Astronomy

The Proba-3 mission, consisting of two spacecraft that fly in close formation to study the sun, has returned images of the first ever artificial solar eclipse

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Watch the replay of the ESA-CNES press conference held at the Paris Air Show 2025 (Le Bourget) on 16 June 2025, with Josef Aschbacher, Director General of ESA, and Lionel Suchet, Executive Vice President of CNES.

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Proba-3 artificially created what is normally a rare natural phenomenon: a total solar eclipse.

In a world first, ESA’s Proba-3 satellites flew in perfect formation, blocking the Sun’s bright disc to reveal its fiery corona. This enigmatic outer layer burns millions of degrees hotter than the Sun’s surface and drives the solar storms that can disrupt life on Earth.

With its first artificial eclipse, Proba-3 has captured detailed images of this mysterious region, offering scientists new insights into our star’s behaviour.

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Today, the European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission unveils its first images of the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the solar corona. The mission’s two satellites, able to fly as a single spacecraft thanks to a suite of onboard positioning technologies, have succeeded in creating their first ‘artificial total solar eclipse’ in orbit. The resulting coronal images demonstrate the potential of formation flying technologies, while delivering invaluable scientific data that will improve our understanding of the Sun and its enigmatic atmosphere.

Critics fear that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services chief RFK, Jr., known for his antivaccine views, has picked a crucial CDC committee that will be a “disaster for public health”

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The view of our home galaxy lit up the night sky at the U.S. National Science Foundation's Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona.

To build safe but powerful AI models, start by testing their ability to play games on the fly

Using a notion called integer partitions, mathematicians have discovered a new way to detect prime numbers while also connecting two areas of math in an unexpected way

The first images of the cosmos taken by the world’s largest digital camera onboard the Vera C. Rubin Observatory are about to be released to the public. Here’s how to watch the action live

Major changes hit a key CDC vaccine advisory panel, ocean acidification crosses a critical threshold, and new research reveals an unexpected threat to pangolins.

Do oceans under the ice of Saturn's moon

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Astronomers at the International Astronomical Union report that we have now detected more than 200 gravitational-wave events, most the merger of two black holes.

The post Status Report: Gravitational Waves appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Perseids peak on Sunday night, August 11-12 and just might be joined by a colorful display of northern lights. 

The post Tonight's Perseid Meteor Shower May Be Dipped in Aurora Sauce appeared first on Sky & Telescope.