Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.

— Inscription on Columbus' caravels

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APOD - 12 min 47 sec ago

The sixth object in


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 12 min 47 sec ago


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - 12 min 47 sec ago


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

<p><a href="https://apod.nasa.gov/apod

APOD - 12 min 47 sec ago

Would the


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 12 min 47 sec ago

What's happened in Hebes Chasma on Mars?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 12 min 47 sec ago

What is going on with this galaxy?


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

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APOD - 12 min 47 sec ago

About 1,300 images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter


Categories: Astronomy, NASA

NASA's Roman Space Telescope could discover 100,000 new cosmic explosions: 'We're definitely expecting the unexpected'

Space.com - 6 hours 12 min ago
Supernovas, kilonovas, gamma-ray bursts... oh my! The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will uncover 100,000 of these explosions and many more powerful and violent cosmic events.
Categories: Astronomy

Seeing the Exact Moment When New Planets Started Forming

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

Astronomers have seen exoplanetary systems at almost every stage, from extremely young to older than the Solar System. But now, they've spotted the exact moment when planet formation is initiated around a young star. Meteorites store a history of when the first minerals formed in the Solar System, and the ALMA telescope has seen the signal of these minerals forming in a protostellar system, about 1,300 light-years from Earth.

Categories: Astronomy

What if a trip to space changed your eyesight forever?

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

NASA has discovered that 7 out of 10 astronauts returning from the International Space Station have been unable to see clearly, with vision problems that can last for years! As we prepare for multi year Mars missions, scientists are racing to solve this mysterious "space blindness" before it derails humanity's greatest journey. It seems the cause could be as simple as the effects of weightlessness and the distribution of fluids around the body. Thankfully, it seems there are some possible solutions to what could become one of our greatest health challenges as we reach out further among the planets.

Categories: Astronomy

How Star Clusters Age: The Pleiades, the Hyades, and the Orion Nebula Cluster

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

Astronomers found evolutionary links that connect three well-known star clusters. The Orion Nebular Cluster, the Pleiades, and the Hyades are located roughly in the same region in space, but have different ages. New research shows that they're connected and have similar origins.

Categories: Astronomy

Lunar Regolith is a Surprisingly Good Resource for Supporting a Lunar Station

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

Lunar regolith is the crushed up volcanic rock that buries the surface of the Moon. Remote observations and sample analysis have shown there are trace amounts of water ice mixed in with the regolith, which can be extracted. By mixing this water with CO2 exhaled by astronauts, scientists have demonstrated this can be turned into hydrogen gas and carbon monoxide. This can then be turned into fuels and oxygen to support the astronauts. Everything we need is there on the Moon. We just need to learn how to use it.

Categories: Astronomy

Deepening stirling engine analysis: optimized model offers more accurate performance predictions

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

A Chinese team presents a new model for accurately predicting the performance of Sterling engines, which are being investigated as a possible means of powering

Categories: Astronomy

This Ancient Pristine Galaxy Validates the Big Bang

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

If astronomers can find ancient, pristine galaxies with no metals, they will confirm our understanding of the Big Bang. Those galaxies have proven elusive, but a team of astronomers think they've found one. It may be the first Population 3 galaxy.

Categories: Astronomy

Gemini North Sees Brightening Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS in Detail

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

We’re getting better views of interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS, as it makes its speedy passage through the inner solar system. This week, astronomers at the Gemini North observatory located on Mauna Kea in Hawai’i turned the facility’s enormous 8.1-meter telescope on the object, with amazing results.

Categories: Astronomy

A Rare Object Found Deep in the Kuiper Belt

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

Astronomers using the Subaru Telescope have discovered a new object in the Kuiper Belt, beyond the orbit of Pluto. Designated 2023 KQ14, it's categorized as a "sednoid," with an extremely eccentric orbit - only the 4th ever discovered. Its orbit is much different from other sednoids, which challenges the hypothesis that Planet Nine could be aligning their orbits. It was found at 72 AU, but its path takes it all the way out to 438 AU, taking almost 4,000 years to complete one orbit.

Categories: Astronomy

Watch the Moon Occult the Pleiades for North America on the Morning of July 20th

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

There’s a good reason for sky watchers to set their alarms this coming Sunday morning. If skies are clear, viewers across most of North America will have a rare chance to see the waning crescent Moon occult (pass in front of) the Pleiades open star cluster.

Categories: Astronomy

Student Led Mission Designs Highlight The Challenges Of Engineering In Space

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

There are plenty of engineering challenges facing space exploration missions, most of which are specific to their missions objectives. However, there are some that are more universal, especially regarding electronics. A new paper primarily written by a group of American students temporarily studying at Escuela Tecnica Superior de Ingenieria in Madrid, attempts to lay out plans to tackle several of those challenges for a variety of mission architectures.

Categories: Astronomy

A Star is Dissolving its Baby Planet

Universe Today - Sat, 07/19/2025 - 8:25pm

Astronomers have found a young star bathing a planet in intense X-ray radiation, wearing it away at a rapid rate. The planet is Jupiter-sized and orbits its red dwarf star at a fifth the distance from Mercury to the Sun. It's only 8 million years old, and researchers estimate that within a billion years, it will lose its entire atmosphere, going from 17 Earth masses down to just 2 Earth masses. They estimate that it's losing an Earth's atmosphere worth of mass every 200 years.

Categories: Astronomy