"Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools."
--1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard's revolutionary rocket work.

"Correction: It is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum. The 'Times' regrets the error."
NY Times, July 1969.

— New York Times

Feed aggregator

US public health system is flying blind after major cuts

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 2:12pm
The Trump administration has laid off government workers integral to major public health surveys, meaning the country will lack crucial information on births, deaths and illnesses nationwide
Categories: Astronomy

US public health system is flying blind after major cuts

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 2:12pm
The Trump administration has laid off government workers integral to major public health surveys, meaning the country will lack crucial information on births, deaths and illnesses nationwide
Categories: Astronomy

Hurricane Melissa Images and Videos Show the Horrifying Power of Third Strongest Atlantic Storm Ever

Scientific American.com - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 1:45pm

These images of Hurricane Melissa show the Category 5 storm in all its power

Categories: Astronomy

Mapping the Universe's Largest Objects

Universe Today - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 1:26pm

A team of scientists has released a new survey mapping massive galaxy clusters, some of the largest structures in the universe, to test whether our fundamental understanding of the laws of the universe need revision. The analysis, using six years of Dark Energy Survey data, addresses an ongoing debate about whether the universe has more structure than our best models predict, ultimately reinforcing that our current rules remain accurate while demonstrating that galaxy clusters provide a powerful independent method for probing the universe's deepest mysteries.

Categories: Astronomy

The Hidden Gas That Builds Stars

Universe Today - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 1:15pm

Astronomers have created the first large scale map of dark molecular gas in the Milky Way, revealing vast networks of invisible star forming material that have so far have remained undetected. Using the Green Bank Radio Telescope to observe faint signals from carbon, the research team has finally started to uncover one of astronomy's biggest mysteries. Their discovery uncovers turbulent flows of gas moving faster than expected and show how raw galactic matter transforms into the molecular clouds where stars are born.

Categories: Astronomy

Building Homes Beyond Earth

Universe Today - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 1:06pm

A new study has reviewed how space habitat designs have evolved from inflatable bubbles to 3D-printed structures built from Martian dust. The research traces how engineers have wrestled with extreme temperatures, the bombardment of radiation, and the challenge of building on worlds without breathable air, transforming each obstacle into solved problems with innovative ideas and designs that could soon house the first permanent residents of the Moon and Mars.

Categories: Astronomy

Al Nagler (1935–2025)

Sky & Telescope Magazine - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 1:01pm

Albert H. Nagler, a pioneer of telescope optics, passed away at the office of his company Tele Vue Optics on Monday, October 27th. He was 90 years old.

The post Al Nagler (1935–2025) appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Categories: Astronomy

Spying Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Near Perihelion

Universe Today - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 12:30pm

Everyone’s favorite interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS isn’t really hiding near perihelion this week, as amateur astronomers reveal. Don’t believe the breathless ballyhoo that you’re currently reading around the web about interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS. In a clockwork Universe, comets are the big wildcard, and interstellar comets doubly so. This particular comet is scientifically interesting enough in its own right, no alien interlopers needed.

Categories: Astronomy

The Science of How Hurricane Melissa Became So Extreme

Scientific American.com - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 12:19pm

A nearly perfect alignment of factors has enabled Hurricane Melissa to become one of the most intense Atlantic storms ever recorded

Categories: Astronomy

Fifty Years of Dark Matter

Universe Today - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 11:58am

In the 1970’s Vera Rubin didn’t set out to upend modern cosmology.

Categories: Astronomy

How a surge in ancient plagues 5000 years ago shaped humanity

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 11:00am
Plague, leprosy, smallpox and other diseases didn't jump from animals to humans when we thought. Ancient DNA is revealing where they come from and how they changed history
Categories: Astronomy

How a surge in ancient plagues 5000 years ago shaped humanity

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 11:00am
Plague, leprosy, smallpox and other diseases didn't jump from animals to humans when we thought. Ancient DNA is revealing where they come from and how they changed history
Categories: Astronomy

Europe turns to space to boost resilience

ESO Top News - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 10:25am

The role of space for security was presented at a high-level event in Brussels on Tuesday.

Categories: Astronomy

Why Hurricane Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 10:06am
The monster hurricane pummelling Jamaica is powered by abnormal sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean, which were made at least 500 times more likely by global warming
Categories: Astronomy

Why Hurricane Melissa is one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 10:06am
The monster hurricane pummelling Jamaica is powered by abnormal sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean, which were made at least 500 times more likely by global warming
Categories: Astronomy

Hurricane Melissa is being fuelled by exceptional ocean heat

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 10:06am
The monster hurricane pummelling Jamaica is powered by abnormal sea surface temperatures in the Caribbean, which were made at least 500 times more likely by global warming
Categories: Astronomy

China’s Chang’e 6 Mission Found Rare Meteorite Fragments on Moon

Scientific American.com - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 8:45am

These rare samples, uncovered on the moon by China’s Chang’e 6 mission, might help to reveal secrets of how the solar system evolved

Categories: Astronomy

Did Astronomers Photograph UFOs Orbiting Earth in the 1950s?

Scientific American.com - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 8:00am

New peer-reviewed research reporting strange lights in the pre-space-age sky is sparking curiosity and controversy

Categories: Astronomy

The Red Spider Nebula, caught by Webb

ESO Top News - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 8:00am
Image: The Red Spider Nebula (Webb)
Categories: Astronomy

ESA establishes presence in Tokyo to strengthen strategic partnership with Japan

ESO Top News - Tue, 10/28/2025 - 7:04am

The European Space Agency has announced it is establishing a new presence in Tokyo, Japan, its first in Asia.

Categories: Astronomy