Astronomy

Compact, reflective, easy to manufacture mirrors are a critical component for advancing astronomical technology in space. Mirrors are a key component in most telescopes, though they are notoriously hard to manufacture with the necessary precision, especially at large scales. A new paper from researchers in the UK uses additive manufacturing to make a thin, flexible, and lightweight mirror out of aluminum and analyzes its properties to see if it will be useful in applications such as CubeSats.

In a recent paper, researchers followed the trajectories of 1I/`Oumuamua, 2I/Borisov, and 3I/ATLAS - three installer objects that have entered the Solar System in the past decade - to constrain their possible origin. Through a series of Monte Carlo simulations, they came up with predictions of where they came from and how old they are.

Exoplanets with and without a magnetic field are predicted to form, behave, and evolve very differently. In order to understand the exoplanet population, and to make progress understanding habitability, astronomers need to understand and constrain exoplanets' magnetic fields. Detecting them may best be done from the Moon.

Physicists from the University of Copenhagen have begun using the gigantic magnetic fields of galaxy clusters to observe distant black holes in their search for an elusive particle that has stumped scientists for decades.

We already know a decent amount about how planets form, but moon formation is another process entirely, and one we’re not as familiar with. Scientists think they understand how the most important Moon in our solar system (our own) formed, but its violent birth is not the norm, and can’t explain larger moon systems like the Galilean moons around Jupiter. A new book chapter (which was also released as a pre-print paper) from Yuhito Shibaike and Yann Alibert from the University of Bern discusses the differing ideas surrounding the formation of large moon systems, especially the Galileans, and how we might someday be able to differentiate them.

The Universe's early galaxies were engulfed in halos of high-energy cosmic rays. It's likely because they had tangled and turbulent magnetic fields. These fields accelerate cosmic rays to higher energies.

China took a step closer to the Moon, with the first short test for their crewed lunar lander. The test was completed on Wednesday, August 6th at a facility in China’s northern Hebei Province, and lasted just under 30 seconds. The tethered test successfully demonstrated the integration and performance of key systems, simulating descent, guidance, control and engine shutdown. This marks the first test for a China’s Manned (crewed) Space Agency (CMSA’s) human-rated lander.

Taking a walk is great for inspiration. There have been numerous studies about how people think more clearly on walks, and how new ideas come to them more frequently while doing so. That’s part of the reason some of the most famous minds in history included a daily walk in their schedule. Just such an inspiration must have happened recently to Nicholas Heinz, a scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California. On a hike in Arizona he found a rock that could be used as an analog of a unique one found by the Perseverance rover on Mars - and decided to take it back to his lab to study it.x

Climate change isn't just transforming weather on Earth's surface, it’s also fundamentally altering how space weather affects the thousands of satellites orbiting our planet. New research reveals that rising carbon dioxide levels will dramatically change how geomagnetic storms impact the upper atmosphere, creating both opportunities and challenges for the satellite industry in the decades ahead.

Space is getting dangerously crowded. More than 50,000 pieces of debris larger than 10 centimetres are currently hurtling around Earth at breakneck speeds, turning Earth orbits into veritable minefields. Dead satellites, rocket fragments, and collision debris pose such a serious threat that the International Space Station regularly performs emergency manoeuvres to dodge potential impacts. Now, an international team of researchers thinks they've found an elegant solution to this growing crisis and it's inspired by a humble house gecko's amazing ability to walk on walls.

What if the universe began with a fireworks show? A new theory suggests that supermassive black holes, the mysterious giants found at the heart of galaxies, were born from the universe's very first stars in a spectacular flash of light that ionised all of space before vanishing forever. This dramatic "Pop III.1" model could finally explain how these giant stellar remnants grew so impossibly large so quickly after the Big Bang, while potentially solving several major puzzles plaguing modern astronomy, from the Hubble Tension to the nature of Cosmic Dawn itself.

A billion or so years into its evolution, the icy dwarf planet Ceres may have had the right conditions to sustain life, which indicates the solar system may be more habitable than we thought

A billion or so years into its evolution, the icy dwarf planet Ceres may have had the right conditions to sustain life, which indicates the solar system may be more habitable than we thought

A new formulation of cement reflects and emits heat more effectively than normal Portland cement, so it stays much cooler on a hot day

A new formulation of cement reflects and emits heat more effectively than normal Portland cement, so it stays much cooler on a hot day

Chappell Roan mentioned Canada's Saskatchewan just days before Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park hosts a "star party" festival in its dark-sky park.

Psychiatric medicine hasn't changed much since the 1960s. Could blocking the effects of chronic inflammation on the brain be the step change we need?

Psychiatric medicine hasn't changed much since the 1960s. Could blocking the effects of chronic inflammation on the brain be the step change we need?

Battlestar Galactica meets FTL in this just-announced "story-rich tactical roguelite" from the makers of Crying Suns.

Russia launched its Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite today (Aug. 20), sending 75 mice, 1,000 fruit flies and other organisms to orbit to learn more about the health effects of spaceflight.