Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Astronomers measure wind speed on a brown dwarf (w/video)

Based on facts known about the giant planets Jupiter and Saturn in our own Solar System, a team of scientists realized that they possibly could measure a brown dwarf's wind speed by combining radio observations from the VLA and infrared observations from Spitzer.

April 10, 2020 Read more

First-ever photo proof of powerful jet emerging from colliding galaxies

Astronomers reported the first definitive detection of a relativistic jet emerging from two colliding galaxies - in essence, the first photographic proof that merging galaxies can produce jets of charged particles that travel at nearly the speed of light.

April 8, 2020 Read more

Doubts about basic assumption for the universe

No matter where we look, the same rules apply everywhere in space: countless calculations of astrophysics are based on this basic principle. A recent study, however, has thrown this principle into question. Should the measured values be confirmed, this would toss many assumptions about the properties of the universe overboard.

April 8, 2020 Read more

Are gamma-ray bursts powered by a star's collapsing magnetic fields?

Groundbreaking research suggests the brightest source of energy in the universe is powered by the collapse of a dying star's magnetic field.

April 7, 2020 Read more

Something is lurking in the heart of quasar 3C 279

Astronomers observed the finest detail ever in the relativistic jet that is believed to originate from the vicinity of a supermassive black hole.

April 7, 2020 Read more

Bacteria in rock deep under sea inspire new search for life on Mars

Newly discovered single-celled creatures living deep beneath the seafloor have given researchers clues about how they might find life on Mars. These bacteria were discovered living in tiny cracks inside volcanic rocks after researchers persisted over a decade of trial and error to find a new way to examine the rocks.

April 3, 2020 Read more

Electron-eating neon causes star to collapse

Neon inside a certain star core can eat so many electrons, it causes the star to collapse into a neutron star and produce a supernova.

March 30, 2020 Read more

Astronaut urine to build moon bases

The modules that the major space agencies plan to erect on the Moon could incorporate an element contributed by the human colonizers themselves: the urea in their pee. Researchers have found that it could be used as a plasticizer in the concrete of the structures.

March 27, 2020 Read more

Paired with super telescopes, model Earths guide hunt for life

Astronomers have created five models representing key points from our planet's evolution, like chemical snapshots through Earth's own geologic epochs. The models will be spectral templates for astronomers to use in the approaching new era of powerful telescopes, and in the hunt for Earth-like planets in distant solar systems.

March 27, 2020 Read more

New technique looks for dark matter traces in dark places

Study knocks down some theories for the origin of a mysterious light signature that has puzzled physicists for years.

March 26, 2020 Read more

Is this what our solar system's 'force field' looks like?

Astrophysicists reveal a new model of our heliosphere that?s shaped somewhere between a croissant and a beach ball.

March 24, 2020 Read more

Solar system acquired current configuration not long after its formation

Model developed by astrophysicists shows chaotic phase that placed objects in current orbits beginning within first 100 million years after formation of giant planets.

March 24, 2020 Read more

Star formation project maps nearby interstellar clouds

Astronomers have captured new, detailed maps of three nearby interstellar gas clouds containing regions of ongoing high-mass star formation. The results of this survey, called the Star Formation Project, will help improve our understanding of the star formation process.

March 23, 2020 Read more

The strange orbits of 'Tatooine' planetary disks (w/video)

Astronomers have found striking orbital geometries in protoplanetary disks around binary stars. While disks orbiting the most compact binary star systems share very nearly the same plane, disks encircling wide binaries have orbital planes that are severely tilted. These systems can teach us about planet formation in complex environments.

March 19, 2020 Read more

Snapping an exoplanet shot

Physicists will develop instruments to directly image exoplanets.

March 19, 2020 Read more

Merger between two stars led to iconic supernova

Simulations suggest that two stars came together to form a blue supergiant, which subsequently exploded.

March 19, 2020 Read more

Astronomers discover the first pulsating remains of a star in an eclipsing double star system

Scientists have discovered a pulsating ancient star in a double star system which will help further our understanding of how stars like the Sun evolve and die.

March 17, 2020 Read more

Astrophysicists wear 3D glasses to watch quasars

Researchers have shown a way to determine the origins and nature of quasar light by its polarization. The new approach is analogous to the way cinema glasses produce a 3D image by feeding each eye with the light of a particular polarization: either horizontal or vertical.

March 13, 2020 Read more