Collaborate Disseminate
The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter is set to have a chance encounter with the two tails of the disintegrating Comet ATLAS over the coming days. The spacecraft is currently en route to the inner solar system for a close pass with the Sun, and has… Continue reading ESA’S Solar Orbiter set for unexpected rendezvous with Comet ATLAS
According to the results of a new study, stars orbiting near the centers of massive clusters have a much harder time forming planets than those located at the edge. The discovery was made possible by the powerful viewing capabilities of the Hubble Spac… Continue reading Avoiding violent neighbors key to planet formation in star clusters
A new study has determined that Earth’s forests are transforming in response to a combination of human actions and natural processes such as wildfires, causing them to lose their oldest trees and grow shorter. Sadly, this trend is likely to continue as… Continue reading Earth’s forests are getting shorter and younger as the climate shifts
A new study has revealed that a cataclysmic disruption of Earth’s protective ozone layer may have allowed damaging levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation to saturate the Earth 359 million years ago, triggering a global mass extinction. The researchers be… Continue reading Ozone depletion triggered mass extinction during the Age of Fishes
Kerbal Space Program (KSP) is set to get a new, free update in partnership with the European Space Agency that will bring world-famous missions and hardware to the physics-based rocketry game. Players will gain access to all the parts needed to create … Continue reading Free Kerbal update to introduce ESA missions and heavy rocket parts
The closest black hole to our solar system has been discovered a mere 1,000 light-years from Earth. The black hole – which has a mass the equivalent to at least four suns – is completely invisible even to the most powerful of observatories, but orbits … Continue reading Nearest black hole discovered has companion stars visible from Earth
A new paper has revealed that Greenland and the Antarctic have lost a staggering amount of mass from their ice sheets over the last 16 years thanks to climate change, and that the melting has contributed to sea level rise. The researchers drew on satel… Continue reading Study reveals massive yearly ice loss in the Antarctic and Greenland
SpaceX has announced that it will mount a sun visor on each of its Starlink satellites and have them perform controlled maneuvers, to make them less visible to members of the astronomy community making detailed observations of the night sky. SpaceX has… Continue reading SpaceX will use sun visors to darken future Starlink satellites
NASA is planning to launch a tiny satellite aboard one of the most powerful rockets ever constructed, to hunt for ice hiding deep inside inky black impact craters on the Moon’s surface. The bottoms of these craters – which are located near the lunar po… Continue reading NASA’s Lunar Flashlight to hunt for water in ancient Moon craters
The Hubble Space Telescope is celebrating its 30th launch anniversary with the release of a breathtakingly colorful portrait of two star forming nebulae – collectively nicknamed the “Cosmic Reef” – located in a nearby galaxy orbiting the Milky Way. Des… Continue reading Hubble celebrates 30 years of exploring the cosmic ocean