Astronomy

On a faraway planet, the James Webb Space Telescope has picked up signs of molecules that, on Earth, are produced only by living organisms – but researchers say we must interpret the results cautiously

The militaries of the U.S. and the U.K. have selected Rocket Lab as a potential partner for their multibillion-dollar programs to develop hypersonic technology.

A Minotaur IV rocket sent multiple classified payloads skyward for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base on Wednesday (April 16).

Gamma-ray bursts are the most powerful events in the Universe, briefly outshining the combined light of their entire galaxies. A team of astronomers has figured out a clever technique to use the light from gamma-ray bursts to map out the large-scale structure of the Universe at different ages after the Big Bang. They found that the Universe might be less uniform at large scales than previously thought.

A scrub jay perches on a branch near the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 22, 2020.

In response to reports of the Trump administration aiming to slash NASA's 2026 science budget by nearly half, US Planetary Science Caucus co-chairs have expressed their alarm.

NASA's next moon rocket is stacking higher and higher at the Kennedy Space Center, as the SLS stage adapter and interim cryogenic propulsion stage arrive in the VAB.

It is harder for our bodies to absorb key nutrients from plant-based foods, so some vegans may be short on essential amino acids for healthy muscles and bones despite eating plenty of protein

Beginning around 3000 years ago, Tel Shiqmona in modern-day Israel was a major centre for the production of Tyrian purple, a valuable commodity produced from marine snails

A weakening of Earth’s magnetic field known as the Laschamps event would have increased the threat of solar radiation, perhaps requiring ancient humans to invent protective measures

It is rare to find brown dwarf stars orbiting in pairs, and this pair has an even more unusual exoplanet companion

The dream of finding life on an alien Earth-like world is hampered by a number of technical challenges. Not the least of which is that Earth is dwarfed by the size and brightness of the Sun. We might be able to discover evidence of life by studying the molecular spectra of a planet's atmosphere as it passes in front of the star, but those results might be inconclusive. The way to be certain is to observe the planet directly, but that would take a space telescope with a mirror 3–4 times that of Webb.

How can astronomers pierce through the interstellar fog of the Milky Way – not to study distant objects, but to understand the fog itself? It just takes a little light.

Space agencies from the US, Europe and Japan are all making plans to visit the asteroid Apophis when it makes an extremely close flyby in 2029 to learn how to deflect others like it

From timetable scheduling to colouring in, and even casting a play, this nifty piece of mathematics is the answer, says Katie Steckles

Black Mirror's new season is a mixed bag, ranging from a sublimely plotted romp to one of the worst episodes to date. And it's still playing fast and loose with its sci-fi concepts, finds Bethan Ackerley

Photographer Mitch Epstein's years-long project highlights the majesty and vulnerability of old growth forests across the US

Why is saying no to other people so difficult – even when we really know we should? Sunita Sah's new book Defy has some novel ideas about the interpersonal forces holding us back

General relativity is an astonishingly beautiful theory, and grappling with why it disagrees with quantum mechanics is a joy, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein

Feedback was pleased to come across journalist Taylor Lorenz's coining of the word "viralflation", as videos with hundreds of millions of hits proliferate across the internet