Astronomy

Helping yourself get to sleep isn’t just about avoiding screens before bedtime. From cognitive shuffling to sleep-restriction therapy, columnist Helen Thomson finds out what actually works

Helping yourself get to sleep isn’t just about avoiding screens before bedtime. From cognitive shuffling to sleep-restriction therapy, columnist Helen Thomson finds out what actually works

SpaceX launched a batch of 27 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.

Thimerosal, which contains an organic compound of mercury, has mostly been phased out as a preservative for vaccines. Here’s how we know it is safe and why we still use it in some vaccines given to adults

After more than 24 hours on orbit, the the private astronaut crew of Axiom-4 has caught up to the International Space Station, docked and been welcomed aboard for their two-week mission.

A study based on household surveys suggests that from October 2023 to January 2025, around 75,000 people in Gaza died violent deaths, while Gaza's health ministry estimates 46,000 for the same period

A study based on household surveys suggests that from October 2023 to January 2025, around 75,000 people in Gaza died violent deaths, while Gaza's health ministry estimates 46,000 for the same period

Researchers and expert seafarers teamed up to re-create an ocean journey from more than 30,000 years ago

A boomerang discovered in a Polish cave was originally dated as 18,000 years old, but it may have been contaminated by preservation materials. A new estimate suggests the mammoth-ivory artefact is 40,000 years old

A boomerang discovered in a Polish cave was originally dated as 18,000 years old, but it may have been contaminated by preservation materials. A new estimate suggests the mammoth-ivory artefact is 40,000 years old

Weight-loss surgery seems to lower the risk of colorectal cancer by changing where bile acids enter the small intestine, raising the possibility of developing treatments that mimic these effects

Weight-loss surgery seems to lower the risk of colorectal cancer by changing where bile acids enter the small intestine, raising the possibility of developing treatments that mimic these effects

Mars holds two of humanity's greatest space ambitions, discovering alien life and establishing our first foothold on another world. Key to both is the discovery of water. We know it's at the poles, but where could we find it at lower latitudes? In a new paper, researchers carefully examined images of Mars taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. They found examples of features, like "brain coral terrain", expanded craters, and ridges which are evidence of water ice just under the surface.

The Solar System lacks hot-jupiters, intensely hot gas giant planets, so close to their stars they take just days or even hours to orbit once. But there are some systems that have not one, but two hot-jupiters. In a new study, researchers show the long-term gravitational interactions with binary stars that can push multiple gas giants into these extremely close orbits around their stars. Both stars can end up with hot-jupiters.

The Earth's magnetosphere is a giant magnetic field that arises from the flow of material deep inside the planet. Because the flow of material isn't constant, the strength and shape of the magnetosphere can change over geologic time. But researchers have found that changes in the magnetosphere seem to be correlated with fluctuations in the amount of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. Both could be responding to a single underlying process.

NASA astronaut Bob Hines took this picture of the waning crescent moon on May 8, 2022, as the International Space Station flew into an orbital sunrise 260 miles above the Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of the United States.

It is tricky to count things that are moving around – but this handy maths technique can help, says Katie Steckles, whether it is animals or vanishing spoons that you're trying to keep track of

It is tricky to count things that are moving around – but this handy maths technique can help, says Katie Steckles, whether it is animals or vanishing spoons that you're trying to keep track of

Packed with puzzles and narrative threads, Matt Wixey's novel Basilisk is an exhilarating read that is hard to put down