A philosopher argues that now is the time to figure it out, before we make the inevitable discovery of extraterrestrial life.
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Articles on Astronomy
Displaying 541 - 560 of 797 articles
We don’t need to look for Earth-like planets exclusively around Sun-like stars. Tiny, dim TRAPPIST-1 has only 11 percent the diameter of the Sun and is much redder.
Stargazing seems such a quiet, calm activity. But whether our eyes can see or not, those stars out there are in constant flux. Time-domain astronomy studies how cosmic objects change with time.
A burst of neutrinos detected deep under the Antarctic ice may have originated from a distant quasar on the edge of the visible universe.
There are technological ways to hide a planet from intergalactic detection – as well as ways to signal that we’re just sitting here, eager for contact.
Aboriginal people have been using the stars to help remember routes between distant locations, and these routes are still alive in our highway networks today.
Astronomers were looking forward to the first high-res X-ray spectra from space, and all they would tell us about the cosmos. But unknown disaster seems to have befallen the Japanese satellite.
Each fortnight I get the amazing opportunity to speak about my top stories in space on ABC Breakfast News TV but for those of you who hate early mornings I wanted to make sure you got to hear of these…
A new study suggests that mysterious high energy cosmic rays might originate from the supermassive black hole at the centre of our galaxy.
After last summer’s Pluto flyby, the New Horizons spacecraft started sending data back to Earth – at 2 kilobits per second. Here’s some of what scientists have learned so far from that rich, slow cache.
The discovery of carbon in the form of graphite on the surface of Mercury helps explain the mystery of why the tiny planet is so unusually dark.
We will get an ‘extra’ day this year, February 29. Where do these quadrennial liberties with our calendar originate?
The universe looks very different with X-ray vision, revealing some of the most energetic interactions in our galaxy. Japan’s new Hitomi telescope will help us see these wonders.
Without them, June would soon fall in winter.
As the list of known planets beyond our solar system grows, the search for their moons is intensifying. One reason: they might hold the key to finding life elsewhere in the universe.
Many “modern” inventions actually have precedents dating back over 1000 years.
Here’s a LIGO insider’s description of how he got the news of a phenomenon that had first been theorized 100 years ago.
It takes something as stupendous as the merger between two black holes to generate detectable gravitational waves. Here’s how such incredible cosmic objects form.
The search for new objects, including new planets, in our solar system has turned up some interesting finds. There have been a few failures over the years too.
The Murchison Widefield Array sits in remote Western Australia far from noisy civilisation so it can help us understand the universe by tuning into radio waves from the distant cosmos.
Top contributors
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria and Honorary Fellow at University of Melbourne, Museums Victoria Research Institute
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Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University
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University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
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Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Astrophysics, University of Sydney
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Pro Vice-Chancellor Flagship Initiatives, Swinburne University of Technology
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Professor, University of Sydney
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Professor, School of Science, Western Sydney University
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John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University
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Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University
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Lecturer in Astronomy, Nottingham Trent University
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Dean of Science, University of California, Santa Cruz
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Associate professor, The University of Western Australia
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Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology
