Astronomy

Your imagination isn't just one thing. The latest neuroscience is untangling just how diverse this faculty really is, says cognitive neurologist Adam Zeman

The European Space Agency (ESA) has inaugurated the European Space Deep-Tech Innovation Centre (ESDI), the first ESA presence in Switzerland, created in close collaboration with the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI). The new centre is located at the Switzerland Innovation Park Innovaare in Villigen. The opening highlights the growing role of deep tech in space exploration and its potential to boost Europe's growth and competitiveness.

Modern ground-based telescopes rely on adaptive optics (AO) to deliver clear images. By correcting for atmospheric distortion, they give us exceptional pictures of planets, stars, and other celestial objects. Now, a team at the National Solar Observatory is using AO to examine the Sun's corona in unprecedented detail.

The chance of a planet forming in the outer reaches of the solar system – a hypothetical Planet Nine – could be as high as 40 per cent, but it would have been a rough start

The chance of a planet forming in the outer reaches of the solar system – a hypothetical Planet Nine – could be as high as 40 per cent, but it would have been a rough start

It’s natural to associate wild flights of fantasy with children and a more mundane internal world with adult life. The latest research, though, shows that isn't the whole picture

It’s natural to associate wild flights of fantasy with children and a more mundane internal world with adult life. The latest research, though, shows that isn't the whole picture

SpaceX will launch the 9th test flight of its Super Heavy Starship rocket hours after CEO Elon Musk delivers an update on his company's plans to make humans an multiplanetary species.

There have never been so many satellites orbiting Earth as there are today, thanks in part to the launch of mega constellations like SpaceX's Starlink internet service - and now we are learning just how the sun's activity can affect them

There have never been so many satellites orbiting Earth as there are today, thanks in part to the launch of mega constellations like SpaceX's Starlink internet service - and now we are learning just how the sun's activity can affect them

These are the best wide-angle lenses covering the most popular camera systems used by astrophotographers.

An abrupt change in Antarctica has caused the continent to gain ice. But this increase, documented in NASA satellite data, is a temporary anomaly rather than an indication that global warming has reversed, scientists say.

The pace of ageing accelerates as you get older, and it is linked to an individual's sex, ethnicity and level of education, according to studies of US and UK populations

The pace of ageing accelerates as you get older, and it is linked to an individual's sex, ethnicity and level of education, according to studies of US and UK populations

Typically, the International Space Station is visible only at night.

The performance of a lower limb prosthesis has been evaluated in microgravity conditions for the first time during the latest ESA parabolic flight campaign on the ‘Zero G’ aircraft.

Astronomers have spotted a pulsar in a binary system, taking about 3.6 hours for the stars to orbit one another. Their orbit is so close that, from our vantage point, the pulsar’s radio signals vanish for roughly one-sixth of each cycle—blocked by the companion’s interference. Researchers think that the more massive star died first, exploding as a supernova and collapsing into a neutron star, passing within the atmosphere of the other. It took about 1,000 years to blow away the envelope of material.

Over the past 90 years, astronomers have successfully matched several Chinese historical records of "guest stars" with known supernovae. However, identifying historical novae (smaller stellar explosions) has proven to be far more challenging, with many proposed candidates later turning out to be comets or meteors instead. One particularly debated case involves a guest star recorded in 1408 CE by Chinese astronomers. A team of astronomers now think they may have finally been able to identify the event, a rare nova that could potentially solve this centuries old astronomical mystery.

On May 10th, while striking a selfie to mark its 1,500th day on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance Rover got an unexpected guest star—a towering dust devil swirling in the distance photobombed the shot. The rover was on Witch Hazel Hill, an area on the rim of Jezero Crater that it has been exploring for the last 5 months. The dust devil on the other hand was sneaking into the background from a distance of 5 km away. The selfie image was made up of 59 separate photos taken by the rover using its WATSON camera.

Research into the impacts of rocket and satellite air pollution is being cut by the Trump administration. Experts say the cuts come at the worst time.