
Astronomers have a new tool to help them find habitable planets in our galaxy: the Habitable Planet Finder (HPF), a high-precision spectrograph. The HPF can be used to detect worlds which have some key qualities, like being a rocky planet orbiting an red dwarf, also known as an M-dwarf.
Readying for Mars mission, rover finds clues to life in the Chilean desert
Ever wondered how the Curiosity rover was designed and trained? With no tech support available, engineers have to plan how a rover will navigate and collect samples. A rover testing out Mars-like environments here on Earth has successful in collecting soil samples in a trial mission to find signs of life.
It can be either death or glory when two galaxies collide
Images collected from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope are shedding light on the conditions that arise when two galaxies collide. Sometimes collisions result in one or both of the galaxies being destroyed, while other collisions result in a peaceful merging of the two. New data suggests why this might be.
Dwarf planet FarFarOut is the most distant object discovered in our solar system
Late last year, a team of astronomers discovered what was then the most distant body observed in our solar system, nicknamed FarOut, while searching for the mysterious hypothesized Planet Nine. Now the same team has discovered an even more distant objected jauntily dubbed FarFarOut.
SpaceX teams with NASA on its first crewed spacecraft trip to the ISS
In a joint project between NASA and SpaceX, the Crew Dragon spacecraft was successfully launched before dawn today. The craft will be traveling to the International Space Station (ISS) with supplies for the ISS crew and a dummy passenger to test the safety of eventually ferrying real passengers.
Planet Nine could be five times the size of the Earth and closer than we thought
For three years, the astronomy community has debated the idea there could be a mysterious ninth planet in our solar system. Now a pair of astronomers have published a pair of papers discussing the data in support of the Planet Nine hypothesis, finding further evidence for the existence of the planet.
French space agency unveils reusable rocket modeled after Falcon 9
The French space agency CNES working with European aerospace company Ariane Group, has unveiled a plan to create an "acceleration platform" called ArianeWords, which will begin with a first-stage rocket that is reusable for multiple launches. The first-stage rocket should make launches cheaper to implement.
NASA lab re-creates the setting for the potential origin of life
New research from NASA has recreated the conditions thought to be where life originated on Earth - deep on the ocean floor 4 billion years ago. The study can provide insight not only into the development of life here, but also where else in the universe life could be found.
New Horizons captures highest-resolution image yet of Ultima Thule
NASA researchers have managed to capture the highest resolution image yet of Ultima Thule, the oldest object ever explored by spacecraft. The new image was taken when the spacecraft was 4,109 miles (6,628 kilometers) from Ultima Thule and a staggering 4.1 billion miles from Earth.
Citizen scientist finds old white dwarf with dust rings, puzzling astronomers
A citizen scientist, astronomy enthusiast Melina Thévenot, working with NASA's Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project has made a remarkable discovery: the oldest known white dwarf star with multiple dust rings. This discovery calls into question conventional wisdom about how white dwarfs form.
NASA’s Juno craft captures beautiful swirling cloud formations on Jupiter
NASA's Juno spacecraft has captured a gorgeous image of Jupiter during its 18th flyby of the planet. It shows dramatic circling cloud formations which swirl around a jet stream known as Jet N6. The image was created by citizen scientist Kevin M. Gill who used data from the craft's JunoCam imager.
Think it’s cold here? Check out the weather report on Mars
Good news if you're planning a trip to Mars -- you can check a daily weather report on the planet. NASA's Insight lander uses a set of sensors called the Auxiliary Payload Subsystem to monitor temperature, wind, and air pressure and sends this information back to Earth to share on NASA's website.
Newly synthesized eight-part DNA could be the stuff aliens are made of
As far as we know, all life on Earth is based on DNA made of four nucleotides - adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine. But a new study has made a dramatic breakthrough in understanding molecular systems by synthesizing an eight-part molecular system which could be an alternative to DNA.
Space tourism company Virgin Galactic sends passenger into space for first time
Though SpaceX is the big name in the field, it's not the only company planning to make tourists trips into space a reality. Virgin Galactic has also been working on a project to take private passengers outside of Earth's atmosphere, and this week it sent its first passenger into sub-space.
Curiosity suffered a boot issue but is now back up and roving
The NASA team has been dealing with a small hiccup in the operations of the Curiosity rover since it went into safe mode last week. Now the problem has been fixed and the rover has booted up over 30 times without any further issues, so the rover can get back underway on its mission to explore Mars.