Astronomy

The resources tucked away in asteroids promise to provide the building blocks of humanity’s expansion into space. However, accessing those resources can prove tricky. There’s the engineering challenge of landing a spacecraft on one of the low-gravity targets and essentially dismantling it while still remaining attached to it. But there’s also a challenge in finding ones that make economic sense to do that to, both in terms of the amount of material they contain as well as the ease of getting to them from Earth. A much easier solution might be right under our noses, according to a new paper from Jayanth Chennamangalam and his co-authors - mine the remnants of asteroids that hit the Moon.

Deep cracks stretching hundreds of kilometers across the Martian surface might look like simple scars from ancient impacts, but they're actually windows into a surprisingly dynamic planetary history. New images from Europe's Mars Express spacecraft reveal how these valleys, filled with slow moving rivers of ice and rock, have preserved evidence of climate swings far more extreme than anything Earth has experienced. The story written in these Martian fractures challenges our view of the red planet.

‘Float rocks,’ sand ripples, and vast distances are among the sights to see in the latest high-resolution panorama by NASA's Perseverance rover, taken on a particularly clear day.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have found strong evidence of a giant planet orbiting a star in the stellar system closest to our own Sun. At just 4 light-years away from Earth, the Alpha Centauri triple star system has long been a compelling target in the search for worlds beyond our solar system.

Astronomers at the South African MeerKAT observatory have discovered the most distant flash of radio waves to date, most likely stemming from activity around a magnetar.

The post A Fast Radio Burst from the Early Universe appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

United Launch Alliance lofted an experimental navigation satellite on the first national security mission of its new Vulcan Centaur rocket on Tuesday night (Aug. 12).

Men typically lose Y chromosomes from their cells as they get older, which could be affecting their heart health

Men typically lose Y chromosomes from their cells as they get older, which could be affecting their heart health

Test out your knowledge of these famous firsts in skywatching and astrophotography, from the first photos of Earth and the moon to the invention of telescopes!

The Tarantula nebula was recently captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, where the Scylla program helped create the colored image of this star-forming area.

Nicknamed 'Punctum,' this puzzling phenomenon is highly energetic, but is only seen in millimeter-wavelength light and cannot be explained by any known object.

Researchers are testing whether increasing UV radiation is altering chemistry of tree leaves, increasing the likelihood and severity of wildfires

Researchers are testing whether increasing UV radiation is altering chemistry of tree leaves, increasing the likelihood and severity of wildfires

'Alien: Earth' is the first-ever Alien TV show and it's finally arrived. Here's how to watch 'Alien: Earth' wherever you are on the planet.

This telescope has revealed the whipped-up dust from the birth of a star—and a shining background galaxy—more clearly than ever before

Earth orbit is becoming increasingly crowded. With over 11 000 active satellites and many thousands more expected in the coming years as well as over 1.2 million pieces of space debris greater than 1 cm, the risk of in-orbit collisions has turned into a daily operational concern. ESA is investing in automation technologies that can help satellite operators respond more effectively to collision risks.

Sure, the Moon will be a problem. But clouds are worse. Don't miss one of the best meteor showers of the year.

The post Moon or Not, the Perseid Meteor Shower Is On! appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Experts say the painful infection, spread to people from mosquitoes, can get to many countries if it finds the right hosts

What was the Universe like before the first stars formed? Dark, obviously. But there must have been some level of activity in the gas clouds that preceded the first stars. New research shows that these primordial clouds were turbulent, clumpy, and supersonic.