There are many worlds and many systems of Universes existing all at the same time, all of them perishable.

— Anaximander 546 BC

Astronomy

How an 1800s vaccine drive beat smallpox in Denmark in just 7 years

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 6:00am
In the early 1800s, Denmark’s government, medical community, church leaders and school teachers all united to promote the new smallpox vaccine, which led to a remarkably quick elimination of the disease in the capital
Categories: Astronomy

How an 1800s vaccine drive beat smallpox in Denmark in just 7 years

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 6:00am
In the early 1800s, Denmark’s government, medical community, church leaders and school teachers all united to promote the new smallpox vaccine, which led to a remarkably quick elimination of the disease in the capital
Categories: Astronomy

Katharine Burr Blodgett’s legacy comes to light

Scientific American.com - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 6:00am

The Lost Women of Science team uncovers Katharine Burr Blodgett’s overlooked brilliance

Categories: Astronomy

Laurent Jaffart appointed Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity

ESO Top News - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 5:20am

Press Release N° 5–2026

The European Space Agency Council has approved the reassignment of Laurent Jaffart, currently Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications (D/CSC) to the newly created position of Director of Resilience, Navigation and Connectivity Directorate (D/RNC), which will take effect from 1 February 2026.

Categories: Astronomy

New satellite view of Tibet’s tectonic clash

ESO Top News - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 5:00am

A study on tectonic plates that converge on the Tibetan Plateau has shown that Earth’s fault lines are far weaker and the continents are less rigid than scientists previously thought. This finding is based on ground-monitoring satellite data.

Categories: Astronomy

Our verdict on Annie Bot: This novel about a sex robot split opinions

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:22am
Members of the New Scientist Book Club give their take on Sierra Greer's award-winning science-fiction novel Annie Bot, our read for February – and the needle swings wildly from positive to negative
Categories: Astronomy

Our verdict on Annie Bot: This novel about a sex robot split opinions

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:22am
Members of the New Scientist Book Club give their take on Sierra Greer's award-winning science-fiction novel Annie Bot, our read for February – and the needle swings wildly from positive to negative
Categories: Astronomy

Read an extract from Juice by Tim Winton

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:15am
In this extract from the February read for the New Scientist Book Club, we meet the protagonist of Tim Winton’s Juice, driving across a scorched landscape in a future version of Australia
Categories: Astronomy

Read an extract from Juice by Tim Winton

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:15am
In this extract from the February read for the New Scientist Book Club, we meet the protagonist of Tim Winton’s Juice, driving across a scorched landscape in a future version of Australia
Categories: Astronomy

Tim Winton: 'Sometimes I think we use the word dystopia as an opiate'

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:10am
The New Scientist Book Club's February read is Tim Winton's novel Juice, set in a future Australia that is so hot it is almost unliveable. Here, the author lays out his reasons for writing it – and why he doesn't see it as dystopian
Categories: Astronomy

Tim Winton: 'Sometimes I think we use the word dystopia as an opiate'

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:10am
The New Scientist Book Club's February read is Tim Winton's novel Juice, set in a future Australia that is so hot it is almost unliveable. Here, the author lays out his reasons for writing it – and why he doesn't see it as dystopian
Categories: Astronomy

This doctor is on the hunt for people with first-rate faeces

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:00am
Elizabeth Hohmann is very interested in faeces, and spends her days sifting through stools to find those that could make the biggest difference to other people's health
Categories: Astronomy

This doctor is on the hunt for people with first-rate faeces

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:00am
Elizabeth Hohmann is very interested in faeces, and spends her days sifting through stools to find those that could make the biggest difference to other people's health
Categories: Astronomy

Earth from Space: Rudong coast, China

ESO Top News - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 4:00am
Image: The Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission takes us over part of the coastal area of Rudong County on China’s eastern seaboard.
Categories: Astronomy

A Laser Ruler for Sharper Black Hole Images

Universe Today - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 3:34am

Researchers at KAIST have developed a breakthrough technology that could dramatically improve our ability to image black holes and other distant objects. The team created an ultra precise reference signal system using optical frequency comb lasers to synchronise multiple radio telescopes with unprecedented accuracy. This laser based approach solves long standing problems with phase calibration that have plagued traditional electronic methods, particularly at higher observation frequencies.

Categories: Astronomy

Earthset from Orion

APOD - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 12:00am

Earthset from Orion


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Planetary Nebula Abell 7

APOD - Fri, 01/30/2026 - 12:00am

Very faint planetary nebula Abell 7 is about 1,800 light-years distant.


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Venus Might Harbor Massive Subsurface Lava Tunnels

Universe Today - Thu, 01/29/2026 - 11:43pm

It’s 2050 and you’re living on Venus. This might come as a surprise due to the planet’s crushing surface pressures (~92 times of Earth) and searing surface temperatures (~465 degrees Celsius/870 degrees Fahrenheit), which is equivalent to ~900 meters (3,000 feet) underwater and hot enough to melt lead, respectively. But you’re not living on the surface. Instead, you’re safe and sound inside a lava tube habitat scanning data from the latest orbiter images while sipping on some habitat-made espresso.

Categories: Astronomy

A New Theory for What Really Powers a Flare

Universe Today - Thu, 01/29/2026 - 10:29pm

Solar flares are one of the most closely watched processes in solar physics. Partly that’s because they can prove hazardous both to life and equipment around Earth, and in extreme cases even on it. But also, it’s because of how interestingly complex they are. A new paper from Pradeep Chitta of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research and his co-authors, available in the latest edition of Astronomy & Astrophysics, uses data collected by ESA’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft to watch the formation process of a massive solar flare. They discovered the traditional model used to describe how solar flares form isn’t accurate, and they are better thought of as being caused by miniaturized “magnetic avalanches.”

Categories: Astronomy

New Research Reveals the Ingredients for Life Form on Their Own in Space

Universe Today - Thu, 01/29/2026 - 7:01pm

A new study led by researchers from Aarhus University showed that amino acids spontaneously bond in space, producing peptides that are essential to life as we know it. Their findings suggest that the building blocks of life are far more common throughout space than previously thought, with implications for astrobiology and SETI.

Categories: Astronomy