Astronomy

Modern telescopes like the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) are watching the sky for any changes, and can report a million variations in a single night. This will multiply when Vera Rubin comes online. SETI researchers are looking for specific events that could be caused by an intelligent civilization, and have developed methods to search through astronomical alerts automatically. This could give SETI researchers dozens of potential targets a night to follow up on, scanning for signals or anomalous changes in brightness.

You're probably aware that most of the matter of the Universe is "dark matter," and astronomers still don't know what it is. But 75% of the regular matter in the Universe is also hidden, located in the thin gas between galaxies. Probing this gas is difficult, but astronomers have used a new technique, analyzing the light from fast radio bursts as they pass through billions of light-years of gas. Longer, redder wavelengths are slowed down compared to shorter, bluer wavelengths, allowing the hidden material to be weighed.

Great, another potential long-term risk of spaceflight. Researchers have studied the effects of simulated microgravity on mice and found that it could lead to periodontitis, where the gums become inflamed and the bones supporting teeth start to break down. This was compared to mice who experienced normal gravity. This could be limited to just the teeth or a larger indicator of inflammation in the body caused by weightlessness, which could have other health impacts.

SpaceX launched 70 different payloads — including a special memorial capsule carrying cremated remains and DNA samples — today (June 23) on the Transporter 14 rideshare mission.

This explorer spacecraft is heading to a rare asteroid with a naked metal core. It could hold clues to how Earth began

New images from ESA's Biomass satellite reveal forests, volcanoes, deserts and glaciers in striking detail, hinting at what's still to come.

Former NASA astronaut Terry Virts is running for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas.

We're a step closer to two men being able to have genetic children of their own after the creation of fertile mice by putting two sperm cells in an empty egg

We're a step closer to two men being able to have genetic children of their own after the creation of fertile mice by putting two sperm cells in an empty egg

"The word 'absurd,' in our everyday language, is crazy, stupid. But absurd can also mean outlandishly true."

Black holes can accumulate planets and stars' worth of material, but even they have their limits. Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole which has reached that limit. Excess material is now being ejected from the vicinity around the black hole at nearly a third the speed of light. Astronomers found that about 10 Earth masses of material were added to the black hole's vicinity in 5 weeks, creating a ring of matter and feeding the outflow jets.

The Vera C. Rubin is a game changing observatory that we've been keeping our eyes on. When it goes online, it'll begin a 10 year survey of the southern sky, capturing the entire sky every few nights, eventually building up a history of 800 images of each spot. It'll generate 20 terabytes of data every day, collecting 60 petabytes of raw image data. And it's almost ready to begin operations. On June 23 at 15:00 UTC, operators are going to release the first images from the telescope live to the internet, and you'll be able to watch.

In just 10 hours of observing the night sky, the powerful new telescope detected more than 2000 new asteroids, including a few that will pass near Earth

In just 10 hours of observing the night sky, the powerful new telescope detected more than 2000 new asteroids, including a few that will pass near Earth

One of the best Lego Marvel sets, the Team Spidey Web Spinner Headquarters set, is ideal for young fans and is now 20% off ahead of Amazon Prime Day.

The Rubin Observatory released its first magnificent images of the cosmos on Monday (June 23) — and included a special asteroid bonus.

Power-hungry AI and associated data centers could make the grid cleaner, eventually cutting more climate-change-causing emissions than they produce

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory has released its first images, providing a staggering glimpse at the observing power it will unleash when it begins its decade-long survey.

"Being off even a little bit represents hundreds or thousands of kilometers in distance on the surface of the Earth."

Arsia Mons, one of the Red Planet’s largest volcanoes, peeks through a blanket of water ice clouds in this image captured by NASA’s 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter on May 2, 2025.