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This Weekend’s Geminids Meteor Shower Should Be Spectacular
As far as annual meteor showers are concerned, 2025 has saved the best for last. This year’s Geminids are not to be missed
Space-Based Data Centers Could Power AI with Solar Energy—at a Cost
Space-based computing offers easy access to solar power, but presents its own environmental challenges
The Primordial Black Hole Saga: Part 2 - Not Your Normal Black Holes
At the same time that Vera Rubin was turning cosmology upside down with conclusive evidence for the existence of dark matter, Stephen Hawking was doing…Stephen Hawking things.
Mathematicians Crack a Fractal Conjecture on Chaos
A type of chaos found in everything from prime numbers to turbulence can unify a pair of unrelated ideas, revealing a mysterious, deep connection that disappears without randomness
Breakthrough in Digital Screens Takes Color Resolution to Incredibly Small Scale
These miniature displays can be the size of your pupil, with as many pixels as you have photoreceptors—opening the way to improved virtual reality
NASA Researchers Test Mars Tech In Deserts Throughtout the Country
Engineers can be split into two camps - those who just release whatever they’re building and try to fix whatever might be wrong with it as they get feedback on it, and those who test their product in every possible way before releasing it to the public. Luckily, NASA engineers are in the latter camp - it wouldn’t look great if all of the probes we send throughout the solar system failed because of something we could have easily tested for here at home. However, finding analogues for the places we want to send those probes remains a challenge for some NASA projects, so they make due with the best Earth has to offer. For Mars, that means testing technology in the desert’s rolling sand dune and rocky outcrops, and this year several different NASA technologies were tested in deserts throughout the country, as reported in a press release from the agency.
Galileo pre-launch media briefing
Watch the replay of the media briefing held ahead of the 14th operational launch of the Galileo programme. The briefing covers the mission details for the launch of two Galileo satellites, which are set to lift off on 17 December aboard Ariane 6 from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana.
We’ve finally cracked how to make truly random numbers
We’ve finally cracked how to make truly random numbers
Flaring black hole whips up ultra-fast winds
Leading X-ray space telescopes XMM-Newton and XRISM have spotted an extraordinary blast from a supermassive black hole. In a matter of hours, the gravitational monster whipped up powerful winds, flinging material out into space at eye-watering speeds of 60 000 km per second.
NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim, Crewmates Return from Space Station
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim returned to Earth on Tuesday alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, wrapping up an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station to benefit life on Earth and future space exploration.
They made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 12:03 a.m. EST (10:03 a.m. local time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, after departing the space station at 8:41 p.m. on Dec. 8, aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft.
Over the course of 245 days in space, the crew orbited Earth 3,920 times, traveling nearly 104 million miles. They launched to the space station on April 8. This mission marked the first spaceflight for both Kim and Zubritsky, while Ryzhikov completed his third journey to space, logging a total of 603 days in space.
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim shows off the Matroyshka (stacking) doll he received upon his return to Earth, Dec. 9, 2025. Kim and his crewmates landed safely aboard their Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.NASA
While aboard the orbiting laboratory, Kim contributed to a wide range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. He studied the behavior of bioprinted tissues containing blood vessels in microgravity for an experiment helping advance space-based tissue production to treat patients on Earth. He also evaluated the remote command of multiple robots in space for the Surface Avatar study, which could support the development of robotic assistants for future exploration missions. Additionally, Kim worked on developing in-space manufacturing of DNA-mimicking nanomaterials, which could improve drug delivery technologies and support emerging therapeutics and regenerative medicine.
Following post-landing medical checks, the crew will return to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Kim will then board a NASA aircraft bound for the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
-end-
Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim, Crewmates Return from Space Station
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim returned to Earth on Tuesday alongside Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov and Alexey Zubritsky, wrapping up an eight-month science mission aboard the International Space Station to benefit life on Earth and future space exploration.
They made a safe, parachute-assisted landing at 12:03 a.m. EST (10:03 a.m. local time), southeast of Dzhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, after departing the space station at 8:41 p.m. on Dec. 8, aboard the Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft.
Over the course of 245 days in space, the crew orbited Earth 3,920 times, traveling nearly 104 million miles. They launched to the space station on April 8. This mission marked the first spaceflight for both Kim and Zubritsky, while Ryzhikov completed his third journey to space, logging a total of 603 days in space.
NASA astronaut Jonny Kim shows off the Matroyshka (stacking) doll he received upon his return to Earth, Dec. 9, 2025. Kim and his crewmates landed safely aboard their Soyuz MS-27 spacecraft in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan.NASAWhile aboard the orbiting laboratory, Kim contributed to a wide range of scientific investigations and technology demonstrations. He studied the behavior of bioprinted tissues containing blood vessels in microgravity for an experiment helping advance space-based tissue production to treat patients on Earth. He also evaluated the remote command of multiple robots in space for the Surface Avatar study, which could support the development of robotic assistants for future exploration missions. Additionally, Kim worked on developing in-space manufacturing of DNA-mimicking nanomaterials, which could improve drug delivery technologies and support emerging therapeutics and regenerative medicine.
Following post-landing medical checks, the crew will return to the recovery staging area in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. Kim will then board a NASA aircraft bound for the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
For more than 25 years, people have lived and worked continuously aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and making research breakthroughs that are not possible on Earth. The station is a critical testbed for NASA to understand and overcome the challenges of long-duration spaceflight and to expand commercial opportunities in low Earth orbit. As commercial companies concentrate on providing human space transportation services and destinations as part of a robust low Earth orbit economy, NASA is focusing its resources on deep space missions to the Moon as part of the Artemis campaign in preparation for future human missions to Mars.
Learn more about International Space Station research and operations at:
-end-
Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones / Joseph Zakrzewski
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov / joseph.a.zakrzewski@nasa.gov
2025 is the second-hottest year since records began
2025 is the second-hottest year since records began
2025 Likely to Tie for Second-Hottest Year on Record
Europe’s climate agency said 2025 is likely to be the second or third hottest on record
Direct Images Of Nova Explosions Reveal Their Complexity
Astronomers have captured images of two nova explosions only days after they exploded. The detailed images show that these explosions are more complex than thought. There are multiple outflows and, in some cases, delayed ejection of material.
Applying the Principles of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle to Space
In a new study, sustainability and space scientists discuss how the principles of reducing, reusing, and recycling could be applied to satellites and spacecraft.
Get Ready for the Geminids
It’s December and that means one of the best celestial events will grace the skies. The Geminid meteor shower should peak between Saturday night and Sunday morning, December 13–14.
The post Get Ready for the Geminids appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
It's the JWST's Turn To Look For An Intermediate Mass Black Hole
Astronomers have acquired evidence that Omega Centauri, the largest-known globular cluster in the Milky Way, hosts an intermediate mass black hole (IMBH). These elusive objects should exist, according to theory, but have been difficult to verify. The IMBH in Omega Centauri is considered a candidate black hole, and new research examined the region with the JWST for any conclusive evidence.
The Milky Way's Supermassive Black Hole Isn't As Destructive As Thought.
New research and observations with the VLT's ERIS instrument show that some stars are following predictable orbits near Sagitarrius A-star, the Milky Way's supermassive black hole. This goes against the established idea that the black hole's enormous gravity destroys stars and gas clouds. Even a binary star system in the region seems to go about its business unaffected.