Astronomy

The Hubble Deep Field revolutionised astronomy by staring at a seemingly empty patch of sky for thousands of hours, unveiling a cosmos teeming with distant galaxies. But even Hubble can't peer back far enough to witness the universe's first moment of illumination; the Cosmic Dawn, when primordial darkness gave way to starlight. Now, the Square Kilometre Array promises to shatter that barrier. In a groundbreaking simulation, researchers have modelled 1000 hours of SKA observations, creating astronomy's next great deep field, one designed to capture the universe's very first sunrise.

The ecliptic is the apparent path that the Sun follows during a year. It's an imaginary line that the planets follow, with some small deviations, around the Sun. Spacecraft find it easier to follow the ecliptic because it's generally more energy efficient. However, the Solar Orbiter isn't on the ecliptic and it's giving us our first up-close looks at the Sun's poles.

For most of us, dust is just something we have to clean up. For astronomers, interstellar dust is a hindrance when they want to study distant objects. However, recent James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) observations of a distant galaxy are changing that. This infrared-sensitive observatory is letting them find a way to use dust to understand the evolution of early galaxies. In addition, it uncovered a special property of that galaxy's ice-covered dust, indicating it could be similar to the materials that formed our Solar System.

Most scientists agree that supernova explosions have affected Earth's climate, though the details are not all clear. They likely cooled the climate several times in the last several thousand years, just as humanity was becoming established around the world. The evidence is in telescopes and tree rings.

Astronomers have used JWST to study a fascinating planetary system that's only 16.7 million years old, with two bizarre giant exoplanets. Designated YSES-1, its closer planet, YSES-1b seems to be surrounded by a disk of material that could be the birthplace of moons, similar to what might have happened at Jupiter billions of years ago. The other, YSES-1c, has a layer of silicate particles in its upper atmosphere—clouds of sand.

Supermassive black holes that seem too large to exist in the early universe may have grown from primordial black holes formed in the first second after the Big Bang.

Injecting aerosols into the atmosphere – but at higher altitudes than planes can reach – could cool the climate while avoiding some of the downsides of lower-altitude solar geoengineering

Injecting aerosols into the atmosphere – but at higher altitudes than planes can reach – could cool the climate while avoiding some of the downsides of lower-altitude solar geoengineering

A UK biotech firm spent years gathering genetic data that has uncovered 1 million previously unknown microbial species and billions of newly identified genes – but even this trove of data may not be enough to train an AI biologist

A UK biotech firm spent years gathering genetic data that has uncovered 1 million previously unknown microbial species and billions of newly identified genes – but even this trove of data may not be enough to train an AI biologist

Sea star larvae have been stored at -200°C and thawed for the first time, a step towards restoring populations that have been ravaged by disease

Sea star larvae have been stored at -200°C and thawed for the first time, a step towards restoring populations that have been ravaged by disease

The surprise display was captured on June 9 by aurora chaser Harlan Thomas.

Screwworm parasites primarily infect livestock, but human cases have risen in Central America after the pests escaped containment

Astronomers have discovered the site of a newly forming exoplanet, probably with several times the mass of Jupiter. The image was captured by ESO's Very Large Telescope, seeing the young star system 2MASS 1612 in infrared light. The disk extends about 130 astronomical units from the star, but you can see a bright ring followed by a gap at about 50 AU. It's believed there's a new planet forming in that gap, pulling in material from the disk of gas and dust around it.

As worldwide temperatures continue to rise and conventional solutions aren't working fast enough, governments may turn to geoengineering solutions. One idea is to place a giant sunshade somewhat like an umbrella between the Earth and the Sun to block some of the sunlight that reaches our planet. A new mission proposes sending an 81 m² sail to Earth-Sun L1 to measure the effect of blocking a tiny fraction of solar energy.

You can now watch the award-winning documentary "SALLY" about the first American woman in space, Sally Ride, on Disney+ and Hulu.

Researchers have used cosmic explosions called fast radio bursts to illuminate the intergalactic medium

China's human spaceflight agency just conducted a crucial pad abort test for its Mengzhou spacecraft as it continues toward its goal of putting boots on the moon before 2030.

A curious cow watches as NASA astronauts Andre Douglas and Kate Rubins perform a simulated moonwalk in the San Francisco Volcanic Field in Northern Arizona on May 14, 2024.