Nothing is the bridge between the future and the further future. Nothing is certainty. Nothing is any definition of anything.

— Peter Hammill

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Before These Clouds Form Stars, They Form A Complex Network of Filaments

Universe Today - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 10:44pm

Researchers working with China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) have revealed some of the complexity in a type of cloud in the ISM. They've detected a network of filaments in one Very High Velocity Cloud (VHVC). The observations hint at the complexity that can evolve in these clouds, all without the influence of gravity.

Categories: Astronomy

A New Fuel for Nuclear Power Systems Could Enable Missions to Mars and Beyond

Universe Today - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 10:44pm

To explore the unknown in deep space, millions of miles away from Earth, it’s crucial for spacecraft to have ample power. NASA’s radioisotope power systems (RPS) that rely on are a viable option for these missions and have been used for over 60 years. Now, NASA is testing a new type of RPS fuel that could become an additional option for future long-duration journeys to extreme environments.

Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX Crew-11 astronauts arrive in Florida ahead of launch to space station (video)

Space.com - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 1:56pm
The NASA, JAXA and Roscosmos crew members set to launch next to the International Space Station arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, July 26, 2025.
Categories: Astronomy

This Week In Space podcast: Episode 170 — Atomic Space Batteries!

Space.com - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 10:11am
On Episode 170 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik are joined by Dr. Robert O'Brien to discuss powering spacecraft by radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTGs).
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX launches 28 Starlink satellites from Florida on Saturday doubleheader (video)

Space.com - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 10:02am
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 28 Starlink internet broadband satellites launched from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Saturday, July 26, 2025.
Categories: Astronomy

'It starts with a bang this season and we don't give you room to breathe': 'Foundation' Season 3's stars on completing the far-future sci-fi saga (exclusive)

Space.com - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 10:00am
'Foundation' Season 3 stars Jared Harris & Lou Llobell discuss the upcoming season of Apple TV+'s adaptation of Isaac Asimov's science fiction epic.
Categories: Astronomy

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APOD - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 8:00am

About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Scientists look to black holes to know exactly where we are in the Universe. But phones and wifi are blocking the view

Space.com - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 8:00am
Scientists working to study black holes use specific radio frequencies to track black holes, the same frequencies often used by phones and wifi.
Categories: Astronomy

See a razor-thin moon shine close to Regulus in the evening sky tonight

Space.com - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 6:00am
The bright star Regulus will appear close to the waxing crescent moon at sunset on July 26
Categories: Astronomy

NASA losing nearly 4,000 employees to Trump administration's 'deferred resignation' program

Space.com - Sat, 07/26/2025 - 12:24am
Nearly 4,000 NASA employees have chosen to accept the Trump administration's "deferred resignation" option, reducing the agency's workforce by more than 20%.
Categories: Astronomy

How can the James Webb Space Telescope see so far?

Space.com - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 8:00pm
Webb has been orbiting more than a million miles from Earth, capturing breathtaking images of deep space. But how does it actually work?
Categories: Astronomy

Earth Sized Planet Discovered with Extreme 5.4 Hour Year

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

Astronomers have discovered an extraordinary world that defies everything we thought we knew about planets. TOI-2431 b, an Earth sized planet located just 117 light years away, races around its star so fast that it experiences over 1,600 "years" in the time it takes Earth to complete just one orbit. The discovery of this extreme world, with its distorted shape and ultra dense composition, is revolutionising our understanding of planetary systems and revealing just how bizarre and diverse worlds beyond our Solar System can be.

Categories: Astronomy

JWST Finds Plenty Of Low Mass Black Holes In The Early Universe

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

Black holes played a critical role in the formation of the early universe. However, astronomers have been debating for a long time just how critical, as the information we had about early black holes, which exist at high red-shifts, was relatively limited. A new paper from a group of researchers led by Sophia Geris at the University of Cambridge combined several spectra from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to add some context to the formation of black holes early in the universe, and found that there are plenty of smaller ones lurking around, and lending credence to the idea that black holes of all sizes contributed to the formation of our modern universe.

Categories: Astronomy

Astronaut Fitness Gets a Boost with Adaptive Harness Design

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

What new exercise methods can be devised for astronauts in space under microgravity conditions? This is what a recent study conducted submitted to the 2025 Technology Collaboration Center’s (TCC) Wearables Workshop and University Challenge hopes to address as a team of Rice University engineering students developed a new type of space exercise harness that could make exercising under microgravity easier and more comfortable.

Categories: Astronomy

The JWST Might Have Found the First Direct-Collapse Black Hole

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

Stellar mass black holes are created by core-collapse supernovae. These occur when massive stars near the end of their lives collapse in on themselves and form a black hole. Supermassive black holes form through mergers with other massive black holes. But their could be a third kind, called direct-collapse black holes, and the JWST found evidence of one.

Categories: Astronomy

Do Supermassive Black Holes Play With Their Food?

Universe Today - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:07pm

Lightning might not strike twice, but black holes apparently do. An international group of researchers led by Tel Aviv University astronomers observed a flare caused when a star falls onto a black hole and is destroyed.

Categories: Astronomy

Solar drone with wingspan wider than jumbo jet could fly for months

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:00pm
A pioneering solar-powered drone aircraft operated by Skydweller Aero will be used for maritime surveillance
Categories: Astronomy

Solar drone with wingspan wider than jumbo jet could fly for months

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:00pm
A pioneering solar-powered drone aircraft operated by Skydweller Aero will be used for maritime surveillance
Categories: Astronomy

SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule 'Endeavour' arrives at pad ahead of July 31 astronaut launch (photos)

Space.com - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 6:00pm
The Crew Dragon capsule that will fly SpaceX's Crew-11 astronaut mission to the ISS for NASA has arrived at Kennedy Space Center ahead of its planned July 31 launch.
Categories: Astronomy

Negative social ties, like frenemies, could be ageing you

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Fri, 07/25/2025 - 5:00pm
Having someone in your life who hassles you or causes problems could be adding 2.5 months to your biological age
Categories: Astronomy