"The large-scale homogeneity of the universe makes it very difficult to believe that the structure of the universe is determined by anything so peripheral as some complicated molecular structure on a minor planet orbiting a very average star in the outer suburbs of a fairly typical galaxy."

— Steven Hawking

Feed aggregator

All major AI models risk encouraging dangerous science experiments

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Thu, 01/15/2026 - 5:36am
Researchers risk fire, explosion or poisoning by allowing AI to design experiments, warn scientists. Some 19 different AI models were tested on hundreds of questions to assess their ability to spot and avoid hazards and none recognised all issues – with some doing little better than random guessing
Categories: Astronomy

All major AI models risk encouraging dangerous science experiments

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Thu, 01/15/2026 - 5:36am
Researchers risk fire, explosion or poisoning by allowing AI to design experiments, warn scientists. Some 19 different AI models were tested on hundreds of questions to assess their ability to spot and avoid hazards and none recognised all issues – with some doing little better than random guessing
Categories: Astronomy

Ice Halos by Moonlight and Sunlight

APOD - Thu, 01/15/2026 - 4:00am

Both Moon and Sun create beautiful


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Sentinel-2 explores night vision

ESO Top News - Thu, 01/15/2026 - 3:00am

After more than 10 years in orbit, the first Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite, Sentinel-2A, is still finding new ways to contribute to Earth observation. With its younger siblings, Sentinel-2B and Sentinel-2C, now leading the mission’s core task of delivering high-resolution, ‘camera-like’ images of Earth’s surface, the European Space Agency is pushing Sentinel-2A beyond its original remit.

In recent trials, this elderly satellite was even switched on at night to see how it would perform in the dark – and the results have been strikingly positive, offering encouraging news for the follow-on Copernicus Sentinel-2 Next Generation mission, currently in development.

Categories: Astronomy

Coverage, Briefing Set for NASA’s Artemis II Moon Rocket Roll to Pad

NASA News - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 5:26pm
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is seen inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building as teams await the arrival of Artemis II crewmembers to board their Orion spacecraft on top of the rocket as part of the Artemis II countdown demonstration test, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

NASA’s integrated SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission is inching closer to launch – literally.

The agency is targeting no earlier than 7 a.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 17, to begin the multi-hour trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A pre rollout mission news conference, live feed of rollout, and a media gaggle will stream on NASA’s YouTube channel. Individual streams for each of these events will be available from that page. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

The time of rollout is subject to change if additional time is needed for technical preparations or weather.

All times are Eastern. Events are as follows:

Friday, Jan. 16:

12 p.m.: Artemis II Rollout, Mission Overview News Conference

  • John Honeycutt, Artemis II mission management team chair
  • Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems
  • Jeff Radigan, Artemis II lead flight director, Flight Operations Directorate
  • Lili Villarreal, landing and recovery director, Exploration Ground Systems
  • Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate

Saturday, Jan. 17:

7 a.m.: Rollout, Artemis II Live Views from Kennedy Space Center feed begins

9 a.m.: Artemis II Crew Rollout Media Event

  • NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and the Artemis II crew, including NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will answer questions about their preparations and the mission for media in-person at the countdown clock.

NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 will carry the 11-million-pound stack at about one mile per hour along the four-mile route from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B, on a journey that will take up to 12 hours.

To participate in the news conference by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start to: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov

These events will be open in-person only to media previously credentialed for launch. The deadline has passed for in-person accreditation for Artemis II events at Kennedy.

Rollout to the pad marks another milestone leading up to the Artemis II mission. In the coming weeks, NASA will complete final preparations of the rocket and, if needed, rollback SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work. While the Artemis II launch window opens as early as Friday, Feb. 6, the mission management team will assess flight readiness after the wet dress rehearsal across the spacecraft, launch infrastructure, and the crew and operations teams before selecting a launch date.

Follow NASA’s Artemis blog for mission updates.

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about Artemis at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

-end-

Rachel Kraft / Lauren Low
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov / lauren.e.low@nasa.gov

Tiffany Fairley
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
tiffany.l.fairley@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Jan 15, 2026 EditorJennifer M. DoorenLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

Coverage, Briefing Set for NASA’s Artemis II Moon Rocket Roll to Pad

NASA - Breaking News - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 5:26pm
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket is seen inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building as teams await the arrival of Artemis II crewmembers to board their Orion spacecraft on top of the rocket as part of the Artemis II countdown demonstration test, Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

NASA’s integrated SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission is inching closer to launch – literally.

The agency is targeting no earlier than 7 a.m. EST, Saturday, Jan. 17, to begin the multi-hour trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A pre rollout mission news conference, live feed of rollout, and a media gaggle will stream on NASA’s YouTube channel. Individual streams for each of these events will be available from that page. Learn how to stream NASA content through a variety of online platforms, including social media.

The time of rollout is subject to change if additional time is needed for technical preparations or weather.

All times are Eastern. Events are as follows:

Friday, Jan. 16:

12 p.m.: Artemis II Rollout, Mission Overview News Conference

  • John Honeycutt, Artemis II mission management team chair
  • Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems
  • Jeff Radigan, Artemis II lead flight director, Flight Operations Directorate
  • Lili Villarreal, landing and recovery director, Exploration Ground Systems
  • Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate

Saturday, Jan. 17:

7 a.m.: Rollout, Artemis II Live Views from Kennedy Space Center feed begins

9 a.m.: Artemis II Crew Rollout Media Event

  • NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and the Artemis II crew, including NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will answer questions about their preparations and the mission for media in-person at the countdown clock.

NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 will carry the 11-million-pound stack at about one mile per hour along the four-mile route from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B, on a journey that will take up to 12 hours.

To participate in the news conference by telephone, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the start to: ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov

These events will be open in-person only to media previously credentialed for launch. The deadline has passed for in-person accreditation for Artemis II events at Kennedy.

Rollout to the pad marks another milestone leading up to the Artemis II mission. In the coming weeks, NASA will complete final preparations of the rocket and, if needed, rollback SLS and Orion to the Vehicle Assembly Building for additional work. While the Artemis II launch window opens as early as Friday, Feb. 6, the mission management team will assess flight readiness after the wet dress rehearsal across the spacecraft, launch infrastructure, and the crew and operations teams before selecting a launch date.

Follow NASA’s Artemis blog for mission updates.

Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Learn more about Artemis at:

https://www.nasa.gov/artemis

-end-

Rachel Kraft / Lauren Low
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov / lauren.e.low@nasa.gov

Tiffany Fairley
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
tiffany.l.fairley@nasa.gov

Share Details Last Updated Jan 15, 2026 EditorJennifer M. DoorenLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Categories: NASA

Astronauts Evacuate the ISS after Medical Incident

Scientific American.com - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 5:15pm

The four members of Crew-11 are on their way back to Earth after one of them became unwell with an unknown condition

Categories: Astronomy

Eroding the Clean Air Act Will Make America Sicker, Dirtier and Poorer

Scientific American.com - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 4:11pm

The Clean Air Act has saved millions of lives, but the EPA will stop calculating those benefits for at least some proposed regulations

Categories: Astronomy

Two New Exoplanets And The Need For New Habitable Zone Definitions

Universe Today - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 2:50pm

How solid is our understanding of exoplanet habitability? Are the ideas of an Optimistic Habitable Zone and a Conservative Habitable Zone sufficient to advance our understanding? New research introduces an expanded exoplanet 'temperate zone,' highlighting planets that are amenable to atmospheric study by the JWST.

Categories: Astronomy

Horses Can Smell Your Fear, Bizarre Sweat Study Finds

Scientific American.com - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 2:00pm

Horses that were presented with cotton pads soaked in a scared human’s sweat showed more signs of fear themselves

Categories: Astronomy

New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Area

NASA News - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:55pm
NASA

The New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which spans 23 counties across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and has a population of about 19.9 million, is pictured at approximately 3:29 a.m. local time Dec. 20, 2025, from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Atlantic coast.

Crew members aboard the orbital lab have produced hundreds of thousands of images of the land, oceans, and atmosphere of Earth, and even of the Moon through Crew Earth Observations. Their photographs of Earth record how the planet changes over time due to human activity and natural events. This allows scientists to monitor disasters and direct response on the ground and study a number of phenomena, from the movement of glaciers to urban wildlife.

Image credit: NASA

Categories: NASA

New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Area

NASA - Breaking News - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:55pm
NASA

The New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which spans 23 counties across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and has a population of about 19.9 million, is pictured at approximately 3:29 a.m. local time Dec. 20, 2025, from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Atlantic coast.

Crew members aboard the orbital lab have produced hundreds of thousands of images of the land, oceans, and atmosphere of Earth, and even of the Moon through Crew Earth Observations. Their photographs of Earth record how the planet changes over time due to human activity and natural events. This allows scientists to monitor disasters and direct response on the ground and study a number of phenomena, from the movement of glaciers to urban wildlife.

Image credit: NASA

Categories: NASA

New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Area

NASA Image of the Day - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:55pm
The New York–Newark–Jersey City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which spans 23 counties across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and has a population of about 19.9 million, is pictured at approximately 3:29 a.m. local time Dec. 20, 2025, from the International Space Station as it orbited 262 miles above the Atlantic coast.
Categories: Astronomy, NASA

Trump Administration Reinstates Mental Health and Addiction Grants—Report

Scientific American.com - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:50pm

Experts have said that if previously reported cuts to federal grants had come to pass, they would have exacerbated the U.S.’s addiction crisis

Categories: Astronomy

These striking photos are a window into the world of quantum physics

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:00pm
David Severn has taken a series of images of scientists working on quantum physics for King’s College London’s new Quantum Untangled exhibition
Categories: Astronomy

These striking photos are a window into the world of quantum physics

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:00pm
David Severn has taken a series of images of scientists working on quantum physics for King’s College London’s new Quantum Untangled exhibition
Categories: Astronomy

The science that will help you feel more fulfilled with your life

New Scientist Space - Space Headlines - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:00pm
January is a good time to take stock of our lives – but where to start? David Robson finds some answers in the latest psychological research
Categories: Astronomy

A new book provides a toolkit to tackle anxiety. Can it really help?

New Scientist Space - Cosmology - Wed, 01/14/2026 - 1:00pm
How do we deal with anxiety generated by ever-accelerating change? Sam Conniff and Katherine Templar-Lewis's The Uncertainty Toolkit sets out to empower us, but it's a flawed read
Categories: Astronomy