Astronomy

Sometimes a non-detection can tell you a lot. For example, astronomers recently searched through data containing around 5 million stars captured by the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. They were looking for stars that had been ejected from the center of the Milky Way galaxy, through the gravitational interaction of the supermassive black hole Sgr A*. They failed to find any obvious candidates, which suggests that Sgr A* hasn't merged with another black hole recently.

Calibration is a necessary, if typically invisible, step in the successful operation of any scientific telescope. Without a known value to compare its readings against, data from telescopes could suffer from biases or transients that could completely misdirect scientists analyzing it. However, those same scientists also struggle to find good sources of data to calibrate against. Enter Arcstone - a technology demonstration mission that launched earlier this week that plans to use one particular source as a calibration dataset - moonlight.

Microwave satellite data are key to capturing major changes in a hurricane’s strength, such as when a storm undergoes rapid intensification. But a main source of those data is being abruptly shut off

Most people have never seen the Little Dipper, because most of its stars are too dim to be seen through light-polluted skies.

One of the most overlooked sequels in Capcom's history, Lost Planet 2 walked so games like Helldivers 2 and Space Marine 2 could run.

This year's $10,000 Schweickart Prize is going to a team of students who are proposing a panel to address the risks that could arise when we start tinkering with asteroids.

JWST is a powerful telescope and has directly observed a handful of exoplanets. But according to a new paper, it could set its sights higher, way higher. Astronomers suggest that Webb's MIRI and NIRCam instruments have the capabilities to detect planets around nearby stars as cold (or colder) than Saturn, at the same orbital separation, mass, and age as Saturn and Jupiter. They also found that clouds can have a big impact on their ability to study the planets, but it's easier for MIRI.

For some lucky viewers, the moon will pass directly in front of Mars.

A flexible fabric called X-Wear could replace some parts of medical scanners, which would make taking X-rays and CT scans far more comfortable and convenient

A flexible fabric called X-Wear could replace some parts of medical scanners, which would make taking X-rays and CT scans far more comfortable and convenient

A solid rocket engine for NASA's Space Launch System rocket experienced an anomaly during a static fire test at the booster's Northrop Grumman facilities June 26.

In 1963, Captain Engle was assigned as one of two Air Force test pilots to fly the X-15 Research Rocket aircraft. In 1965, he flew the X-15 to an altitude of 280,600 feet, and became the youngest pilot ever to qualify as an astronaut. Three of his sixteen flights in the X-15 exceeded the 50-mile (264,000 feet) altitude required for astronaut rating.

With the help of powerful computers, researchers discovered a four-sided shape that naturally rests on one side, and built a real-life version from carbon fibre and tungsten

With the help of powerful computers, researchers discovered a four-sided shape that naturally rests on one side, and built a real-life version from carbon fibre and tungsten

Large sea anchors could be used to drag water under a bold plan to keep the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation moving – but some experts are sceptical

Large sea anchors could be used to drag water under a bold plan to keep the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation moving – but some experts are sceptical

A certain species of sea slug steals chloroplasts from algae and houses its contraband in special organelles that it can raid for food in times of need

Andromeda never looked as good as it does in a new image from the Chandra X-ray observatory and a range of powerful telescopes. A fitting tribute to dark matter pioneer Vera Rubin.

Video: 00:04:13

Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA head of Space and Robotic Exploration, explains that Ignis mission will include an ambitious technological and scientific programme with several experiments led by ESA and proposed by the Polish space industry.

On 26 June 2025, ESA project astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski from Poland and his crewmates arrived to the International Space Station on the Axiom-4 mission (Ax-4).

The Polish project astronaut is the second of a new generation of European astronauts to fly on a commercial human spaceflight opportunity with Axiom Space.