Who are we? We find that we live on an insignificant planet of a humdrum star lost in a galaxy tucked away in some forgotten corner of a universe in which there are far more galaxies than people

— Carl Sagan

Astronomy

The Dark Energy Survey Weighs in on Cosmic Tensions

Sky & Telescope Magazine - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 3:51pm

The final release of data from the Dark Energy Survey widens tensions in our understanding of the cosmic evolution.

The post The Dark Energy Survey Weighs in on Cosmic Tensions appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Categories: Astronomy

AI reveals 800 never-before-seen ‘cosmic anomalies’ in old Hubble images

Scientific American.com - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 3:20pm

Scientists analyzed more than 100 million image cutouts from a Hubble Space Telescope archive and found hundreds of previously undiscovered objects

Categories: Astronomy

This Rapidly Growing Black Hole Is Challenging Super-Eddington Accretion

Universe Today - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 1:22pm

Why are SMBH in the early Universe so massive? According to astrophysical models, these extraordinarily large SMBH haven't had time to become so massive. Super-Eddington accretion might explain it, but can it explain a very unusual early SMBH recently discovered?

Categories: Astronomy

Amazon is getting drier as deforestation shuts down atmospheric rivers

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 12:50pm
The amount of rainfall in the southern Amazon basin has declined by 8 to 11 per cent since 1980, largely due to the impact of deforestation
Categories: Astronomy

Amazon is getting drier as deforestation shuts down atmospheric rivers

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 12:50pm
The amount of rainfall in the southern Amazon basin has declined by 8 to 11 per cent since 1980, largely due to the impact of deforestation
Categories: Astronomy

To halt measles' resurgence we must fight the plague of misinformation

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 12:44pm
The measles vaccine has prevented 60 million deaths since 2000. So why are so many children around the world missing out on it?
Categories: Astronomy

To halt measles' resurgence we must fight the plague of misinformation

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 12:44pm
The measles vaccine has prevented 60 million deaths since 2000. So why are so many children around the world missing out on it?
Categories: Astronomy

The Rubin Observatory Will Rapidly Detect More Supernovae

Universe Today - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:51am

It's been about one millennia since humans directly observed a core-collapse supernova in the Milky Way. That's strange, since there should be 1 or 2 every century. By working with neutrino detectors, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory should be able to detect far more supernovae.

Categories: Astronomy

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope Finds Crystal-Spewing Protostar

NASA Image of the Day - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:09am
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope’s 2024 NIRCam image shows protostar EC 53 circled. Researchers using new data from Webb’s MIRI proved that crystalline silicates form in the hottest part of the disk of gas and dust surrounding the star — and may be shot to the system’s edges.
Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Our brains play a surprising role in recovering from a heart attack

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:00am
A newly discovered collection of neurons suggests the brain and heart communicate to trigger a neuroimmune response after a heart attack, which may pave the way for new therapies
Categories: Astronomy

Our brains play a surprising role in recovering from a heart attack

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:00am
A newly discovered collection of neurons suggests the brain and heart communicate to trigger a neuroimmune response after a heart attack, which may pave the way for new therapies
Categories: Astronomy

Nobel prizewinner Omar Yaghi says his invention will change the world

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:00am
Chemist Omar Yaghi invented materials called MOFs, a few grams of which have the surface area of a football field. He explains why he thinks these super-sponges will define the next century
Categories: Astronomy

Nobel prizewinner Omar Yaghi says his invention will change the world

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:00am
Chemist Omar Yaghi invented materials called MOFs, a few grams of which have the surface area of a football field. He explains why he thinks these super-sponges will define the next century
Categories: Astronomy

A foraging teenager was mauled by a bear 27,000 years ago, skeleton shows

Scientific American.com - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:00am

The remains of a teenage boy who lived around 27,000 years ago suggest he was attacked by a cave bear—some of the first direct evidence of a predator attacking an ancient human

Categories: Astronomy

NASA to push ahead with ‘wet’ dress rehearsal for Artemis II moon mission

Scientific American.com - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 11:00am

A crucial test of NASA’s upcoming crewed flight to the moon is set to take place as soon as Saturday, the agency said

Categories: Astronomy

European Space Conference in Bruxelles: ESA DG keynote address

ESO Top News - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 10:00am
Video: 00:13:24

Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.

The European Space Conference is a key strategic event bringing together representatives from ESA, the European Commission, industry, national space agencies and other European institutions to discuss the future of Europe in space.

Download the transcript

Access all videos from the European Space Conference

Categories: Astronomy

1400 quirky objects found in Hubble's archive

ESO Top News - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 10:00am

A team of astronomers have used a new AI-assisted method to search for rare astronomical objects in the Hubble Legacy Archive. The team sifted through nearly 100 million image cutouts in just two and a half days, uncovering nearly 1400 anomalous objects, more than 800 of which had never been documented before.

Categories: Astronomy

The HWO Must Be Picometer Perfect To Observe Earth 2.0

Universe Today - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 8:52am

Lately we’ve been reporting about a series of studies on the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO), NASA’s flagship telescope mission for the 2040s. These studies have looked at the type of data they need to collect, and what the types of worlds they would expect to find would look like. Another one has been released in pre-print form on arXiv from the newly formed HWO Technology Maturation Project Office, which details the technology maturation needed for this powerful observatory and the “trade space” it will need to explore to be able to complete its stated mission.

Categories: Astronomy

ESA at the European Space Conference - Day 1

ESO Top News - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 8:01am

The European Space Agency discussed plans for its record budget as the 18th European Space Conference began in Brussels, Belgium on 27 January.

Categories: Astronomy

Asteroid 2024 YR4 Has a 4% Chance of Hitting the Moon. Here’s Why That’s a Scientific Goldmine.

Universe Today - Tue, 01/27/2026 - 6:08am

There’s a bright side to every situation. In 2032, the Moon itself might have a particularly bright side if it is blasted by a 60-meter-wide asteroid. The chances of such an event are still relatively small (only around 4%), but non-negligible. And scientists are starting to prepare both for the bad (massive risks to satellites and huge meteors raining down on a large portion of the planet) and the good (a once in a lifetime chance to study the geology, seismology, and chemical makeup of our nearest neighbor). A new paper from Yifan He of Tsinghua University and co-authors, released in pre-print form on arXiv, looks at the bright side of all of the potential interesting science we can do if a collision does, indeed, happen.

Categories: Astronomy