The Mars Curiosity rover has found the largest organic molecules yet on the Red Planet. Organic molecules are the building blocks of life, although they can also be produced by geological processes. While there’s currently no way to prove whether these particular molecules were formed from processes associated with life, their very discovery shows thatContinue reading "Curiosity discovers largest organic molecules yet on Mars"
The near-Earth asteroid 2025 BC10 will pass safely near our planet on Saturday (April 5). The Virtual Telescope Project will livestream views of the asteroid's close approach online.
Scientists have uncovered a massive galaxy that existed just 2 billion years after the Big Bang. But how did this colossal "Big Wheel" form so early in the universe? The answer could change everything we know about galaxy growth.
Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, April 4This evening, the roughly half-illuminated face of the Moon hangs in Gemini, high in the south an hour after sunset. First Quarter Moon occurs at 10:15 P.M. EDT. The two brightest stars in Gemini are Castor (magnitude 1.6) and Pollux (magnitude 1.2).Continue reading "The Sky This Week from April 4 to 11: Catch your last views of Uranus"
Billed as the "World's Largest Astronomy & Space Expo," NEAF 2025 draws thousands of stargazers each year, with astronauts and exoplanet hunters speaking this year.
The next astronauts to fly to the moon now have a mission patch to represent their journey. NASA debuted the official Artemis 2 insignia, its first emblem for a moon-bound crew in more than 50 years.
Alongside this exciting teaser for 'Black Mirror 'Season 7, which launches on April 10, we also have details on this week’s 'USS Callister: Into Infinity' virtual watch party on April 8.
As World War II drew to a close, the Allies were eager to get their hands on one of the most technologically amazing yet terrifying weapons in Nazi Germany’s armamentarium: the V-2 rocket. A long-range, liquid-fueled supersonic guided missile, the V-2 could carry a 2,000-pound (910 kilograms) warhead a staggering 200 miles (320 kilometers) fromContinue reading "Megaroc: The British manned space program that almost was"
New NASA shielding technology that protects against damaging lunar dust just passed a trial run on the moon, marking an important milestone in the agency's lunar aspirations.
A new study compares young and old exoplanets to uncover how worlds shrink, migrate and evolve over time — offering insights into long-standing astronomical mysteries like the "hot Neptune desert" and the "radius valley."
A trio of secretive Russian satellites launched earlier this year has released a mysterious object into orbit, sparking interest among space trackers and analysts.
Andrei Pleskatsevich, taken from Minsk, Belarus The Seagull Nebula is a region of nebulosity lying on the border between constellations Monoceros and Canis Major; the emission nebula forming the bird’s “head” carries the catalog designation IC 2177. The imager used a 3-inch f/4.5 scope and one-shot color camera to take 10 hours of exposure.
The European Space Agency has picked Airbus to build the landing platform for the life-hunting ExoMars rover Rosalind Franklin, which is scheduled to launch in 2028.
Disney has revealed its third animated Star Wars anthology series, which takes us deeper into the galaxy's darkest corners through the eyes of two infamous bounty hunters.
Scientists have successfully fermented miso aboard the International Space Station, marking the first deliberate food fermentation in space that may open up new culinary possibilities for astronauts on long-term missions.
A spiral galaxy known as NGC 4945 exhibits powerful winds of material blowing from the supermassive black hole located at its core in a new photo taken by the Very Large Telescope in Chile.
Sky watchers The University of Arizona PressTucson, AZ Star Gazers: Finding Joy in the Night Sky, by prolific astronomy writer David H. Levy, is a collection of personal essays celebrating amateur and professional astronomy. Bringing together his decades of sky-watching experience, this 172-page book gives readers insight into Levy’s thoughts on James Webb Space Telescope,Continue reading "Spring for new astronomy products this month"
The first astronauts to enter a polar orbit chose the obvious animal to serve as their zero-g indicator: a plush polar bear. The doll also has an emperor penguin embroidered on its chest.
Transforming an MRI brain scan into a hyperbolic network of nodes allows researchers to detect brain connectivity disruption caused by Alzheimer’s disease.
NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore both say they'd ride on Boeing's Starliner again, despite the issues the capsule had on its first crewed flight.
Cloud-dodging eclipse chasers in New Brunswick and Québec, Canada, captured the solar horns, reflections and all kinds of weird views as the sun rose partially eclipsed.
The Federal Aviation Administration has completed its investigations looking into “mishaps” that occurred during Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket launch and SpaceX’s Starship Flight 7 in January. On Jan. 16, Blue Origin’s New Glenn-1 reached orbit on its debut flight. While the launch was successful, the rocket lost its lower stage during its descent. Later thatContinue reading "FAA concludes Blue Origin, SpaceX January ‘mishap’ investigations"
Cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang and his Fram2 private astronaut crew got a two-for-one deal when they watched a rocket launch ahead of their own launch on March 31.
Researchers with the U.S. military's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have successfully used Earth's atmosphere as a sensor to detect a distant disturbance.
Looking like a soccer ball with glowing blue eyes, the Japanese Experiment Module Internal Ball Camera-2 is put to test aboard the International Space Station.
he first commercially built rocket to lift off from continental Europe came tumbling back to Earth within seconds. But its manufacturer considers the mission a success. The test flight, “Going Full Spectrum,” was the debut launch of Norwegian company Isar Aerospace’s Spectrum, a two-stage orbital launch vehicle designed to compete with SpaceX’s workhorse Falcon 9Continue reading "Debut flight of Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket ends in explosion"
Europe's Solar Orbiter spacecraft has chronicled the development of the magnetic escape of plasma driven out by a powerful magnetic reconnection event.
From the editor: As the extraordinary pace of astronomical discovery carries on, we increasingly see that the stuff of life is spread throughout the cosmos. Life, even complex life, must be common out there. We know of several hundred billion stars in our galaxy, at least 100 billion galaxies, and planets around most of theContinue reading "Earth as a planet"
My childhood fascination with the night sky led me to study astronomy and physics at university. By my second year, I was operating the telescope atop the physics building, tracking celestial objects — just like astronomy student Kate Dibiasky in the disaster movie Don’t Look Up.I never imagined I’d also soon find myself alerting othersContinue reading "Solving the climate equation"
In many ways, Tony Fadell built the digital world we live in. At the turn of the millennium, his efforts to build a pocket-sized, hard-disk-based device that could hold 1,000 songs in MP3 format caught the attention of Apple. Within months, he had been hired by the firm, and less than a year after hisContinue reading "How to build climate solutions: An interview with Tony Fadell"
An analysis of two decades of data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has provided fresh insights into the complex atmospheric changes on Uranus, including the effects of the sun's radiation on its seasonal shifts.
A dramatic video shows Isar Aerospace's first orbital launch attempt, which ended with a fiery crash into the frigid sea about 30 seconds after liftoff.
SpaceX launched another batch of Starlink internet satellites to orbit on Monday (March 31), on the first of the company's two planned liftoffs for the day.
NASA's flight directors have taken a page from the astronauts they support, if not also the Masters, Hells Angels and Saturday Night Live's Five-Timers Club. There is now a flight director's jacket.
A new study of complex systems supports a growing trend that focuses more on analyzing a system’s collective behavior rather than on trying to uncover the underlying interaction mechanisms.
Next week, a crew of private astronauts is expected to go where no one has gone before. Chun Wang, the crypto entrepreneur who purchased the Fram2 mission from SpaceX in August, announced Friday that the three-to-five-day sojourn — the first human spaceflight to fly directly over the Earth’s poles — is scheduled to launch fromContinue reading "SpaceX’s Fram2 mission will aim for the poles"
Astrophysicist and artist Ed Belbruno explains how art helps scientists communicate their work to the public and even discover solutions to spaceflight and astronomy problems.
Dark energy may have a completely unknown aspect of physics acting as an accomplice in its efforts to defy gravity, suppressing the growth of large-scale structures like galaxy superclusters.
Experiments with erbium ions show that they can be used to create entangled photons in the telecom band—an important step in building quantum repeaters.
Observers across eastern North America and much of Europe will have front-row seats to the striking partial solar eclipse on March 29. Here's what to expect.
John Scalzi cased out the Armstrong Museum before writing "When the Moon Hits Your Eye." The author may have been confused of planning a heist given the way he eyed an Apollo 11 moon rock on display.
After a scrubbed test flight on Monday, a German spaceflight company has determined its next opportunity to launch the first commercial orbital launch vehicle from mainland Europe. Munich-based Isar Aerospace postponed the debut launch of its Spectrum rocket, citing unfavorable winds at Norway’s Andøya Spaceport. On Tuesday, Isar said it will now target Thursday atContinue reading "German firm eyes Thursday for Europe’s first commercial orbital launch"
A group of stellar Sherlocks have solved the mystery of red transient objects that appear and fade in the sky, linking them to the total explosive death of stars.
Astronomers have finally identified the source of mysterious radio waves from deep space, tracing the signals back to an unusual stellar pair locked in a swift orbit, flashing out their location for the universe to hear. In research published March 12 in Nature Astronomy, a team of astrophysicists finally found the source of strange, minute-longContinue reading "This dead star is still sending us radio signals"
A new 28-minute film explores the medical, social, political and ethical challenges of parenthood and child-rearing that truly permanent communities in space will need to solve.
The quest to send humans to Mars is on: US President Donald Trump talked about it in his inauguration speech this year. Such an epic endeavor could help to answer fundamental questions about the Red Planet, including the biggest question of all: Did Mars once host life — and does it still? Central to thoseContinue reading "Ghost rivers, hidden lakes: The long search for water on Mars"
Rocket Lab launched eight wildfire detection satellites from New Zealand March 26, lofting the "Finding a Wildfire near you" mission into orbit for German-based OroraTech.
Greg Polanski from Kanata, Ontario, Canada The ever-popular Rosette Nebula (NGC 2237–9/46) lies 10° east of Betelgeuse and is an impressive telescopic sight. Deep imaging reveals the line of dark Bok globules — small dense clouds where baby stars are forming — that appear to lie suspended within the nebula. The imager took 12⅓ hoursContinue reading "Bathed in blue"
To detect neutrinos, scientists use vast observatories located underground, shielded from cosmic ray interference. These detectors rely on Cherenkov radiation, a bluish light produced when high-speed muons, created by rare neutrino collisions, travel faster than light through water or ice. Photomultiplier tubes amplify this light, allowing astronomers to trace the neutrino’s path and energy.
A nearly month-long mission is ready to lift off, with preparations being made at the Kennedy Center. To be clear, not NASA's Kennedy Space Center, but the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
"The respective sizes of the two arcs also create a great symbolic representation of the difference in scale between what we experience and deal with as humans on Earth and the vastness and grandeur of the scale of space and our closest neighbor"
While the presence of these molecules is not proof of ancient life on Mars, scientists say it shows we could detect chemical signatures of past life, if it ever existed.
During the partial solar eclipse on March 29, 2025, a weird "double sunrise" will grace the skies between Canada's St Lawrence River and the Bay of Fundy, via the easternmost point of the U.S.
Breathtaking photos of this month's total lunar eclipse capture a blood red moon and star-studded Milky Way over NOIRLab's Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile.
A strange blue spiral lit up the sky over Europe on Monday night (March 24), with residents of the UK and other countries speculating on its true nature on social media.
The heating effect of microwaves has long been used to accelerate reactions. A new experiment shows that microwaves can also excite molecules into a less reactive state.
NASA websites no longer state that the Artemis 3 mission will aim to land the first person of color and the first woman on the moon, but the agency says this does not reflect a change in crew.
Earth to astronaut Barbie, we have a new space collectible, but probably not for all of the reasons Mattel intended. The toy company has released a Barbie Miss Astronaut 60th anniversary doll.
Astronomers have discovered more than 300 exoplanetary systems that have three or more known planets. Most of these planets are about the same size and spaced close together, earning them the moniker “peas in a pod.” They also orbit near their stars, in many cases closer than Mercury is to the Sun. Our solar system,Continue reading "Our solar system is not as unusual as we thought"
SpaceX launched its third mission of the year for the United States' spy satellite agency today (March 24), the 19th anniversary of the company's first-ever liftoff.
Could the nearby star Sirius B explode as a type Ia supernova, like some other white dwarf stars in binary star systems have? Bruce MasonEncinitas, California A type Ia supernova occurs when a white dwarf — the cooling remnant of an aging star — draws hydrogen from a companion sun. When the dwarf reaches 1.4Continue reading "Will Sirius B explode as a type Ia supernova?"
The observation of titanic jets emerging from the supermassive black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy could be a grim prediction of the Milky Way's future.
Astronomers have tracked several meteorites that dropped in on Earth back to their origin, space rocks in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to view an unusual event: a partial eclipse of the Sun. Depending on where you are, you might see the Moon cover up to 90 percent of the bright solar disk. Remember, however, even 10 percent of the Sun is dangerous to look at, so wear approvedContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: A Solar Eclipse"
Space-based solar power is one step closer to reality, now that Florida startup Star Catcher has successfully beamed energy across the Jacksonville Jaguars' stadium.
Using data from the Euclid Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a stunning 2,674 dwarf galaxies, the study of which could help better understand cosmic evolution.
Nestled in the rolling green hills of the English countryside is an important site in global astronomical history. But now, with its future uncertain, this historic site is at risk.
JWST could potentially detect the signature of methyl halide compounds, produced by microbial life in Earth's ocean, on hypothetical hycean exoplanets.
Greg Meyer from Phoenix, Arizona This dusty figure of the Baby Eagle Nebula (LBN 777) is part of the larger Taurus Molecular Cloud. The dust is dimly lit by young stars within the cloud; the brownish color gives away the presence of larger dust grains. This image comprises nearly 24 hours of LRGB exposure withContinue reading "Cosmic fledgling"
On Episode 153 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with Robert Zubrin, founder and president of The Mars Society, about making real, actionable plans to send a crew to Mars.
Astronomers have examined infant planets orbiting a star 370 light-years away, seeing the exomoon forming disks of gas and dust around them in unprecedented detail.
This stunning image features a deep field view of the Cassiopeia constellation where the two small planetary nebulas can be found, Abell 6 and the larger HFG1.
Microsoft’s announcement of achieving a milestone in a potentially transformative approach to quantum computing is met with skepticism by researchers attending the APS Global Summit.
Both "The Electric State" and "The Wizard of Oz" latch onto the themes of family, home, tolerance, identity and the interconnectedness of the individuals we share our lives with.
"That capability gap is significantly narrowed, and we've got to change the way we're looking at space, or that capability gap may reverse and not be in our favor anymore."
A new model that incorporates data gathered by the JWST could help scientists understand the composition and mass of objects in the distant Kuiper Belt and beyond.
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is one of the Milky Way’s closest neighbors. It’s a small, irregular galaxy that orbits the Milky Way, and is an easy naked-eye object from the Southern Hemisphere. As one of the only galaxies outside our own where telescopes can resolve individual stars and small scale structures, astronomers love toContinue reading "Our near galactic neighbor might have a supermassive black hole"
Home to the world's highest tides and biggest lobsters, New Brunswick will experience a partial solar eclipse at sunrise on March 29, 2025. For one eclipse-chaser, it's the ultimate moon-shot.
The spacesuit worn by the first Briton in space, the Soyuz that brought the first UK astronaut back to Earth and the only Apollo capsule to be on display outside the U.S. will soon be on the move.
The emission nebula, known as Sh2-284, is an immense region of gas and dust that fuels new star formation. It lacks elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, much like the environment of the early universe.
The Mars water debate continues. A team of scientists suggests vast oceans of water may not be locked within the Red Planet's crust, despite InSight lander data.
Astronomers have discovered filaments of matter swirling tornado-like around the heart of the Milky Way, home to the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*.
Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, March 21By 10 P.M. local daylight time, the constellation Canes Venatici the Hunting Dogs is some 45° high in the east. Nestled under the curve of the Big Dipper’s handle, this seemingly innocuous star pattern hosts several popular deep-sky objects. One of thoseContinue reading "The Sky This Week from March 21 to 28: Galilean moon action"
چه چیزی باعث از بین رفتن توان ستارهزایی در کهکشانهای کمجرم یا کوتوله میشود؟ این سوالی است که منجمان مدتها معتقد بودند پاسخ دقیق به آن را یافتهاند، اما نتایج جدید نشان میدهد که ما هنوز از تصویری دقیق و واقعبینانه دور هستیم.
کهکشانهای کوتوله، که جرم ستارهای آنها حدود یک تا دو میلیارد برابر جرم خورشید یا کمتر است، از رایجترین انواع کهکشانها در کیهان محسوب میشوند. به عنوان مثال، در گروه محلی۱ بیش از ۶۰ کهکشان کوتوله وجود دارد و این تعداد، با بهتر شدن حساسیت تلسکوپها، روز به روز در حال افزایش است. دادههای رصدی وجود تعداد زیادی از کهکشانهای کوتولهی قرمز و خاموش۲ در مراکز پرتراکم کیهان مانند مرکز گروهها و خوشههای کیهانی را تایید میکند، در حالیکه کهکشانهایی که در محیطهای خلوتتر (مانند اطراف گروه محلی یا در محیطهایی خارج از خوشهها) رصد شدهاند، غالبا حاوی گاز و در حال ستارهزایی هستند. بر اساس این مشاهدات این باور کلی به وجود آمده است که محیط تنها عامل خاموششدن ستارهزایی در کهکشانهای کوتوله است.
زمانی که یک کهکشان با سرعت زیاد درون محیط متراکم و داغ گاز خوشهای حرکت میکند، تحت نیرویی به نام فشار ترمزی۳ قرار می گیرد. این نیرو در اثر برخورد و حرکت کهکشان در میان گاز میان خوشهای، بر آن اعمال میشود و میتواند گاز سرد درون کهکشان را از آن خارج کند. هر چقدر جرم کهکشان بیشتر باشد، چاه پتانسیل عمیقتری خواهد داشت و خارج کردن گاز سرد از آن سختتر خواهد بود. چاه پتانسیل کمعمق کهکشانهای کوتوله، آنها را به یک قربانی بسیار ساده برای محیطهای متراکم و شلوغ کیهان تبدیل میکند. مثال بارز این پدیده، کهکشان کوتولهی مسیه ۱۱۰ در فاصله ۲/۷۱ میلیون سال نوری از خورشید است. این کهکشان کوتوله حدود چند میلیارد سال قبل، یعنی درست زمانی که وارد خوشهی محلی میشدهاست، تمامی گاز خود را از دست دادهاست. مسیه ۱۱۰ امروز یک کهکشان کوتولهی خاموش است که با نور قرمز و توزیع نوری کاملا یکنواخت، در تصاویر نجومی خودنمایی میکند.
چرا درک بهتر فرایند خاموششدن کهکشانهای کوتوله تا این اندازه اهمیت دارد؟ پاسخ ساده به این سوال این است که هر آنچه که بتواند ستارهزایی را در کهکشانهای کوتوله متوقف کند، میتواند (با نسبتهای متغیر) سبب خاموششدن کهکشانهای بزرگتر نیز شود. در واقع، مطالعهی آغاز و پایان ستارهزایی در این کهکشانها میتواند یک تصویر دقیق از تمامی فرایندهایی که ستارهزایی در کهکشانها را مدیریت میکند، ارائه دهد. از طرف دیگر، بر اساس مدل استاندارد کیهانشناسی Lambda-CDM، این کهکشانهای کوتوله (یا نمونههای همجرم آنها) بودند که ابتدا در عالم شکل گرفتند و سپس، با ادغامشدن، کهکشانهای بزرگتر را شکل دادند. بنابراین، درک بهتر این کهکشانها در واقع درک بهتر آجرهایی است که عالم امروزی را بنا کردهاند.
در جستجوی کوتولههای خاموش و منزوی!
اگر محیط تنها عامل خاموششدن ستارهزایی در کهکشانهای کوتوله باشد، بنابراین هیچ کهکشان کوتولهی خاموشی نباید در کمتراکمترین نقاط کیهان، یعنی تهیجاها۴ و رشتههای کیهانی۵ وجود داشته باشد. تهیجاهای کیهانی مناطق وسیعی از کیهان، با ابعاد حدودی ۱۰ تا ۱۰۰ مگاپارسک، هستند که در مقایسه با خوشههای کهکشانی، چگالی مادهی بسیار کمتری دارند. رشتههای کیهانی در مرز میان تهیجاها قرار گرفتهاند. برای راستیآزمایی این فرضیه، ما به سراغ ۴۲ تهیجای کیهانی در بازهی انتقال به سرخ ۰/۰۰۵ تا ۰/۰۵، که کاتالوگ آنها توسط تیم CAVITY جمعآوری شدهاست، رفتهایم. برای بررسی کوتولهها در رشتههای کیهانی نیز از کاتالوگ کهکشانهای رشتهای Dominguez-Gomez et al. 2023 استفاده کردیم. هدف ما پیداکردن تنهاترین کوتولهها در کمتراکمترین نقاط کیهان بود. بنابراین، کهکشانهای کوتولهای را در این تهیجاها و رشتهها انتخاب کردیم که هیچ کهکشان همسایهای، تا فاصلهی ۱ مگاپارسکی، از آنها حضور نداشته باشد. دلیل این انتخاب، مطالعاتی هستند که ثابت کردهاند یکی از علتهای خاموشی در کهکشانهای کوتوله، نزدیکی یا همسایگی با کهکشانهای دیگر است. سپس در این مطالعه به بررسی تاریخچهی ستارهزایی در این کهکشانها با کمک تکنیکهای طیفسنجی، با استفاده از دادههای طیفی Sloan Digital Sky Survey پرداختیم. طیفسنجی یک ابزاری کلیدی و دقیق برای بررسی کهکشانهاست و به ما کمک میکند تا تخمینی از سن، درصد فراوانی آهن (عناصر سنگینتر از هلیوم) و روند ستارهزایی در کهکشان داشته باشیم.
شکل ۱. گروهی کمیاب از کهکشانهای کوتولهی خاموش و منزوی در تهیجاها و رشته های کیهانی.
این جستجو سبب شد تا ما گروهی کمیاب از کهکشانهای کوتولهی پرجرم و خاموش را پیدا کنیم که در تنهاترین و کمچگالترین نقاط کیهان حضور دارند. ستارهزایی در این کهکشانها بیش از ۲ میلیارد سال پیش متوقف شدهاست و هیچ گازی در این کهکشانها وجود ندارد. این کهکشانها از نظر برخی خصوصیات مانند اندازه و جرم، تفاوتی با سایر کهکشانهای کوتولهی خاموش در خوشهها ندارند، اما وجه مشترک تمامی آنها، میزبانی از خوشههای ستارهای هستهای۶ است. خوشههای ستارهای هستهای، مجموعهای فشرده از ستارگان هستند که در مرکز بسیاری از کهکشانها، از جمله کهکشانهای کوتوله و حتی در راه شیری پیدا میشوند. این خوشهها از لحاظ جرم و چگالی، درخشانترین و متراکمترین خوشههای ستارهای در کهکشان میزبان خود محسوب میشوند.
در شکل ۲، ما تاریخچهی ستارهزایی این کهکشانها را با نمونههای مشابه (از نظر جرم) در خوشههای بزرگ کیهانی مقایسه کردیم. آنچه که قابل توجه است، شباهت میزان ستارهزایی در برخی از این کهکشانهای کوتولهی خاموش در تهیجاها و رشتهها با گروهی از کهکشانهای کوتوله است که امروزه در مرکز خوشههای کیهانی قرار دارند. کهکشانی که امروز در مرکز یک خوشهی کیهانی قرار داشته باشد، بیش از ۵ میلیارد سال را در آن خوشه زندگی کردهاست و این به معنای قرارگرفتن در معرض تمامی محرکهای محیطی برای بیش از ۵ میلیارد سال است. به بیان دیگر، ما شاهد دو گروه از کهکشانهای کوتوله در محیطهایی کاملا متفاوت با فعالیتهای ستارهزایی کاملا مشابه هستیم. هر دو گروه بیش از ۴ میلیارد سال پیش به ستارهزایی خود خاتمه دادهاند. از سویی دیگر، کهکشانهای کوتولهای که امروزه در اطراف خوشهها قرار دارند (یعنی مدت زمان بسیار کمی را در معرض محرکهای محیطی بودهاند) اما حضور یک خوشه ستارهای هستهای در آنها تایید شدهاست، در ستارهزایی، رفتاری مشابه با کهکشانهای خاموش تهیجاای و رشتهای دارند. سوالی که پیش میآید این است: در نبود محرکهای محیطی، چه چیزی سبب از بین رفتن ستارهزایی در این کهکشانها میشود؟
شکل ۲. نمودار درصد جرم ستارهای تشکیلشده در کهکشانها بر حسب زمان. در تصویر فوق، متوسط فعالیت ستارهزایی کهکشانهای کوتولهی خاموش و منزوی (نشان داده شده با خطوط ممتد) را با فعالیت ستارهزایی کهکشانهای کوتولهی خاموش خوشهای مقایسه کردهایم. کهکشانهای کوتولهای که در مرکز خوشهها قرار دارند با خطچین و کهکشانهای کوتولهای که در خوشهها، میزبان خوشههای ستارهای هستهای هستند، با نقطهچین مشخص شدهاند. خطوط بنفش کهکشانهایی که ستارهزایی سریعی داشتهاند و خطوط صورتی کهکشانهایی که هاله و جمعیت ستارهای خود را در بازهی زمانی طولانیتری شکل دادهاند، نمایش میدهد.
خاموشی در حضور سیاهچالهها؟
در سال های اخیر، فعالیت هستههای کهکشانی فعال۷ به عنوان یکی از فرآیندهای خاموشی ستارهای در کهکشانهای کوتوله مورد بحث بودهاست. فعالیت هستهای کهکشانی فعال به فعالیتهای شدید و پرانرژی در مرکز برخی از کهکشانها اطلاق میشود که معمولا ناشی از حضور یک سیاهچالهی پرجرم است. یک سیاهچاله با جذب ماده، انرژی زیادی را به صورت تابش در طول موجهای مختلف تابش میکند. این تابش با افزایش دمای گاز میانستارهای و به بیرون راندن بخشی از این گاز، به خاموشی فعالیت ستارهزایی در کهکشان منجر میشود. بر اساس دادههای موجود، ما نتوانستیم حضور یا عدم حضور سیاهچاله در مرکز این کهکشانهای کوتولهی خاموش را تایید کنیم. از آنجایی که در این بازهی جرمی، معمولا یافتن سیاهچالههای مرکزی و تمیزدادن آنها از خوشههای ستارهای هستهای کار دشواری است، برای بررسی و مطالعهی این موضوع به دادههای رصدی بهتری نیاز است.
خودکشی کهکشانها با ستارهزایی؟
مطالعات اخیر ثابت کردهاند که کهکشانها، فارغ از جرم و محل سکونتشان، دو نوع ستارهزایی را در طول زندگی خود تجربه میکنند: ستارهزایی کوتاهمدت و بلندمدت. در شکل ۲، این دوگانگی در فعالیت ستارهزایی، حتی در یک نمونهی کوچک کهکشانهای خاموش تهیجاای و رشتهای، مشهود است.
کهکشانهایی که هاله و جمعیت ستارهای خود را خیلی سریع شکل میدهند، فارغ از محیط امروزیشان، رفتار ستارهزایی مشابهی دارند. این امر در مقایسهی بین کهکشانهای تهیجا و خوشهای در شکل ۲، قابل تشخیص است. این بدان معناست که این کهکشانها در یک بازهی زمانی خیلی کوتاه، بخش بزرگی از جمعیت ستارهای خود را تشکیل دادهاند. ستارهزایی در این بازهی کوتاه، به معنای تشکیل بادهای ستارهای و فعالیتهای ابرنواختری۸ شدید است. این فعالیتها میتوانند با افزایش دمای گاز میان ستارهای و به بیرون راندن بخش زیادی از گاز، سبب خاموش شدن کهکشانهای کوتوله شوند. البته نقش کلیدی بادهای ستارهای در خاموشی کهکشانهای کوتولهی کم جرم تا به حال اثبات شده است اما نقش این فرایند برای کهکشانهای کوتولهی پرجرم، هنوز به درستی درک نشدهاست. ستارهزایی شدید، فعالیتهای ابرنواختری و بادهای ستارهای پس از آن، میتوانند سبب خاموشی کهکشانهای کوتوله در تهیجاها و حتی در مرکز خوشههای کیهانی شوند اما بررسی دقیقتر این موضوع، منوط به بررسی داده های دقیقتر و مناسبتر است.
همچنین کهکشانهای کوتولهای که هاله و جمعیت ستارهای خود را در بازهی زمانی طولانیتری ساختهاند، اما میزبان یک خوشهی ستارهای هستهای هستند، فارغ از محیطی که در آن زندگی می کنند رفتار ستارهزایی مشابهی را از خود نشان میدهند. این امر میتواند بدان معنا باشد که شکلگیری یا حضور یک خوشهی ستارهای هستهای ممکن است به خاموشی کهکشانهای کوتولهی میزبان منجر شود. از یک زاویهی دیگر، میتوان گفت که شکلگیری خوشهی ستارهای هستهای، خود نتیجهی یک فرآیند خاموشی (مثل انفجارهای ابرنواختری یا حضور فعالیتهای هستهای کهکشانی) است و پیدا کردن آنها، مانند یافتن رد پای فرآیندهای خاموشی، به غیر از محرکهای محیطی، در این کهکشانهاست.
آنچه که سبب خاموشی کهکشانهای کوتولهی پرجرم منزوی۹ در تهیجاها و رشتهها شدهاست، هنوز برای ما مشخص نیست. در این مقاله و با استناد به دادهها و نتایجی که بهدست آوردیم، تنها میتوانستیم حدسهایی را در خصوص فرآیندهای مسئول ارائه دهیم و یافتن پاسخ دقیقتر، وابسته به ارزیابی و بررسی دادههای بهتر است. یافتن این جمعیت بسیار کمیاب از کهکشانهای کوتولهی خاموش در انزوا بدان معناست که بر خلاف باورهای رایج قبلی، محیط تنها عامل خاموشی کهکشانهای کوتوله نیست و ما هنوز از یک تصویر واقعبینانه از فیزیک باریونی در کهکشانها و فرایندهای مسئول در خاموشی کهکشانهای کوتوله بسیار فاصله داریم.
۱. Local group
۲. Quenched
۳. Ram pressure
۴. Voids
۵. Filaments
۶. Nuclear star cluster
۷. Active galactic nuclei
۸. Supernova feedback
۹. Isolated dwarf galaxy
A French researcher was denied entry to the United States and expelled from the country for expressing “a personal opinion” on U.S. president Donald Trump’s research policies, the French government said March 19. France’s research minister, Philippe Baptiste, told the wire agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) that the researcher, from France’s National Center for Scientific ResearchContinue reading "French space researcher denied entry to U.S. over views on Trump’s policies: report"
The winners of the annual “Gallery of Soft Matter” competition included posters and videos depicting wiggling worms, wrinkly leaves, sun-shy algae, flowing solids, and drying fibers.
A pod of bottlenose dolphins seemingly took interest in the capsule that dropped out of the sky, circling and surfacing as SpaceX team members worked to recover their spacecraft.
SpaceX set a new rocket-reuse record early Friday morning (March 21) when it launched a batch of spy satellites for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office.
Rui Santos, taken from Leiria, Portugal In this solargraph, the Sun’s journey across the sky is captured continuously for 43 days, its trails interrupted by overcast days and passing clouds. To create the image, the photographer transformed a beer can into a pinhole camera and lined the interior with light-sensitive photographic paper. In the foregroundContinue reading "A (really) long exposure"
The 3D cosmic map building DESI has provided more clues that dark energy is weakening over time, suggesting our best model of cosmic evolution could be wrong.
Astronomers have discovered oxygen and heavy elements in the earliest galaxy ever seen, suggesting some galaxies as early as 300 million years after the Big Bang matured early.
A green energy plant expected to be built in Chile could increase night-time sky brightness at one of the world's most valuable astronomical sites by up to 35%
Experiments support a controversial proposal to generate electricity from our planet’s rotation by using a device that interacts with Earth’s magnetic field.
After 268 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS), NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams made their highly anticipated return to Earth on Tuesday evening. But while they are back on solid ground, the vehicle that flew them to the orbital laboratory faces an uncertain future. Wilmore and Williams were commander and pilot, respectively,Continue reading "What’s next for Boeing Starliner?"
New research suggests that life could have the time and energy to arise on Earth-like worlds in the rapidly shrinking "Goldilocks zones" around white dwarf stars.
Famed physicist Stephen Hawking took gravity to its ultimate limits. In doing so, he made a number of significant advancements in our understanding of black holes, cosmology and quantum gravity.
Astronomers at the University of Michigan have discovered a new satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), the Milky Way’s closest major galactic neighbor, and it has broken the record for the faintest such galaxy yet discovered. Both the Milky Way and Andromeda are known to have a slew of smaller galaxies that orbit them, caughtContinue reading "Andromeda has a new faintest satellite galaxy"
Hera, European Space Agency’s (ESA) flagship planetary defense mission that launched in October 2024, took images of Mars and Deimos, one of its two moons, yesterday. The mission’s flyby was used as a gravity assist to its final destination at the binary asteroid system Dimorphos and Didymos. The mission also used this journey past MarsContinue reading "Martian moon caught on camera during Hera flyby"
For over a century, astronomers have marveled at the beauty and complexity of spiral galaxies, which feature arms covered in a multitude of small-scale features known as feathers.
If you have an otherworldly knack for picking the winners of college basketball games, you could get a free ride to Mars on SpaceX's Starship megarocket.
The Euclid space telescope has dropped its first data and deep field observations showing millions of galaxies in great detail as it hunts for dark matter and dark energy clues.
A pod of dolphins gave the four astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-9 mission a warm welcome after their capsule splashed down in the ocean on Tuesday afternoon (March 18).
SpaceX’s Dragon Freedom capsule safely splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday evening bringing astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams home after the two spent 286 days in space aboard the International Space Station.
The first astronauts to fly on two different commercial spacecraft during a single mission, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, returned to Earth with ISS crewmates Nick Hague and Aleksandr Gorbunov.
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who flew to the International Space Station (ISS) in June for an intended eight-day stay, are expected to finally return to Earth Tuesday after spending more than nine months orbiting the planet. The space agency on Sunday said it expects the astronauts — the commander and pilot ofContinue reading "How to watch: Starliner crew set for splashdown after nine-month ISS stay"
Powering spacecraft with solar energy may not seem like a challenge, given how intense the Sun’s light can feel on Earth. Spacecraft near the Earth use large solar panels to harness the Sun for the electricity needed to run their communications systems and science instruments. However, the farther into space you go, the weaker theContinue reading "Inside radioisotope generators, the ‘nuclear batteries’ that power faraway spacecraft"
The clearest and most precise images yet of the universe’s infancy from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope show the first steps toward the first stars and galaxies.
Despite a brief panic, asteroid 2024 YR4 isn't likely to hit us anytime soon, but we can still study the asteroid up close to help us understand these space rocks.
It was the opening scene of "Apollo 13" and was recreated for the Neil Armstrong biopic "First Man." It was also included in director Mark Craig's "Last Man on the Moon," inspiring "Apollo 1."
You could forgive M17 for having an identity crisis. Observers refer to this emission region as the Omega, the Swan, and even the Checkmark Nebula. M17 doesn’t even know what constellation to call home — most of it lies in Sagittarius, but its northern edge crosses into Serpens. Yet no one can deny the stellarContinue reading "M17 stars in a cosmic vista"
Marco Wong from Redhill, U.K. The Milky Way arches over the Cuckmere River in Sussex, U.K., in this blended panorama. The imager used a Canon DSLR and captured the sky panels with a 28mm f/1.4 and with exposures of 52 seconds at ISO 800; the foreground panels were captured with a 13mm f/2.8 lens atContinue reading "From dusk til dawn"
NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are on their way home from a nine-month space mission that was supposed to last just 10 days. Here's a rundown of their eventful time off Earth.
SpaceX is poised to land its Crew Dragon Freedom with the two ISS crewmates who launched on it and two astronauts who arrived at the space station in June on Boeing's Starliner. Here's how to see it.
The Blue Ghost lunar lander finished surface operations on March 16, 2025, wrapping up a smashing success of a mission. Designed, built, and flown by Firefly Aerospace, based near Austin, Texas, Blue Ghost executed a flawless two-month-long voyage, capped by a stunning landing and two weeks of operations at Mare Crisium. The success of theContinue reading "Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander nails lunar mission"
Researchers have characterized the temperature-induced frequency shifts of a thorium-229 nuclear transition—an important step in establishing thorium clocks as next-generation frequency standards.
A major milestone with the Vera C. Rubin Observatory has been reached with the installation of the telescope's enormous eye — the world's largest digital camera.
After a long wait and a bunch of disappointing straight-to-DVD sequels, Starship Troopers is still trying to live forever with a theatrical reboot now in development.
What is the benefit of a 2″ eyepiece compared to a 1¼” eyepiece? Tom NagyNorth Ridgeville, Ohio A 2″ eyepiece delivers a wider true field of view (the actual amount of sky visible) than a 1¼” eyepiece of the same focal length. Two factors determine the true field: the telescope’s focal length and the diameterContinue reading "What is the difference between a 2″ eyepiece and a 1¼” eyepiece?"
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has directly imaged four planets orbiting the host star HR 8799 about 130 light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus.
You know, after decades of pointing optics toward the sky, I consider myself a knowledgeable observer. But while researching the Pleiades a few months back, I was surprised to learn that it wasn’t the brightest star cluster. And there were other surprises when I started comparing overall brightnesses of deep-sky objects. For instance, you mightContinue reading "Observe the brightest deep-sky objects"
SpaceX, the world’s dominant commercial space launch provider, is looking to ramp up the activity of its workhorse rocket. The FAA on Friday released a draft environmental assessment (EA) analyzing the company’s proposal to more than double the number of Falcon 9 launches from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force StationContinue reading "SpaceX proposal would more than double Falcon 9 launches at Cape Canaveral"
In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out soon and look at the planets in the evening sky. The highest is Mars, the so-called Red Planet. The giant planet Jupiter is a bit lower but much brighter. Brightest of all is Venus, low in the west. If you want to see thatContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The Planets Align"
Get the Celestron EclipSmart 10x25 Solar Binoculars for their best price in over a year — a fantastic pair of binoculars for safe observation of the sun.
Astronomers and space scientists are living in a state of fear and anxiety as the Trump administration and Elon Musk-led U.S. DOGE Service target science spending and diversity initiatives with actions that are already damaging research and threaten to set back U.S. scientific leadership for years, scientists tell Astronomy. The assault began during Trump’s firstContinue reading "Space scientists fearful as Trump administration targets science and mulls NASA cuts"
The first private spacecraft mission to Venus, Rocket Lab's Photon Spacecraft, will take on the planet's hellish conditions with the aid of a novel woven heat shield called "HEEET."
On Episode 152 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik host Robert O'Brien for a deep dive into nuclear propulsion technology for space exploration
After many previous claims and false alarms, astronomers can finally confirm the existence of at least four planets less massive than Earth orbiting Barnard's Star.
What do you get when you fold together the contributions of four space station-bound astronauts from the U.S., Japan and Russia? A zero-gravity indicator in the form of a crocheted origami crane.
SpaceX launched the Crew-10 mission to the ISS today (March 14) to relieve the 'stuck' Starliner astronauts and two other crewmembers aboard the orbiting lab.
Researchers proposed methods to preserve the integrity of quantum bits—techniques that may become the key to practical quantum computing on a large scale.
Philippe Moussette, taken at Cap-Rouge, Quebec, Canada The reddened shadow of Earth falling upon the Moon during the lunar eclipse of March 13/14 — a so-called Blood Moon — is captured in this sequence taken with a Canon mirrorless camera and 600mm lens.
The world of virtual reality doesn't have to be an expensive one and HTC Vive is hosting a March sale on some headsets that are definitely worth considering.
The public is enamored of images returned to Earth by space probes. Whether they show the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, or the icy surface of Pluto, these captivating images garner loads of attention. In addition to cameras, robotic probes always carry an array of scientific instruments that get far less attention fromContinue reading "Why so many spacecraft carry magnetometers"
Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, March 14The Moon reaches Full phase early this morning at 2:55 A.M. EDT, with a total lunar eclipse underway. Everyone across the U.S. can watch the event, and no special equipment is needed — just your eyes! Totality begins about half an hourContinue reading "The Sky This Week from March 14 to 21: The start of spring"
A symmetry violation has been observed in a particle-decay process that—together with five related decays—could shed light on the matter–antimatter imbalance in the Universe.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt has assumed the top job at the startup Relativity Space, which aims to compete with SpaceX and other big launch companies.
Tom Hanks knows there are two things that are going to happen in the future: the moon will become a home to astronauts and the other — well, it is best to hear it from him.
Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost moon lander just beamed home up-close video of its epic March 2 touchdown, showing how its thrusters kicked up plumes of lunar dust.
During a flyby of Mars on Wednesday (March 12), ESA's Hera spacecraft inaugurated use of its science instruments to image the smaller of the planet's two moons, Deimos.
Capri Sun now shares another thing in common with NASA. The juice brand and space agency are already using the same foil for their drink packages. Now both are moon-bound.
Jamie Cooper from Northamptonshire, U.K. Craters dot the Moon’s rugged south pole region in this shot taken March 7 with a 16-inch Dobsonian. The central-peak crater just above and left of center is Moretus, and Clavius is the large crater at lower right (with multiple smaller craters inside).
Europe's HERA mission has taken a good look at Mars and its moon Deimos on its way to explore the aftermath of the DART impact in the Didymos–Dimorphos asteroid system.
The moon will turn blood red overnight on Thursday and Friday during the 'Blood Moon' total lunar eclipse. How can you tell what images of this event are the real deal?
The James Webb Space Telescope has found perhaps its most profound discovery to date. The uncovered preferred direction for galaxies supports the idea that the universe was born in a black hole.
The SpaceX Crew-10 astronauts have departed NASA's checkout facility at Kennedy Space Center and are bound for the launch pad ahead of their imminent liftoff.
We’ve always known Mars as the Red Planet — but it turns out, we may have had the reason why wrong. If so, it could revise much of what we know about the history of our smaller neighbor planet. In a study published Feb. 25 in Nature Communications, researchers tied the nature of Mars’ redContinue reading "Could Mars’ red color have formed under wet conditions?"
The moon, the Milky Way, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter Mars, Neptune, Uranus and comet C/2024 G3 are all visible at once in breathtaking new photos from the European Southern Observatory.
A recent paper suggests that if astrobiologists want to make an educated guess about what life on Venus might look like, they should look to a weird microbe called A. ferrooxidans, found here onEarth. Earthly life-forms are the only examples we have of what life looks like, so astrobiologists often study them for clues aboutContinue reading "Strange microbes on Earth might help us understand life on Venus"
Astronomers have traced a starnge blast of radiowaves that repeats every 2 hours back to a dead star white dwarf magnetically slamming its stellar companion.
Astronomers have discovered the smallest dwarf galaxy ever seen. It is a mystery how the satellite galaxy of Andromeda survived the blistering conditions of the early universe.
JWST observations reveal two distinct types of flares from the Milky Way’s black hole, suggesting that they originate from two different electron-acceleration mechanisms within the supermassive black hole’s accretion disk.
Comets develop the spectacular long tails that they are known for by approaching the Sun. When they get too close, their icy volatile materials begin to sublimate away, carrying along clouds of dust. But this activity usually only happens relatively close to the Sun, as comets spend most of their time in the outer solarContinue reading "Astronomers have spotted the most distant comet ever discovered"
Organisms known as extremophiles have been found inhabiting a range of extreme conditions on Earth, including inside our bodies. Could they be on Mars, too?
Natural cycles in Earth's rotational axis and its orbit around the sun drive climatic changes, and now researchers have matched up specific points in those cycles to the timing of ice ages.
Data sent to Earth by its MAPP moon rover on Intuitive Machines' ill-fated IM-2 mission will help Colorado company Lunar Outpost prepare for future lunar voyages.
In what might be a first in spaceflight history, the next crew to launch to the International Space Station has adopted a mission patch that began with ideas put forth by an AI.
During the night of March 13, most of North and South America will be treated to a total lunar eclipse, an event popularly referred to as a Blood Moon. The event is aptly named — the Moon is cast in a dark red, brown, or orange color during totality, giving it an eerie appearance inContinue reading "How to get the most out of the lunar eclipse"
A paper published in 2023 spurred discussion about whether life exists on an exoplanet named K2-18b. Two years later, the puzzle continues — and some scientists are expressing doubt.
A dramatic total lunar eclipse will turn the moon blood red for millions across North America overnight on March 13-14. Here are the best times to watch the show unfold.
Tech giant Microsoft claimed in a recent press release to have made the first topological qubit–an important milestone in the development of quantum computers. But some experts say the firm’s claim has not been backed up by peer-reviewed research.
Simon Todd, taken from Haywards Heath, U.K. The Christmas Tree Cluster lies at the center of this image, filled with young, newborn stars and surrounding nebulosity cataloged as NGC 2264. That includes the Cone Nebula, just left of center. The Fox Fur Nebula lies directly below the bright blue star (S Monoceros) at center. ThisContinue reading "Stellar nativity scene"
NASA and Boom Supersonic released an incredible photo capturing the shock waves of the supersonic XB-1 aircraft while it traveled in front of the sun during a Feb. 10 test flight.
If you weigh a certain amount on Earth, how much less or more would you weigh on the Moon? MakaylaArkansas The short answer is that you would weigh roughly one-sixth your Earth weight on the Moon. So if your bathroom scale reads 180 pounds (81.6 kilograms) on Earth, it would read 30 pounds (13.6 kg)Continue reading "How much less would you weigh on the Moon than on Earth?"
Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, is particularly captivating for scientists. This is thanks in large part to its status as the only other planetary body in the solar system known to host an atmosphere about 1.5 times denser than Earth’s and bodies of liquid on its surface. (Unlike Earth, however, where most surface liquid is water,Continue reading "Cryovolcanism on Titan may replenish its thick atmosphere"
In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out on the evening of March 13. That’s when one of the year’s best celestial events — a total eclipse of the Moon — will begin. It will continue into the early morning hours of the 14th, so if you want to see it all, get ready for aContinue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: A Total Eclipse of the Moon"
If gravity arises from entropy, scientists could unite Einstein's general relativity with the quantum realm while shedding light on dark matter and dark energy.
One of the most competitive segments in the amateur telescope marketplace these days spans 3- to 5-inch apochromatic refractors. Once considered telescopes for the well-to-do, these instruments are now affordable to many backyard stargazers. And one of the newest companies to enter this market segment is Starfield Optics from Caledon, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto.Continue reading "We test Starfield Optics’ 115mm Géar Triplet APO"
On March 13-14, 2025, skywatchers in the Americas will witness a total lunar eclipse that mirrors one Christopher Columbus is said to have used to his advantage over five centuries ago.
Mysterious planetary mass objects that wander the cosmos alone could be created when young star systems clash. They aren't planets or stars, but are in a cosmic class of their own.
AI has helped physicists discover a simpler way of achieving quantum entanglement. This finding could make it easier to develop quantum communication technologies.
Observers across most of the United States will have front-row seats to the spectacular total lunar eclipse overnight on March 13-14. Here's what to expect.
On Episode 151 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and Tariq Malik talk with former NASA Chief Scientist Jim Green about how we can search for technosignatures that might indicate advanced civilizations.
Rob Lyons, taken from Vancouver, Canada This wide-field vista spans the constellations Cepheus and Cassiopeia and includes an host of deep-sky objects. From left to right: NGC 7822 (the Question Mark Nebula), LBN 576 (the Garlic Bulb Nebula), NGC 7635 (the Bubble Nebula), Sharpless 2–157 (the Lobster Claw Nebula), and Sharpless 2–155 (the Cave Nebula).Continue reading "Group photo"
The first astronauts preparing to fly to the moon in more than 50 years want your help identifying their "moon mascot." NASA's Artemis II crew is seeking an original idea for their zero-g indicator.
Crew members launching on SpaceX's next mission to the International Space Station are ready to take the reins of the orbital lab so NASA's Starliner astronauts can finally return to Earth.
Nine minutes after its launch, SpaceX's latest Starship to attempt to reach space exploded, leaving a trail of debris in its wake. Airports in Florida were forced to halt flights.
Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 mission has ended after its lunar lander, Athena, apparently toppled over as it touched down and came to rest on its side yesterday in a shadowed crater, the company announced. In a statement released this morning, the company said its batteries had run out and they did not expect it to reawaken.Continue reading "Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 Moon lander is lying dead in a crater"
The discovery of a mini aurora above a light-emitting polymer material reveals an electron-ejection process that might be useful in field-emission displays and material fabrication.
In 1964, Bell showed that quantum physics predicts correlations that violate certain inequalities. The work implied that quantum mechanics is not compatible with locality, even if there were “hidden variables” not accounted for in quantum theory.
Millions of viewers who tuned into Thursday’s broadcast of SpaceX Starship’s eighth test flight experienced a collective déjà vu as the mammoth rocket exploded and rained down flaming hunks of metal in eerily similar fashion to Flight 7. So too did pilots flying over the Caribbean ocean, many of whom were forced to change course to avoid theContinue reading "SpaceX Starship explodes, disrupts air travel a second time"
The X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle-7 U.S. Space Force’s dynamic unmanned space plane has successfully returned to Earth after a novel aerobraking maneuver during its 7th flight.
The SpaceX Dragon capsule that will carry the next crew to the International Space Station has arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center ahead of its March 12 launch.
The discovery that helium and iron can mix at the temperatures and pressures found at the center of Earth could settle a long-standing debate over how our planet formed.
All lunar eclipses — whether penumbral, partial, or total — offer us thought-provoking views of Earth’s shadow. Frequently, lunar eclipses offer up peculiar color effects, with the shadowed Moon appearing reddish due to the state of Earth’s atmosphere. But the March 14, 2025, total lunar eclipse all but guarantees additional optical phenomena of a differentContinue reading "Look for these effects during the next lunar eclipse"
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![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DAKD4xuTWxsiW3EUwAkfmb.jpg "A black rectangular box with "STARZ" written inside it and a white glow appears infront of a blue planet background with the space.com logo in the top left corner")
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MYp7FfksQAevNmzEVAiU5G.jpg "a stone sign reading "vandenberg space force base" with tall palm trees visible behind it")
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/CxvFVCvLxQ7kgLGckAnwzM.jpg "a movie poster with a woman's face looking up to the sky above the words "watch the skies"")
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vDnmBauHSZMX2ubeoNuMzG.jpg "a rocket-shaped patch featuring a rocket logo between six silhouettes and the label "NS 31"")
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/PP4oud8wvrkGzbHmgoTL4e.jpg "partial solar eclipse shows the moon taking a "bite" out of the sun while some small black sunspots are visible on the sun's surface.")
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/GrbSZEepPjJCdbqR5TRzqP.jpg "Artist's illustration of the view from the seas of a potentially habitable "Hycean" exoplanet.")
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/LMfj9uZVaqnYiteM5pcpc6.jpg "sequence of images showing a partial solar eclipse unfold as the moon takes a larger and larger "bite" out of the sun.")
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aSLvepacoJEoatUxWkzR28.png "An illustration of the so-called "Death Star" known as Wolf-Rayet 104 which appears like a cosmic pinwheel")
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![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/pcYjGJfGnHPbfVJqsPiA6L.jpg "a photograph of space showing a few dozen stars and a blurry dot circled with a label reading "2024 YR"")
