Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Stargazing with computers: What machine learning can teach us about the cosmos

Processing massive amounts of data quickly is a must for scientists in the Dark Energy Science Collaboration. Scientists need to know that the camera is pointing at exactly the right place and taking data correctly each time.

February 21, 2020 Read more

Beyond the brim, Sombrero Galaxy's halo suggests turbulent past

These latest Hubble observations of the Sombrero galaxy indicate only a tiny fraction of older, metal-poor stars in the halo, plus an unexpected abundance of metal-rich stars. Past major galaxy mergers are a possible explanation, though the stately Sombrero shows none of the messy evidence of a recent merger of massive galaxies.

February 21, 2020 Read more

Twisted radio beams in space reveal unique properties of black holes

An international research team that has detected twisted radio beams from the famous black hole in the M87 galaxy. The radiation discovered reveals unique properties of black holes.

February 21, 2020 Read more

How newborn stars prepare for the birth of planets

An international team of astronomers used two of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world to create more than three hundred images of planet-forming disks around very young stars in the Orion Clouds. These images reveal new details about the birthplaces of planets and the earliest stages of star formation.

February 20, 2020 Read more

Scientists develop an autonomous orbital greenhouse

Researchers have developed an orbital greenhouse, an autonomous module, which enables cultivating various plants in space.

February 20, 2020 Read more

Journey to the center of Mars

While NASA's InSight's seismometer has been patiently waiting for the next big marsquake to illuminate its interior and define its crust-mantle-core structure, two scientists have built a new compositional model for Mars.

February 20, 2020 Read more

18-hour year planet on edge of destruction

The 'hot Jupiter' orbits perilously close, to the point that it will be destroyed by the star. This research could shed light on how long a planet can orbit that close to a star before it spirals to its destruction.

February 20, 2020 Read more

How to deflect an asteroid

Engineers devise a decision map to identify the best mission type to deflect an incoming asteroid.

February 20, 2020 Read more

Simple, fuel-efficient rocket engine could enable cheaper, lighter spacecraft

A new type of engine - called a rotating detonation engine - promises to make rockets not only more fuel-efficient but also more lightweight and less complicated to construct. There is just one problem: Right now this engine is too unpredictable to be used in an actual rocket.

February 19, 2020 Read more

Scientists pioneer new way to study exoplanets

Astronomers observed radio waves that carry the distinct signatures of aurorae, caused by the interaction between a star's magnetic field and a planet in orbit around it.

February 18, 2020 Read more

Solar wind samples suggest new physics of massive solar ejections

A new study has helped refine understanding of the amount of hydrogen, helium and other elements present in violent outbursts from the Sun, and other types of solar wind, a stream of ionized atoms ejected from the Sun.

February 17, 2020 Read more

Study reveals details of 'golf ball asteroid'

A tilted orbit may explain the asteroid Pallas' highly cratered surface.

February 11, 2020 Read more

Distant giant planets form differently than 'failed stars'

Astronomers have probed the formation process of giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs by using a combination of direct imaging of these objects and custom software to model their orbits.

February 11, 2020 Read more

Supercharged light pulverises asteroids, study finds

Radiation from dying stars is luminous enough to easily spin up orbiting asteroids to break-up speed.

February 10, 2020 Read more

One small grain of moon dust, one giant leap for lunar studies

Scientists found a new way to analyze the chemistry of the Moon's soil using a single grain of dust. Their technique can help us learn more about conditions on the surface of the Moon and formation of precious resources like water and helium there.

February 8, 2020 Read more

Galaxy formation simulated without dark matter

For the first time, researchers have simulated the formation of galaxies in a universe without dark matter. According to the scientists, their assumptions could solve many mysteries of modern cosmology.

February 7, 2020 Read more

Astronomers discover unusual monster galaxy in the very early universe

An international team of astronomers has found an unusual monster galaxy that existed about 12 billion years ago, when the universe was only 1.8 billion years old. Dubbed XMM-2599, the galaxy formed stars at a high rate and then died. Why it suddenly stopped forming stars is unclear.

February 6, 2020 Read more

Astronomers reveal rare double nucleus in nearby 'Cocoon Galaxy'

The so-called 'Cocoon Galaxy' not only has a unique shape, it has a rare double-nucleus structure, astronomers report in a new paper.

February 6, 2020 Read more