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Mars mission sheds light on habitability of distant planets

How long might a rocky, Mars-like planet be habitable if it were orbiting a red dwarf star? It's a complex question but one that NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution mission can help answer.

Dec 13th, 2017

Heavy metal: How first supernovae altered early star formation

New research bridges scaling gap between astrophysics and cosmology.

Dec 6th, 2017

First light for ESPRESSO -- the next generation planet hunter

This new, third-generation echelle spectrograph is the successor to ESO's hugely successful HARPS instrument at the La Silla Observatory.

Dec 6th, 2017

Two Super-Earths around red dwarf K2-18

Researchers find exciting potential for little-known exoplanet - and discover another planet in the process.

Dec 5th, 2017

Astronomer's map reveals location of mysterious fast-moving gas

Scientists have created the most detailed map ever of clouds of high-velocity gas in the Universe around us.

Dec 4th, 2017

Neutron stars on the brink of collapse

Neutron stars are the densest objects in the Universe; however, their exact characteristics remain unknown. Using simulations based on recent observations, a team of scientists has managed to narrow down the size of these stars.

Dec 4th, 2017

Study sheds light on turbulence in astrophysical plasmas

Theoretical analysis uncovers new mechanisms in plasma turbulence.

Dec 1st, 2017

3D-printing a Hall-effect thruster

Using a 3D-printer for designing and building a fully functioning miniature Hall-effect thruster from scratch.

Dec 1st, 2017

Why is massive star formation quenched in galaxy centers? (w/video)

A new study points to the role of the magnetic field as responsible for decelerating the formation of massive stars in the center of galaxies.

Nov 28th, 2017

Hubble and Gaia team up to measure 3-D stellar motion with record-breaking precision

A team of astronomers used data from both the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESA's Gaia satellite to directly measure the 3D motions of individual stars in a nearby galaxy. The achieved accuracy is better than anything previously measured for a galaxy beyond the Milky Way.

Nov 27th, 2017

You don't need to build a rocket to prove the Earth isn't flat - here's the simple science

Could 2,000 years of belief be wrong? Are we in fact living on a disc rather than a globe? One believer from the Flat Earth Society is determined to find out. 'Mad' Mike Hughes is all set to build his own rocket to see for himself that the Earth is flat.

Nov 27th, 2017

Observations show first interstellar asteroid is like nothing seen before

For the first time ever astronomers have studied an asteroid that has entered the Solar System from interstellar space. It appears to be a dark, reddish, highly-elongated rocky or high-metal-content object.

Nov 20th, 2017

Heavy nitrogen molecules reveal planetary-scale tug-of-war

Nature whispers its stories in a faint molecular language, and scientists can finally tell one of those stories this week, thanks to a one-of-a-kind instrument that allowed them to hear what the atmosphere is saying with rare nitrogen molecules.

Nov 18th, 2017

Interstellar space probes: Where's the brakes?

With a miniaturised space probe capable of being accelerated to a quarter of the speed of light, we could reach Alpha Centauri, our nearest star, in 20 to 50 years. However, without a mechanism to slow it down, the space probe could only collect data from the star and its planets as it zoomed past.

Nov 17th, 2017

Nearby pulsars shed light on the antimatter puzzle

There are too many high-energy positrons in the cosmic rays reaching the Earth. These positrons could be being produced by pulsars in our vicinity. The most recent measurements have practically excluded this possibility, strengthening the competing and much more exotic hypothesis concerning the origin of the excess positrons.