Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Large number of dwarf galaxies discovered in the early universe

A team of astronomers has discovered a large number of dwarf galaxies in the early universe by using the gravitational lensing phenomenon, completing astronomers' census of star-forming galaxies in that epoch.

November 21, 2016 Read more

X-ray pulsars fade as propeller effect sets in

Astrophysicists catch a glimpse of rapidly spinning neutron stars that 'black out'.

November 18, 2016 Read more

Pluto's icy, slushy heart

Data from New Horizons mission suggest a water-ice ocean lies beneath Pluto's heart-shaped basin.

November 17, 2016 Read more

Astronomers discover a nearby 'superearth'

Its short orbital period could help with future studies of biological activity.

November 16, 2016 Read more

Do extremely reddened quasars extinguish star formation?

Astronomers have linked extremely reddened quasars to strong galactic outflowing winds that inhibit star formation in the early universe.

November 15, 2016 Read more

Mystery solved behind birth of Saturn's rings

A team of researchers has presented a new model for the origin of Saturn's rings based on results of computer simulations. The results of the simulations are also applicable to rings of other giant planets and explain the compositional differences between the rings of Saturn and Uranus.

November 15, 2016 Read more

Atomic beltway could solve problems of cosmic gravity

A new theoretical paper suggests that intentionally creating a 'traffic jam' out of a ring of several thousand ultracold atoms could enable precise measurements of motion. If implemented with the right experimental setup, the atoms could provide a measurement of gravity, possibly even at distances as short as 10 micrometers.

November 14, 2016 Read more

Meteorites reveal lasting drought on Mars

The lack of liquid water on the surface of Mars today has been demonstrated by new evidence in the form of meteorites on the Red Planet examined by an international team of planetary scientists.

November 11, 2016 Read more

Supermoon? Meh. It may be closer, but it won't be super duper

NASA, Space.com, Sky and Telescope magazine, observatories everywhere - just about any entity with a stake in the night sky - have been busy telling us how great the full moon will be Nov. 14 because the satellite will be closer to Earth than it's been for almost 70 years. But to the casual observer, the moon will look little different from any other full moon.

November 10, 2016 Read more

A funnel on mars could be a place to look for life

A strangely shaped depression on Mars could be a new place to look for signs of life on the Red Planet, according to a new study. The depression was probably formed by a volcano beneath a glacier and could have been a warm, chemical-rich environment well suited for microbial life.

November 10, 2016 Read more

The Super-Kamiokande detector awaits neutrinos from a supernova

At the Super-Kamiokande detector in Japan, a new computer system has been installed in order to monitor in real time and inform the scientific community of the arrival of these mysterious particles, which can offer crucial information on the collapse of stars and the formation of black holes.

November 10, 2016 Read more

Sculpting solar systems

ESO's SPHERE instrument reveals protoplanetary discs being shaped by newborn planets.

November 9, 2016 Read more

Solved: One of the mysteries of globular clusters

A study shows that the most massive stars in the last stages of their lives are those which contaminate the interstellar medium with new chemical elements, giving rise to successive generations of stars in these 'astronomical fossils'.

November 8, 2016 Read more

The birth of massive stars is accompanied by strong luminosity bursts

'How do massive stars form?' is one of the fundamental questions in modern astrophysics, because these massive stars govern the energy budget of their host galaxies. Using numerical simulations, researchers revealed new components of the formation of massive stars, which were already known from the formation process of low-mass as well as primordial stars.

November 7, 2016 Read more

Detour via gravitational lens makes distant galaxy visible

Never before have astrophysicists measured light of such high energy from a celestial object so far away. Around 7 billion years ago, a huge explosion occurred at the black hole in the center of a galaxy. This was followed by a burst of high-intensity gamma rays. A number of telescopes have succeeded in capturing this light.

November 7, 2016 Read more

New instrument could search for signatures of life on Mars

A sensing technique that the U.S. military currently uses to remotely monitor the air to detect potentially life-threatening chemicals, toxins, and pathogens has inspired a new instrument that could 'sniff' for life on Mars and other targets in the solar system - the Bio-Indicator Lidar Instrument, or BILI.

November 1, 2016 Read more

New model explains the moon's weird orbit

Simulations suggest a dramatic history for the Earth-moon duo.

October 31, 2016 Read more

Mystery solved behind birth of Saturn's rings

A team of researchers have presented a new model for the origin of Saturn's rings based on results of computer simulations. The results of the simulations are also applicable to rings of other giant planets and explain the compositional differences between the rings of Saturn and Uranus.

October 31, 2016 Read more