Astronomy

NASA astronaut Don Pettit demonstrates electrostatic forces using charged water droplets and a knitting needle made of Teflon.

A wind farm off the coast of China appeared to boost fish numbers and supported colonies of oysters and barnacles, according to new research

For the first time, astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have spotted a pair of catastrophic collisions in another solar system. They were observing Fomalhaut, a bright star about 25 light-years away, and detected a pair of planetesimal collisions and their light-reflecting dust clouds. The system is young, and the collisions reflect what our Solar System was like when it was young.

Video: 00:05:30

On 17 December 2025, two new Galileo satellites lifted off from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. This was the 14th launch for Europe’s satellite navigation operational satellite programme, reinforcing Europe’s resilience and autonomy. The flight, VA266, was the first launch of Galileo satellites on Europe’s newest heavy-lift launcher Ariane 6. 

The satellites, designated SAT 33 and SAT 34, separated from the launcher after a flight of just under four hours. The launch was declared successful after acquisition of signal and the confirmation that both satellites are healthy with their solar arrays deployed. 

“With these new satellites, we strengthen Europe’s global navigation services - delivering greater precision, reliability and autonomy in space”, affirmed Andrius Kubilius, EU Commissioner for Defence and Space.  

“Galileo stands as the world’s most accurate global navigation satellite system – and today we have increased its reliability and robustness,” said Josef Aschbacher, ESA’s Director General.  

The European Space Agency was responsible for carrying out the Galileo launch with Arianespace on behalf of the European Commission. The Galileo satellites were manufactured by OHB, under contract with ESA. Now in orbit, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) brings the satellites into service and oversees their operation. 

Follow the launch campaign. 

Access the related broadcast quality video material. 

On 14 January 2026, the European Space Agency (ESA) will hold an online post-CM25 industry event for all ESA industrial partners.

ESA Impact 2025 - October-December

Welcome to ESA Impact, your interactive gateway to the most captivating stories and stunning visuals from the European Space Agency, now in a mobile-friendly format.

Ask someone on Earth for the time and they can give you an exact answer, thanks to our planet's intricate timekeeping system, built with atomic clocks, GPS satellites and high-speed telecommunications networks. Ask for the time on Mars and the answer gets much more complicated.

From massive solar panels to the difficulty of staying cool - not to mention high-energy radiation - there are a lot of engineering problems that need to be solved before we can build data centres in space

From massive solar panels to the difficulty of staying cool - not to mention high-energy radiation - there are a lot of engineering problems that need to be solved before we can build data centres in space

Week in images: 15-19 December 2025

Discover our week through the lens

After starting the year with its first known bird flu death, the US expanded its efforts to contain the virus, which enabled it to end its public health emergency response months later

After starting the year with its first known bird flu death, the US expanded its efforts to contain the virus, which enabled it to end its public health emergency response months later

Rapid advances in the kind of problems that quantum computers can tackle suggest that they are closer than ever to becoming useful tools of scientific discovery

Rapid advances in the kind of problems that quantum computers can tackle suggest that they are closer than ever to becoming useful tools of scientific discovery

NASA’s newest space telescope has unveiled a stunning map of the cosmos in infrared

Getting close to things is one way for scientists to collect better data about them. But that's been hard to do for the Sun, since getting close to it typically entails getting burnt to a crisp. Just ask Icarus. But if Icarus had survived his close encounter with the Sun, he might have been able to see massive magnetic “tadpoles” tens of thousands of kilometers wide reconnecting back down to the surface of our star. Or maybe not, because he had human eyes, not the exceptionally sensitive Wide-Field imagers the Parker Solar Probe used to look at the Sun while it made its closest ever pass to our closest star. A new paper in The Astrophysical Journal Letters from Angelos Vourlidas of Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory and his co-authors describes what they say on humanity’s closest brush with the Sun so far.

Hidden Fibonacci numbers, a new shape and the search for a grand unified theory of mathematics are among our choices for most exciting findings of the year

Depending on how you look at it, this catchphrase from a 1980s pop song is decently accurate: you can actually melt the planet if you stop its turning

New laws in the UK, Australia and France were brought in during 2025 with the aim of protecting children from harmful content online, but experts remain divided on whether they will achieve this goal

New laws in the UK, Australia and France were brought in during 2025 with the aim of protecting children from harmful content online, but experts remain divided on whether they will achieve this goal