Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people

— Carl Sagan

Astronomy

You're Looking at a Newly Forming Planet

Universe Today - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 3:15pm

Astronomers have discovered the site of a newly forming exoplanet, probably with several times the mass of Jupiter. The image was captured by ESO's Very Large Telescope, seeing the young star system 2MASS 1612 in infrared light. The disk extends about 130 astronomical units from the star, but you can see a bright ring followed by a gap at about 50 AU. It's believed there's a new planet forming in that gap, pulling in material from the disk of gas and dust around it.

Categories: Astronomy

Would a Planetary Sunshade Help Cool the Planet? This Mission Could Find Out

Universe Today - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 3:15pm

As worldwide temperatures continue to rise and conventional solutions aren't working fast enough, governments may turn to geoengineering solutions. One idea is to place a giant sunshade somewhat like an umbrella between the Earth and the Sun to block some of the sunlight that reaches our planet. A new mission proposes sending an 81 m² sail to Earth-Sun L1 to measure the effect of blocking a tiny fraction of solar energy.

Categories: Astronomy

Nat Geo documentary 'SALLY,' about the 1st US woman in space, now streaming on Disney+ & Hulu

Space.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 3:00pm
You can now watch the award-winning documentary "SALLY" about the first American woman in space, Sally Ride, on Disney+ and Hulu.
Categories: Astronomy

Scientists Find Universe’s Missing Matter in Intergalactic ‘Cosmic Fog’

Scientific American.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 2:00pm

Researchers have used cosmic explosions called fast radio bursts to illuminate the intergalactic medium

Categories: Astronomy

China's next-gen astronaut capsule for moon missions aces crucial pad-abort test (video)

Space.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 2:00pm
China's human spaceflight agency just conducted a crucial pad abort test for its Mengzhou spacecraft as it continues toward its goal of putting boots on the moon before 2030.
Categories: Astronomy

Training for the Moo(n)

NASA Image of the Day - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 1:42pm
A curious cow watches as NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Kate Rubins perform a simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 14, 2024.
Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Your forgotten memories continue to influence the choices you make

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 1:14pm
We might not think we remember something, but attempting to recall it still fires up activity in our brain linked to memory, which seems to direct our behaviours
Categories: Astronomy

Your forgotten memories continue to influence the choices you make

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 1:14pm
We might not think we remember something, but attempting to recall it still fires up activity in our brain linked to memory, which seems to direct our behaviours
Categories: Astronomy

'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' season five will be the show's final frontier on Paramount+

Space.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 1:00pm
Paramount announced that the show's five-season mission is coming to an end last week with a heartfelt 'thank you' from the showrunners.
Categories: Astronomy

Mysterious radio pulses detected high above Antarctica may be evidence of an exotic new particle, scientists say

Space.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 12:42pm
A mystery signal detected high in the sky above Antarctica defies current models of physics and could represent a new particle, scientists say.
Categories: Astronomy

ESA at Le Bourget 2025 - Day Two Highlights

ESO Top News - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 12:26pm

The beginning of the industrial development of LISA was among the highlights for the European Space Agency on the second day of the International Paris Air Show. 

Categories: Astronomy

The surprisingly big impact the small intestine has on your health

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 12:00pm
The workings of the small intestine have long been a mystery, but now we are discovering the hidden roles this organ plays in appetite, metabolism and the microbiome – and how to look after it better
Categories: Astronomy

The surprisingly big impact the small intestine has on your health

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 12:00pm
The workings of the small intestine have long been a mystery, but now we are discovering the hidden roles this organ plays in appetite, metabolism and the microbiome – and how to look after it better
Categories: Astronomy

Wind and Solar Energy Are Cheaper Than Electricity from Fossil-Fuel Plants

Scientific American.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 12:00pm

Even without subsidies, renewable energy is staying competitive with power from gas and coal

Categories: Astronomy

How do baby planets grow? Study of 30 stellar nurseries sheds new light

Space.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 12:00pm
Astronomers have used the ALMA radio telescope to investigate how planets grow in protoplanetary disks of gas and dust around young stars.
Categories: Astronomy

Watch the stunning Mars and Regulus conjunction today with this free livestream

Space.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 11:00am
Watch the stunning Mars and Regulus conjunction today with this free livestream
Categories: Astronomy

Searching for the past and future of quantum physics on a tiny island

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 10:57am
According to scientific legend, quantum mechanics was born on the island of Helgoland in 1925. A hundred years later, physicists are still debating the true nature of this strange theory - and recently returned to the island to discuss its future
Categories: Astronomy

Searching for the past and future of quantum physics on a tiny island

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 10:57am
According to scientific legend, quantum mechanics was born on the island of Helgoland in 1925. A hundred years later, physicists are still debating the true nature of this strange theory - and recently returned to the island to discuss its future
Categories: Astronomy

Roman Space Telescope will use a century-old idea from Einstein to probe the nature of mysterious dark matter

Space.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 10:00am
Get ready for a new Roman Empire: A NASA space telescope will detect a staggering wealth of intricate gravitational lenses that could help unlock the mysteries of dark matter.
Categories: Astronomy

Google AI Grant to iNaturalist Prompts Community Outcry

Scientific American.com - Tue, 06/17/2025 - 9:30am

The nonprofit iNaturalist announced that it received a $1.5-million grant from Google’s philanthropic arm to develop generative AI tools for species identification. The news didn’t go over well

Categories: Astronomy