Space isn't remote at all. It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go upwards.

— Fred Hoyle

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New Research Reveals how Gravitational Waves Could be Used to Decode Dark Matter

Universe Today - Sat, 01/03/2026 - 6:18pm

A new study by researchers at the University of Amsterdam shows how gravitational waves from black holes can be used to reveal the presence of dark matter and help determine its properties. The key is a new model, based on Einstein’s theory of general relativity, that tracks in detail how a black hole interacts with the surrounding matter.

Categories: Astronomy

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APOD - Sat, 01/03/2026 - 4:00pm

Jewels don't shine this bright -- only stars do.


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Earth-like Planets Need a Cosmic-Ray Bath

Universe Today - Sat, 01/03/2026 - 12:48pm

Terrestrial planets such as Earth need an early solar system rich in short-lived radioisotopes. But the supernovae that create these elements would tend to rip an early system apart. A new study suggests that these isotopes are produced by a bath of cosmic rays from more distant supernovae.

Categories: Astronomy

Using Webb, Canadian Astronomers Shed Light on the Milky Way's Turbulent Past

Universe Today - Fri, 01/02/2026 - 6:25pm

A team of Canadian astronomers has used Webb's observations of "Milky Way twins" in the early Universe to learn more about our galaxy's turbulent youth.

Categories: Astronomy

Was our earliest ancestor a knuckle-dragger, or did it walk upright?

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 01/02/2026 - 2:00pm
Did Sahelanthropus, which lived 7 million years ago, walk on two legs like a modern human? It's complicated
Categories: Astronomy

Apollo 17 s Moonship

APOD - Fri, 01/02/2026 - 12:00pm

Awkward and angular looking,


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Solar Flares and Stellar Flares Hit Different

Universe Today - Fri, 01/02/2026 - 10:29am

Sunspots and solar flares go hand in hand. They generally occur in the same region of the Sun around the same time. We've long thought the same would be true for other stars, but a new study finds that isn't the case.

Categories: Astronomy

The Quadrantid Meteors and Earth at Perihelion Usher in the New Skywatching Year

Universe Today - Fri, 01/02/2026 - 9:30am

It sneaks up on us, every annual flip of the calendar into the new year. If skies are clear, keep an eye out for the brief but strong Quadrantid meteors this weekend. The Quadrantids or ‘Quads’ have a brief but strong annual peak just after New Year’s Day. This also makes the shower notoriously elusive for observers.

Categories: Astronomy

Why Astronomy Needs a Giant in the Canary Islands

Universe Today - Fri, 01/02/2026 - 8:47am

Size matters when it comes to telescopes. The bigger they are, the farther they can see. Prioritizing constructing large ones is therefore high on the priority list for many observational organizations. But doing so comes at a cost, and not just in terms of money. Finding a suitable site can be a challenge, and that has been particularly true for the effort to build a 30-meter telescope in the Northern hemisphere. A new paper, available in pre-print on arXiv by Francesco Coti Zelati of the Spanish Institute of Space Sciences in Barcelona and his co-authors, makes the argument for building it at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma.

Categories: Astronomy

'I'll be damned if that's the story we write': Acting NASA Administrator Duffy vows not to lose moon race to China

Space.com - Fri, 09/12/2025 - 5:00am
'Wake up and ask yourself, 'Is what I'm doing helping us get back to the moon?' … If it's not, stop doing it.'
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX launches powerful satellite to orbit for Indonesian telecom company

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 9:32pm
It was the 114th Falcon 9 mission of 2025 already.
Categories: Astronomy

Astronomers finally find elusive, dust-shrouded supermassive black holes at ‘Cosmic Dawn’

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 5:00pm
"This shows how effective the approach of 'Discover with Subaru Telescope, explore with James Webb' can be."
Categories: Astronomy

108 million degrees! Solar flares are far hotter than thought, study suggests

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 3:00pm
The new finding may solve an "astrophysics mystery that has stood for nearly half a century."
Categories: Astronomy

James Webb Space Telescope studies a 'failed star' named 'The Accident' to solve an old mystery of Jupiter and Saturn

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 1:00pm
"Sometimes it's the extreme objects that help us understand what's happening in the average ones."
Categories: Astronomy

Sun dogs, rainbows and glories are celestial wonders – and they may appear in alien skies too

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 12:00pm
These celestial wonders can tell us a lot about the state of the atmosphere at home on Earth as well as on other planets.
Categories: Astronomy

Infrared instruments could spot exotic ice on other worlds

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 11:00am
Phases of ice that exist naturally only on frozen moons could be detected using infrared spectroscopy, according to new laboratory experiments.
Categories: Astronomy

James Webb Space Telescope images enormous star shooting out twin jets 8 light-years long

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 10:00am
The beams hint at the true scale of the massive star that spawned them.
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX Starlink satellite photobombs orbital view of secret Chinese air base (photo)

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 9:00am
"Capturing another satellite like this in an Earth-observation image is extremely rare."
Categories: Astronomy

Hubble telescope spies glowing galaxy in a cosmic 'Crane' | Space photo of the day for Sept. 11, 2025

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 7:00am
Though NGC 7456 looks like a modest spiral galaxy, new Hubble and XMM-Newton observations reveal a bustling system with star-forming regions and an active core.
Categories: Astronomy

Did NASA's Perseverance rover actually find evidence of life on Mars? We need to haul its samples home to find out, scientists say

Space.com - Thu, 09/11/2025 - 6:00am
"The idea was for our payload to get us just up to the potential biosignature designation and have the rest of the story told by instruments here on Earth."
Categories: Astronomy