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Why we need to get better at predicting space weather

The Sun is the most important source of energy for sustaining life on Earth, but it gives us a lot more than just light and heat. It also gives us solar storms.

Mar 30th, 2021

Interstellar comet is like nothing we've seen before

Interstellar comet 2I/Borisov is more pristine than any other comet observed in the Solar System. The characteristics of the dust surrounding 2I/Borisov are shown to differ from those found in Solar System comets.

Mar 30th, 2021

Early black holes may be the seeds key to galaxies behemoths

A new black hole breaks the record - not for being the smallest or the biggest - but for being right in the middle. The recently discovered 'Goldilocks' black hole is part of a missing link between two populations of black holes: small black holes made from stars and supermassive giants in the nucleus of most galaxies.

Mar 29th, 2021

Stellar eggs near galactic center hatching into baby stars

Astronomers found a number of stellar eggs containing baby stars around the center of the Milky Way. Previous studies had suggested that the environment there is too harsh to form stars. These findings indicate that star formation is more resilient than researchers thought.

Mar 29th, 2021

Robot teams for the moon: a new project for the exploration of lava tubes by cooperating autonomous rovers

Water, protection, stable temperatures: When it comes to finding suitable areas for long-term lunar missions, the lava tubes on the moon are of great interest. In order to investigate their potential for future space exploration, teams of robots are meant to be enabled to enter these caves.

Mar 25th, 2021

Interstellar object 'Oumuamua is likely a piece of a Pluto-like planet

A new study resolves the not-quite-comet-like character of a strange visitor from beyond our solar system.

Mar 24th, 2021

New images reveal magnetic structures near supermassive black hole

A new view of the region closest to the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87) has shown important details of the magnetic fields close to the black hole and hints about how powerful jets of material can originate in that region.

Mar 24th, 2021

Can star clusters accelerate particles faster than supernovas?

The highest-energy cosmic rays come from subatomic interactions within star clusters, not supernovae.

Mar 23rd, 2021

On the trail of the lunar underground's secrets (w/video)

The surface of the moon is well mapped, but the same is not true for its subsurface. In preparation for future lunar missions, the European Space Agency (ESA) was looking for innovative ideas on how caves and lava tubes on the moon could be discovered, studied and measured.

Mar 23rd, 2021

Researchers tackle the spiders from Mars

Researchers have been shedding light on the enigmatic 'spiders from Mars', providing the first physical evidence that these unique features on the planet's surface can be formed by the sublimation of CO2 ice.

Mar 22nd, 2021

Found in space: Complex carbon-based molecules

Discovery may offer clues to carbon's role in planet and star formation.

Mar 19th, 2021

Missing baryons found in far-out reaches of galactic halos

Researchers have channeled the universe's earliest light - a relic of the universe's formation known as the cosmic microwave background (CMB) - to solve a missing-matter mystery and learn new things about galaxy formation.

Mar 17th, 2021

A pocket guide to Mars

A pocket atlas of Mars has been published that uses geographic techniques developed for terrestrial maps to reveal a wealth of information about the surface of the Red Planet, as well as its climate and cloud cover.

Mar 17th, 2021

Could there be life on Jupiter's moons?

Three of Jupiter's four largest moons are icy, and in 1998 NASA's Galileo spacecraft detected tantalising hints of an ocean beneath one, Europa. Since then, further studies have detected signs of water plumes possibly erupting from this ocean.

Mar 16th, 2021

Ancient light illuminates matter that fuels galaxy formation

Using light from the Big Bang, an international team has begun to unveil the material which fuels galaxy formation.

Mar 16th, 2021

Whispers from the dark side: What can gravitational waves reveal about dark matter?

The NANOGrav Collaboration recently captured the first signs of very low-frequency gravitational waves. Physicists analyzed the data and, in particular, considered the possibility of whether this may point towards new physics beyond the Standard Model.

Mar 15th, 2021