Nasa/Swift/Cruz deWilde
Analysis of two major cosmic blasts deepens the mystery of where the universe’s ‘heavy’ elements come from.
A lunar base on the Moon would include solar panels for power generation, and equipment for keeping astronauts alive on the surface.
ESA - P. Carril
The best spots on the Moon for lunar bases are the same spots where scientists want to build telescopes − can these two interests coexist?
NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory detects X-ray emissions from astronomical events.
NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan
2024 marks 25 years since NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory started detecting X-rays from energetic astronomical events.
An illustration of a supermassive black hole.
NASA/JPL
Studying theoretical, fast-spinning black holes is helping physicists understand more about the elusive black holes out in the universe.
WASP-69b closely orbits its sun.
W. M. Keck Observatory/Adam Makarenko
Research on one exoplanet that’s rapidly losing its atmosphere is hinting to scientists why exoplanets tend to look a certain way.
Drawing of sky-goddess Nut, held by Shu, arched over her brother, the earth-god Geb. The rising Sun sails up her legs in the east before setting down her arms in the west.
Chronicle/Alamy Stock Photo
A new study shines light on the link between the Milky Way and the ancient Egyptian sky goddess Nut
The equipment planned to help bring samples back from Mars.
NASA/JPL
It’s not easy to collect rocks on a budget when the rocks are 140 million miles away.
Some of the satellite dishes that make up the MeerKAT.
South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO)
MeerKAT has made remarkable contributions to South African and international science.
ESO/A. Watts et al.
When astronomers focused on the galaxy NGC 4383, they didn’t expect the data to be so spectacular. This is the first detailed map of gas flowing from this galaxy as stars burst within.
Pons–Brooks visible from Utah, March 9 2024.
James Peirce/Flickr
If you look carefully at the night sky, you may spot this fuzzy visitor with the naked eye – but binoculars will help.
Scientists could one day find traces of life on Enceladus, an ocean-covered moon orbiting Saturn.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
Saturn’s moon Enceladus has geysers shooting tiny grains of ice into space. These grains could hold traces of life − but researchers need the right tools to tell.
Wikipedia
When scientists observed planets revolved around the Sun, they posited we were now like other planets. And if other planets were like Earth, then they most likely also had inhabitants.
Gamma-ray bursts, as shown in this illustration, come from powerful astronomical events.
NASA, ESA and M. Kornmesser
Where specialized algorithms fail to classify star-borne pulses, human volunteers with just a little training can step in.
Eye safety is paramount when observing eclipses.
Aaron Bunch / EPA Images
A type of eclipse is crucial for measuring what’s in the atmospheres of planets orbiting distant stars.
Thousands of galaxies, each containing billions of stars, are in this 2022 photo taken by the James Webb Space Telescope.
NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI
Now out in space for more than two years, the James Webb Space Telescope is a stunningly sophisticated instrument.
Artist’s impression of a magnetar.
Carl Knox, OzGrav/Swinburne University of Technology
Astronomers caught the bizarre ‘awakening’ of an incredibly rare magnetic star.
Buradaki / Shutterstock
Textbooks often show Earth’s orbit around the Sun as an almost egg-shaped ellipse. The real story is very different.
Detail from a stone slab showing the Mesopotamian king Barrekub praying.
(Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin/Wikimedia Commons)
To protect their kings, ancient Mesopotamians discovered how to predict eclipses, which were associated with the deaths of rulers. This eventually led to the birth of astronomy.
A composite photograph of the solar eclipse on Dec. 26, 2019 in Liwa, United Arab Emirates.
(Abed Ismail/Unsplash)
Eclipses have long fascinated and intrigued people, and anticipation of the total solar eclipse on April 8 is no exception. The beauty, history, mythology and science of eclipses justify the hype.
Witnessing an eclipse requires taking safety precautions.
(Shutterstock)
A total solar eclipse is a beautiful phenomenon worth seeing, but worth seeing safely.