NASA's Perseverance rover took a break from its Mars mountaineering expedition recently to survey its old stomping grounds.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS

China launched the Shenzhou 19 mission to orbit today (Oct. 29), sending three astronauts toward the nation's Tiangong space station for a six-month stay.

© CCTV+

While there are mistakes to avoid and reasons not to buy in the Black Friday sales, here's our advice to make the most of the shopping event.

© Getty Images

NASA remains in an ongoing test mode to determine what’s behind the ablative thermal protective material that chipped away unexpectedly from the Artemis 1 Orion heat shield during its reentry.

© NASA

Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz

A new model of liquid sprays reveals the mechanisms behind droplet formation—providing important information for eventually controlling the droplet sizes in, for example, home cleaning sprays.

[Physics 17, 158] Published Tue Oct 29, 2024

A decision to cut spending on the Hubble Space Telescope by 10% and on the Chandra X-ray Observatory by 40% has been postponed.

© NASA

What is the amount of greenhouse warming required to heat up the cold climes of Mars enough so that trees can grow on the Red Planet?

© Daein Ballard, CC BY-SA

Author(s): Charles Day

A light beam with orbital angular momentum can produce the rotational analog of the Doppler effect on an ion.

[Physics 17, s133] Published Tue Oct 29, 2024

The town of Williams Bay, Wisconsin is much like any other small city on a lake, with an offering of tourist shops and an active beach. But just a short drive past the activity brings you to Yerkes Observatory. Behind an opening of trees stands a sprawling, grand estate with a well-manicured lawn and aContinue reading "How Yerkes Observatory started over"

The post How Yerkes Observatory started over appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Leading climate scientists ring alarm bell on key Atlantic Ocean current collapse in open letter.

© NOAA

The crew were revealed less than a day ahead of launch.

© VCG/VCG via Getty Images

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope captures the galaxy IC 3225 with a comet-like tail of gas streaming from its central disk as it moves through the Virgo Cluster.

© ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun

A banker, an athlete and an astronaut walk onto a stage... No, that is not the setup for a joke, but rather the premise behind a new commercial starring a veteran NASA space traveler.

© Capital One

In time for Halloween, we present seven terrifying cosmic monsters — and to meet your thirst for scares, we've added must-watch horror movies to this witches brew.

© Getty Images/Milamai

Astronomers have discovered a lightweight black hole that’s a bit of a cosmic conundrum. Hypothetically, black hole masses can range all the way from far less than a paperclip to at least tens of billions of times more than the Sun. But observations have revealed a strange scarcity of black holes between about two andContinue reading "Astronomers find a mini black hole"

The post Astronomers find a mini black hole appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has expressed concerns over reports that SpaceX chief executive Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

© NASA/Bill Ingalls

SpaceX plans to launch another batch of its Starlink internet satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, from California Wednedday morning (Oct. 30).

© SpaceX

Super Heavy, the giant first-stage booster of SpaceX's Starship megarocket, nearly aborted its historic launch-tower catch during this month's test flight.

© SpaceX

Boeing may sell its space business in the wake of troubles with its Starliner spacecraft program, according to a new report. But the discussions are at 'an early stage.'

© NASA

Temporary flows of saltwater could explain mysterious gullies and fan-shaped deposits spotted across asteroid Vesta.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

Vikas Chander, taken from Observatorio El Sauce, Chile NGC 1291 (also cataloged as NGC 1269) lies 33 million light-years away in Eridanus. At 12 billion years old, the galaxy has lost most of its spiral structure and matured into a transitional state — yet it has an outer ring that still forming stars, appearing blue inContinue reading "Ring of fire"

The post Ring of fire appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A review of Sony Pictures' "Venom: The Last Dance," a tight and focused final edition to Tom Hardy's alien symbiote trilogy spin-off from the Spiderman universe.

© Sony Pictures

A preview of Marvel Comics' upcoming "Star Wars: Jedi Knights" ongoing series

© Marvel Comics

Watch Comet C/2024 S1 (ATLAS) make a death dive into the sun today (Oct. 28) in this eerie footage from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory spacecraft.

© ESA/NASA SOHO

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Boeing is getting out of the space business — or trying to. Part of a wider move to trim and improve business holdings and operations, the company is looking to offload its space program, assuming it can find a suitable buyer. Boeing has been one of NASA’sContinue reading "For sale: One Boeing space program, says report"

The post For sale: One Boeing space program, says report appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The NASA astronaut who was hospitalized for a night after the splashdown of SpaceX's Crew-8 mission has been released and is doing well, according to the agency.

© NASA+

The next president of the United States could be the first in that office to accept a phone call from the Moon and hear a woman’s voice on the line.

© dima_zel via Getty Images

How do you get ready for a moon mission? The Artemis 2 astronauts practiced a day in space ahead of their historic liftoff in 2025 to see what living in the Orion spacecraft is like.

© Lockheed Martin

In this episode, Dave Eicher invites you to observe one of the most famous deep-sky objects, the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Messier 31 (M31). Named for its location in the constellation Andromeda the Princess, M31 lies some 2.5 million light-years from Earth. While sharp-eyed observers can see it without optical aid, binoculars and telescopes giveContinue reading "Observe the Andromeda Galaxy: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher"

The post Observe the Andromeda Galaxy: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Author(s): Eric Lutz

By manipulating a nitrogen vacancy’s single spin, researchers have shown that the more coherent the system is, the more work can be extracted from it.

[Physics 17, 154] Published Mon Oct 28, 2024

First we get "Predator: Badlands" news and now 20th Century Studios has confirmed a second Predator movie for 2025.

© 20th Century Studios

Geoenvironmental scientist Hiroto Nagai used publicly available climate data from the North and South poles to compose an ominous-sounding chamber music piece.

© Hiroto Nagai, iScience (2024)

In 1995, a parallel race was on in astronomy — one to find the first planet beyond our own solar system, and the other to find the first brown dwarf, a class of object too heavy to be a planet, but below the mass of a star.  Astronomers ended up publishing the discovery of theContinue reading "Astronomers find out the first known brown dwarf is actually twins"

The post Astronomers find out the first known brown dwarf is actually twins appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

NASA's efforts in science, exploration and beyond are helping drive significant economic growth across America, according to an agency study.

© NASA

ESA's 'Explore 2040' strategy sets its sights on low Earth orbit, the moon and Mars, demanding greater innovation and increased European presence in space.

© ESA-ATG

On July 26, 2000, the European Space Agency (ESA) launched the Salsa satellite, which joined its three companion satellites — Samba, Rumba, and Tango — on the Cluster II mission, scheduled to last two years. On Sep. 8, after more than 24 years of service, Salsa re-entered Earth’s atmosphere in a controlled de-orbit, where itContinue reading "How the Cluster II mission studied the Sun’s effects on Earth"

The post How the Cluster II mission studied the Sun’s effects on Earth appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Chile and Cyprus have signed the Artemis Accords, bringing the number of nations in the moon-exploration coalition to 47.

© NASA

China has been operating its completed Tiangong space station for almost two years and is now looking to expand its capabilities with new modules and spacecraft.

© Alejomiranda via Getty Images

Walt Disney Studios and Pixar are returning to animated outer space with sci-fi adventure comedy "Elio."

© Disney/Pixar

Soil-like pebbles in moon samples brought home by Apollo 16 astronauts have revealed new details about lunar history.

© NASA

A recent satellite image captured the reemergence of a unique, UFO-like cloud, known as the "Taieri Pet," which appears above New Zealand's South Island when conditions are just right.

© NASA Earth Observatory/Landsat

NASA Europa Clipper mission is on its way to Europa, but it has some stops to make before it investigates the habitability of the icy ocean moon of Jupiter, including a Mars trip and a brief return to Earth.

© Robert Lea (created with Canva)

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast on Saturday evening (Oct. 26).

© SpaceX via X

Lakes appearing in the Sahara desert captured in satellite images after a cyclone dumped a years' worth of rain on northern Africa in just a few days.

© NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey

On Episode 134 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with Ben Dickow about a magnificent, full-sized shuttle mockup, its history and future plans.

© TWiT

Boeing's Starliner had propulsion issues after launching on its first test mission with astronauts. Six weeks after the mission concluded, NASA is working on what to do next.

© NASA TV

A Rolex watch that was flown to the moon is now the most expensive astronaut timepiece to sell at auction. The personal GMT-Master chronometer worn by Edgar Mitchell sold for $2.2 million.

© RR Auction/NASA via collectSPACE.com

Join me on an unforgettable trip filled with breathtaking auroras and exciting daytime adventures with The Northern Lights Company.

© Daisy Dobrijevic

While such organisms may or may not exist in the universe, the research has important implications for future human endeavors in space.

© NASA/SOFIA/Lynette Cook

IDW Publishing just delivered a zany new 'choose your own 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' adventure book, the series' first "interactive graphic novel."

© IDW Publishing

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have potentially discovered the first brown dwarfs beyond the borders of the Milky Way galaxy.

© ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, P. Zeidler, E. Sabbi, A. Nota, M. Zamani (ESA/Webb)

Watch comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS light up the sky thanks to a free livestream on Monday, Oct. 21.

© U.S. Naval Research Laboratory

Supernovae, the violent explosions that occur when stars die, normally happen sporadically within galaxies. However, by shifting the angle of the Hubble Space Telescope’s line of sight toward M87, astronomers recently spotted double the expected amount of supernovae along a massive 3,000-light-year-long jet blasting out of the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center. ResearchersContinue reading "Is this black hole jet making stars explode?"

The post Is this black hole jet making stars explode? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Hot on the heels of Alien: Romulus' success at the global box office, Disney and 20th Century Studios are fast-tracking a direct sequel.

© 20th Century Studios

Moshen Chan from San Francisco, California The tail of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) fans out over the Pacific Ocean and the Point Reyes Lighthouse in California. The photographer used a Sony mirrorless camera and 20mm f/1.8 lens to take sixteen 10-second subframes.

The post Lighting the way appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

China has revealed the payloads it sent to Earth orbit last month on the two-week-long Shijian-19 retrievable satellite mission.

© CCTV

The Celestron NexStar 130 SLT, a portable computerized telescope, is now the lowest price we've seen in nearly two years ahead of Black Friday.

© Future/Amazon

To see the Crab Nebula for yourself, you'll have to wait until around midnight local daylight time, after it has sufficiently risen high enough above the east-northeast horizon.

© NASA/ESA and Jeff Hester (Arizona State University).

The bright red supergiant star Betelgeuse has long been a familiar sight for star watchers, winking with a ruddy glow from the shoulder of Orion the Hunter. But it’s also an increasingly popular target for professional astronomers thanks to its scientific peculiarities, ranging from pulsations to mysterious dimming events. Now, astronomers think they may haveContinue reading "Betelgeuse may have a Betelbuddy"

The post Betelgeuse may have a Betelbuddy appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A Long March 2C rocket launched three Yaogan-43 spy satellites to orbit from southwestern China on Oct. 22, marking the third liftoff of the mysterious satellite series.

© CCTV

Author(s): Philip Ball

By observing two fighting fish, researchers have decoded the repertoire of trajectories and body postures used in the interaction—and identified the winner.

[Physics 17, 156] Published Fri Oct 25, 2024

Four astronauts aboard SpaceX Crew-8 went to a Pensacola hospital shortly after their splashdown. NASA said the visit was done as a precaution.

© NASA

NASA's space shuttle Discovery has been reunited with one of its last crew members. The National Air and Space Museum debuted Robonaut-2 (R2), NASA's first dexterous humanoid robot flown into space.

© Smithsonian

The technology-demonstrating Advanced Composite Solar Sail System has a bent boom in Earth orbit, but NASA says it shouldn't be a big deal.

© NASA

The destructive power of asteroids is undeniable — just ask the dinosaurs. New research suggests a huge space rock that struck Earth over 3 billion years ago may have benefitted early life.

© Robert Lea (created with Canva)

A new video shows how Earth's magnetic field weakened and warped before temporarily flipping during a recent "polar reversal event."

© Animation and science: Maximilian Arthus Schanner and Guram Kervalishvili (GFZ); Sound: Klaus Nielsen (DTU Space)

D'Vana Tendi gets back to her Orion roots in "Star Trek: Lower Decks" season 5's opening episodes — and her species has a very long history in "Star Trek."

© Paramount+

Deep in the heart of the massive Perseus cluster, giant galaxies stir, stars are torn from their homes and hot gas radiates at more than 1 million degrees Celsius.

© International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/J. Miller and M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab)/T. A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab)/M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)/Jisu Kang (Seoul National University)

Crew-8 is back on Earth after an extended mission and a wait for the weather to clear. Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Alexander Grebenkin splashed down on Dragon Endeavour.

© NASA+

Friday, October 25Venus passes 3° north of Antares at 3 P.M. EDT. The pair is very low in the southwest, but if you’ve got a clear horizon, both should be visible some 40 minutes after sunset. Venus stands out first, glowing a brilliant magnitude –4. Compare its light to dimmer, magnitude 1.1 Antares, to theContinue reading "The Sky This Week from October 25 to November 1: Callisto slips south of Jupiter"

The post The Sky This Week from October 25 to November 1: Callisto slips south of Jupiter appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Four NASA astronauts are set to splash down Friday morning after spending more than 200 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The four-person crew of NASA’s Crew-8 mission — comprising NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt, and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin — will return to Earth around dawn on Friday, splashing downContinue reading "What to watch: NASA Crew-8 astronauts set for early Friday splashdown"

The post What to watch: NASA Crew-8 astronauts set for early Friday splashdown appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Chinese company Deep Blue Aerospace plans to start launching customers to suborbital space and back in 2027, for a price of about $210,000 per seat.

© Deep Blue Aerospace

NOAA shared new images taken by the world's first operational space-based coronagraph, CCOR-1, captured during a solar storm outburst.

© NOAA/NASA

An ultraluminous nova in a nearby galaxy offers a glimpse into the mysterious workings of a rare stellar duo.

© NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Adam Block of the University of Arizona’s Mt. Lemmon SkyCenter

The astronauts of SpaceX's Crew-8 mission will return to Earth early Friday morning (Oct. 25), and you can watch their homecoming live.

© NASA/Bill Ingalls

Scientists have identified one of the largest carbon-based molecules in space yet. It could help us decode the origins of life as we know it.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI

More than 100 partners have signed Europe's Zero Debris Charter, a push to help get Earth's space junk problem under control.

© NASA

The stars of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" Season 5 spoke with Space.com about the series coming to an end and what it will mean for their characters.

© Paramount+

Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson

Theoretical work provides a long-awaited explanation for why measurements of qubits in superconducting quantum computers are less accurate than expected.

[Physics 17, s126] Published Thu Oct 24, 2024

A zombie star has defied expectations by surviving a supernova explosion that should have destroyed it. The undead white star's "grave" is marked by a cosmic dandelion.

© Adam Makarenko

The Celestron PowerSeeker 127EQ telescope is ideal for beginners and a tempting early Black Friday telescope deal, now 32% off on Amazon.

© Future/Amazon

Connect phases of the lunar cycle and celebrate the last quarter moon with this quirky Google Doodle game.

© Google

A British startup plans to supply solar power from space to Icelanders by 2030, in what could be the world's first demonstration of the novel renewable energy source.

© Space Solar

We could expect even more eruptions from this sunspot region in the coming days as it rotates to face Earth.

© NASA / SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams, helioviewer.org

Launch startup Astra has secured a contract with the US military, worth up to $44 million, to continue developing its new Rocket 4 vehicle.

© Astra/NASASpaceflight.com

Saturn has finally joined the solar system's other giant planets in possessing a Trojan asteroid, but it may have stolen it. The bouncing asteroid seems to have originated in the Kuiper belt.

© Robert Lea (created with Canva)

SpaceX launched a batch of spy satellites for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office today (Oct. 24) on the 100th Falcon 9 flight of the year.

© SpaceX

SpaceX is getting ready for the next launch of Starship and its rocket, Super Heavy. The rocket is now poised at Starbase in south Texas for preflight testing.

© SpaceX

Matt Groening, John DiMaggio. and Billy West led a spirited 'Futurama' celebration at New York City Comic Con this year to celebrate the upcoming 13th season of Futurama.

© Hulu

While some are hoping for a bright "Halloween comet," astronomers say the speeding cosmic snowball has likely already broken apart.

© Space.com / Josh Dinner

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) isn’t the first of its kind, but the state-of-the-art spectroscopic instruments onboard have opened new doors for high-energy astrophysics.  Active galactic nuclei (AGN) —  supermassive black holes that actively gobble material and shine brightly in the resulting chaos — have always held mysteries for astrophysicists. Now, a yearContinue reading "XRISM’s data debut proves its extraordinary capabilities"

The post XRISM’s data debut proves its extraordinary capabilities appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A number of black slabs modeled after the monoliths in "2001: A Space Odyssey" have made the trip into space and back on the first flight of Blue Origin's second human-rated launch vehicle.

© Blue Origin/Amaranthine Books/collectSPACE.com

A fireball lit up the skies over Lake Erie on Monday (Oct. 21) evening, eliciting hundreds of witness reports to the American Meteor Society.

© Paul M.

The Intelsat-33e satellite is in pieces following some kind of problem in geostationary orbit, according to the company and US Space Force. An investigation is ongoing.

© Boeing

Lucas Thibaud, taken near Cerro Pachon in Chile The Milky Way serves as a proscenium arch for the zodiacal light and Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in this panorama taken Oct. 19 from the Chilean Andes. The photographer used a Canon 6Da DSLR and a 20mm f/1.4 lens to take twelve 8-second frames at ISO 1600.

The post Center stage appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Rugged, waterproof and fog-proof, these binoculars are a great introduction to stargazing or birdwatching and are now at their lowest price ever.

© Future/Celestron

Disney and 20th Century Studios confirm that the next Predator movie "Predator: Badlands" won't be skipping cinemas after "Prey"'s streaming success.

© 20th Century Studios

Be mindful of the environment — there are steps you can take to keep your carbon footprint as low as possible when shopping for Black Friday deals.

© Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@shutter_speed_?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Shutter Speed</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/a-toy-shopping-cart-BQ9usyzHx_w?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash">Unsplash</a>

SpaceX's Crew-8 astronaut mission for NASA undocked from the International Space Station today (Oct. 23) after several weather delays.

© NASA

Tom Hardy talked about the third and final Venom movie, "Venom: The Last Dance," last weekend during a panel discussion at New York Comic Con.

© Sony Pictures

The first "black hole triple" system, consisting of a black hole hungrily feeding on a companion star orbited by a more distant star, hints at a gentle formation process without supernova explosions.

© NASA

Author(s): Christian Roos

A way to address the individual ions of a rotating ion crystal could allow scientists to perform quantum simulations in which each qubit can be carefully controlled.

[Physics 17, 152] Published Wed Oct 23, 2024

Author(s): Marric Stephens

An automatic, algorithmic technique can find optimal laser configurations for inertial-confinement fusion—one of two main fusion approaches.

[Physics 17, s127] Published Wed Oct 23, 2024

Microgravity makes water do weird and wonderful things. NASA astronaut Don Pettit took advantage of that fact to create a colorful ball that resembles Jupiter.

© NASA/Don Pettit

A preview of "The Guide to The Orville," a new book written by the sci-fi show's executive producer.

© Dark Horse Books

Amazon MGM Studios' new live-action "Voltron" movie lands Henry Cavill as its leading man.

© Netflix

Moon landing attempts are becoming so frequent that the players involved — private companies and government agencies alike — are learning from each other's efforts.

© JAXA

China rolled out the rocket and crew capsule for the Shenzhou-19 mission, the nation's next astronaut launch to the Tiangong space station.

© VCG/VCG via Getty Images

The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered lonely quasars in the early universe, with "empty larders" that defy theories surrounding their growth to monster sizes.

© Christina Eilers/EIGER team

SpaceX's Starlink satellites provided internet service on a Boeing 777 jet for the first time today (Oct. 22), during a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to London.

© SpaceX

SpaceX plans to launch 23 more of its Starlink internet satellites from Florida's Space Coast on Wednesday evening (Oct. 23).

© SpaceX

A recent SpaceX Starlink launch featured an extra video treat: a view of the Internet satellites being revealed for future Internet service. But Starlink's effects on astronomy still causes concern.

© SpaceX

Comet A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS proved to be photogenic as it lit up the early autumn skies of the Northern Hemisphere this month.

© Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images

When SpaceX’s Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour returns to Earth this week, she will set a clutch of records for the most time spent in space by a crewed spacecraft. Launched for her fifth mission in March, Endeavour has notched 23 cumulative months in orbit, circled Earth 11,000 times and traveled 292 million miles (470 millionContinue reading "Crew-8 has returned from space on record-breaking SpaceX capsule"

The post Crew-8 has returned from space on record-breaking SpaceX capsule appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The supergiant star Betelgeuse may have a companion star that pushes light-blocking dust out of the way, causing the irregular changes observed in the star's brightness.

© Lucy Reading-Ikkanda/Simons Foundation

The moon has been bombarded by asteroids and comets for more than 4.32 billion years.

© NASA/GSFC/University of Arizona

Author(s): Susan Curtis

Applying data mining tools to a rich observational dataset has enabled researchers to track the turbulent plasma clouds that accompany the aurora.

[Physics 17, s128] Published Tue Oct 22, 2024

A map of gravity wells or "basins of attraction" in the local universe may resemble a Taylor Swift outfit, but they define the largest structure in the universe, the last line of your cosmic address.

© Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for iHeartMedia/ Daniel Pomarède, et al. Nature

The cloud is basically a gigantic reservoir that may hold billions of icy celestial bodies. Two of those bodies will pass by Earth in the days leading up to Halloween.

© Josh Dinner

The jaw-dropping voice cast for "Secret Level," Prime Video's new anthology series, was announced at New York Comic Con on Oct. 19.

© Prime Video

Stellar-mass and supermassive black hole coronas have some similarities, and this is great news for black hole physicists.

© NASA/Caltech-IPAC/Robert Hurt

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) famously demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet. Things have been a bit of a mess since then — so is it time to redefine the planet?

© NASA

The next few years are likely to be pivotal ones for NASA, according to a hard-hitting report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

© NASA

MOND یا دینامیک Milgromian یک چارچوب نظری است که پارادایم ماده‌ی تاریک را به چالش می‌کشد (این‌جا بیش‌تر راجع به ماده‌ی تاریک بخوانید) . MOND که توسط Mordehai Milgrom در دهه‌ی ۱۹۸۰ پیشنهاد شد، توضیحی جایگزین برای منحنی چرخش غیرعادی کهکشان‌ها ارائه می‌کند. طبق قوانین نیوتن، نواحی بیرونی کهکشان‌ها باید کندتر از آنچه که ما مشاهده می‌کنیم، بچرخند. برای توضیح این مشاهده، معمولاً به وجود ماده‌ی تاریک استناد می شود. ولی MOND پیشنهاد می‌کند که در شتاب‌های بسیار کم – کم‌تر از حدود ۱/۲*۱۰×-۱۰ m/s^2 – برهمکنش‌های گرانشی از قوانین نیوتن (مربع معکوس) پیروی نمی‌کنند و نیرو‌های گرانشی قوی‌تر از حالت نیوتونی هستند. بدین ترتیب MOND بدون فرض وجود ماده‌ی تاریک می‌تواند دلیل چرخش سریع‌تر ستاره‌ها در لبه‌های بیرونی کهکشان‌ها را توضیح دهد. با وجود آن‌که MOND در توضیح برخی پدیده‌ها در مقیاس کهکشانی موفق بوده است، اما در در توضیح تابش ‌پس‌زمینه‌ی کیهانی و ساختارهای بزرگ-مقیاس^۱ عالم با چالش‌های جدی رو به‌روست.

به طور کلی ما با رصد آسمان تصویری از جهان به دست می‌آوریم که برای توضیح این تصویر از مدل‌های کیهان‌شناسی کمک می‌گیریم. در این مقاله با دو مدل مختلف برای توجیه رصدها آشنا می‌شویم: مدل استاندارد کیهان‌شناسی و یا Lambda-CDM و مدل MOND.

تصویری که رصدها از شکل‌گیری و تحول کهکشان‌ها به ما می‌دهند یک تصویر کوچک‌سازی شده‌است؛ بدین صورت که کهکشان‌های کم‌جرم، ستاره‌زایی ممتد^۲ دارند- به عبارت دیگر ستاره‌زایی آن‌ها از ابتدای شکل‌گیری کهکشان تاکنون ادامه‌داشته است در‌حالی‌که کهکشان‌های پرجرم بیش‌تر ستاره‌های خود را در انتقال به سرخ‌های بالا (z>2) و در مدت زمان کوتاهی به وجود آورده‌اند.

در چارچوب Lambda-CDM، سناریویی برای توضیح این تصویر وجود دارد که سناریوی تشکیل کهکشان دوفازی^۳ نامیده می‌شود. طبق این سناریو، در فاز اول، هسته‌ی کهکشان‌های پرجرم از طریق فروپاشی یکپارچه‌ی ابر گازی^۴، در زمان‌های اولیه‌ی عالم و در مدت زمان خیلی کوتاهی به وجود آمده است. به این هسته‌ی اولیه ناگت قرمز^۵ گفته می‌شود. سپس در فاز دوم به واسطه‌ی برافزایش^۶ و ادغام‌های کهکشانی^۷ سایز کهکشان بزرگ می‌شود. بدین ترتیب این سناریو می‌تواند کهکشان‌های نوع اولیه‌ی پرجرم^۸ در عالم نزدیک^۹ را توضیح دهد. این سناریو همچنین پیش‌بینی می‌کند که تعداد کمی‌ از ناگت‌های قرمز وارد فاز دوم نمی‌شوند و به صورت دست‌نخورده تا z~0 باقی می‌مانند. چنین سیستم‌های ستاره‌ای که نماینده‌ی کهکشان‌های خاموش^۱۰ و فشرده^۱۱ در zهای بالا هستند اخیرا در جهان پیرامون ما مشاهده شده‌اند. چنین کهکشان‌هایی در جهان نزدیک، کهکشان عتیقه نامیده می‌شوند. این‌طور به نظر می‌رسد که چارچوب Lambda-CDM به خوبی کار می‌کند اما این چارچوب مشخص نمی‌کند که چگونه و چرا چنین کهکشان‌های پرجرمی در کیهان اولیه و در مدت زمان کوتاه‌تری نسبت به کهکشان‌های کم‌جرم شکل گرفته‌اند.

در این مقاله خواهیم دید که در نظریه‌ی MOND، مقیاس زمانی کوتاه ستاره‌زایی^۱۲ در کهکشان‌های نوع اولیه‌ی پرجرم می‌تواند نتیجه‌ی طبیعی این نظریه تحت یک سری از شرایط خاص باشد.

در کیهان‌شناسی، شبیه‌سازی‌هایی برای فروپاشی ابرهای گازی پس از مهبانگ^۱۳ بر اساس MOND وجود دارد. این شبیه‌سازی‌ها نشان می‌دهند که با فروپاشی ابرهای گازی چرخان، خصوصیات رصدی کهکشان‌های دیسکی قابل بازیابی است. اما آن‌ها همزمان این را هم نشان می‌دهند که چنین کهکشان‌هایی ممکن است عمده‌ی جرم ستاره‌ای خود را اخیرا از طریق ادغام کهکشان‌های ستاره‌زا به دست آورده باشند. نویسندگان این مقاله با استناد به نتایج مقالات سالوادور و همکاران ۲۰۲۲ و افتخاری و همکاران ۲۰۲۲ ادعا می‌کنند که چنین نتیجه‌ای در تضاد با رصدهای کهکشانی هست. این دو مقاله با استفاده از طیف فرابنفش نزدیک، اپتیکی و فروسرخ نزدیک کهکشان‌های نوع-اولیه‌ی پرجرم و هم‌چنین یک کهکشان‌ عتیقه نشان داده‌اند که اکثر ستاره‌های کهکشان‌های پرجرم نوع اولیه پیر هستند و تحول این کهکشان‌ها تا به امروز منفعل بوده‌است. بنابراین آن‌ها علاوه بر شبیه‌سازی‌های ابرهای گازی چرخان، کهکشان‌های حاصل از شبیه‌سازی‌های ابرهای گازی غیرچرخان را هم مورد مطالعه قرار دادند و مشاهده کردند که کهکشان‌های حاصل مقیاس زمانی ستاره‌زایی کوتاهی مشابه کهکشان‌هایی که رصد شده‌اند، دارند. به عبارت دیگر، چارچوب MOND با فروپاشی ابرهای گازی غیرچرخان پس از بیگ بنگ می‌تواند کهکشان‌های پرجرمی با مقیاس زمانی ستاره‌زایی کوتاهی مشابه رصدها تولید کند.

نویسندگان یکی از کهکشان‌های مدل را که از طریق فروپاشی یک‌پارچه‌ی یک ابر گازی غیرچرخان شکل گرفته‌است را انتخاب کرده و سینماتیک و پروفایل چگالی جرم ستاره‌ای آن را با کهکشان‌های پرجرم فشرده‌ی عتیقه مقایسه می‌کنند و ثابت می‌کنند که حاصل شبیه‌سازی MOND برای ابر گازی غیرچرخان یک کهکشان عتیقه هست که مقیاس زمانی ستاره‌زایی کوتاهی دارد. کهکشان‌های عتیقه‌‌ی رصدشده‌ای که آن‌ها در این مطالعه استفاده کرده‌اند NGC 1277، Mrk 1216 و PGC 032873 می‌باشند که از مطالعات تروخیو و همکاران ۲۰۱۴ و فر-متیو و همکاران ۲۰۱۷ گرفته شده‌اند.

آن‌ها پروفایل سرعت چرخشی کهکشان مدل MOND را با کهکشان‌های عتیقه‌ی رصد شده مقایسه می‌کنند (شکل ۱). برخلاف کهکشان‌های نوع اولیه‌ی معمولی، کهکشان‌های عتیقه سرعت‌ چرخشی بالایی دارند و کهکشان مدل نیز از این الگو پیروی می‌کند.

از آن‌جایی‌که مطالعات تروخیو و همکاران ۲۰۱۴ و فر-متیو و همکاران ۲۰۱۷ نشان داده‌اند که کهکشان‌های عتیقه، پروفایل چگالی جرمی ستاره‌ای متفاوتی نسبت به کهکشان‌های نوع اولیه‌ی معمولی دارند (برای مثال کهکشان NGC 1277 پروفایل چگال‌تری درون شعاع موثر^۱۶ خود دارد)، نویسندگان پروفایل چگالی سطحی کهکشان مدل را با کهکشان‌های عتیقه‌ی رصد شده هم مقایسه کرده‌اند. شکل ۳ نشان می‌دهد که کهکشان مدل پروفایل مشابهی با کهکشان‌های عتیقه دارد. بدین ‌ترتیب نویسندگان ثابت می‌کنند که کهکشانی که در چارچوب MOND شکل گرفته است درواقع یک کهکشان عتیقه هست که مقیاس زمانی ستاره‌زایی کوتاهی دارد.

نتیجه‌گیری آن‌ها این است که در چارچوب MOND فروپاشی ابر گازی غیرچرخان پس از بیگ بنگ موجب شکل‌گیری کهکشان‌هایی با سرعت چرخشی و سرعت پراکندگی بالا، مشابه کهکشان‌های عتیقه‌ی رصد شده می‌شود. بنابراین این کهکشان‌ها مانند کهکشان‌های عتیقه مقیاس زمانی ستاره‌زایی کوتاهی دارند.

چارچوب نظری MOND حتی می‌تواند پدید آمدن سریع اختروش‌ها^۱۷ و سیاه‌چاله‌های ابرپرجرم^۱۸ را هم توجیه کند؛ بدین صورت که فروپاشی‌اولیه‌ی ابر گازی ابتدا یک خوشه‌ی ستاره‌زا و پرجرم را در مرکز شکل می‌دهد.تابع جرم اولیه‌ی^۱۹ این خوشه‌ی ستاره‌زا به گونه‌ای است که ستاره‌های پرجرم زیادی نسبت به ستاره‌های کم‌جرم دارد (به دلیل فلزیت کم و چگالی زیاد) و ممکن است به صورت یک شبه اختروش ظاهر شود (این‌جا، این‌جا و این‌جا بیش‌تر راجع به تابع جرم اولیه بخوانید). ستاره‌های یونیزه‌کننده یک میدان تابشی شبه اختروش به‌وجود می‌آورند که خوشه را از سقوط گاز بیش‌تر محافظت می‌کند. از آن‌جایی‌که خوشه دارای تعداد زیادی ستاره‌ی پرجرم است که به سرعت متحول می‌شوند، پس از ۵۰ میلیون سال ستاره‌ها می‌میرند و آن‌چه باقی می‌ماند جمعیت زیادی از سیاه‌چاله‌ها است. سپس این خوشه از سیاه‌چاله‌ها گاز بیش‌تری را می‌بلعند و منقبض می‌شوند تا زمانی‌که دچار فروپاشی شده و یک سیاه‌چاله‌ی ابرپرچرم را تشکیل می‌دهند. نویسندگان محاسبه کرده‌اند که کل این فرآیند در زمان کمتری نسبت به مقیاس زمانی تشکیل کهکشان طول می‌کشد. بدین ترتیب MOND پدید آمدن سریع اختروش‌ها و سیاه‌چاله‌های ابرپرجرم را توجیه می‌کند.

 

Comet C/2023 A3  — better known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS — is fading in brightness as it speeds away from the Sun and Earth in the evening sky. It’s still visible to the naked eye in a dark sky, and it’s certainly an easy target for binoculars. But now’s your last chance to see it — soContinue reading "Can you still see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS?"

The post Can you still see Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Black hole mergers are beautiful — and some of the most violent events in the cosmos. Here's how the process unfolds.

© SXS (Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes) Project

In this episode, Dave Eicher invites you to observe one of the major meteor showers of the year. It’s called the Orionids because all the meteors seem to come from a spot in the constellation Orion the Hunter. The meteor activity will peak in the early morning hours of October 21. If you can’t getContinue reading "The Orionid meteor shower: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher"

The post The Orionid meteor shower: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Matthew McConaughey narrates a new cinematic trailer for "Exodus," which could end up being 2025's most sought-after gaming title.

© Archetype Entertainment

Scientists say they've uncovered where the vast majority of Earth's meteorites came from.

© Costfoto/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Here are the best out-of-this-world titles that'll leave you feeling suitably spooked: Our rundown of the best sci-fi horrors ahead of Halloween.

© 20th Century Studios

A new radar instrument designed to measure nearby dust and debris could make spacecraft landings on the moon and Mars safer.

© Nicolas Rasmont/University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Black Friday is your chance to bag some amazing space-related bargains. But where should you look for the best Black Friday deals? Walmart? Target? Amazon?

© Getty Images

An interview with Neil deGrasse Tyson on the new edition of "Merlin's Tour of the Universe."

© Blackstone Publishing

"Lego Marvel Avengers: Mission Demolition" arrives on Disney+ Oct. 18.

© Disney+

Author(s): Sophia Heinz

Scientists have synthesized an isotope of the superheavy element livermorium using a novel fusion reaction. The result paves the way for the discovery of new chemical elements.

[Physics 17, 150] Published Mon Oct 21, 2024

Aldo Rocco Vitale taken from Sicily, Italy This shot of Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) was taken Oct. 14 from the southern flank of Mount Etna in Piano Vetore at an elevation of 5,700 feet (1750 m). The different hues come from the two tails — one of dust (orange-yellow in this shot) and one ofContinue reading "Blazing star"

The post Blazing star appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Space.com talks to artist and author Martin Vargic, who is turning exoplanets into stunning and intricate art.

© Martin Vardic

It is not a sound often heard in Earth orbit, but in the newly released footage of snack and space history being made, it is clearly there. *Crunch* Doritos is releasing its first ad filmed in space.

© Doritos via collectSPACE.com

Denis Villeneuve isn't finished with Arrakis and Paul Atreides yet. Keep your stillsuit on and get ready for Dune: Messiah.

© Warner Bros. Pictures

Europa Clipper launched toward Jupiter's icy moon on Oct. 14, and carried with it a very important plate.

© NASA

Teleoperated rovers could soon be working on the moon, with human controllers on Earth manipulating the rovers' tools virtually.

© NASA/Daniel Rutter

An interview with "Edge of Space" director Jean de Meuron, as well as a clip from the new film about NASA's famous X-15 rocket plane.

© Atticus Films

Private companies are making progress on expandable habitats, which could help humanity keep its foothold in Earth orbit and settle the moon and Mars.

© Max Space

Star Trek showrunners dished on Lower Decks season 5, Strange New Worlds season 3, and a debut date for the Section 31 movie during Paramount Plus' Star Trek Universe panel at New York Comic-Con on Oct. 20.

© Paramount+

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured an intricate portrait of R Aquarii, an odd nearby binary star system that occasionally erupts into spectacular novae.

© NASA, ESA, Matthias Stute , Margarita Karovska , Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble), Mahdi Zamani (ESA/Hubble)

SpaceX launched another set of Eutelsat OneWeb internet satellites to space early Sunday morning (Oct. 20).

© SpaceX

The first Starfield expansion has a more traditional flavor to it, yet the core issues and limitations remain untouched, so it won't convince skeptics.

© Futute/Bethesda

On Episode 133 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with Greg Autry on the progress of the Artemis moon program, space science, and the challenges posed by a fast-rising Chinese space program.

© TWiT

NASA recently put a crucial part of the Roman Space Telescope through a rigorous "spin test" designed to evaluate its resilience against the forces of its planned 2027 launch.

© NASA/Chris Gunn

A new video shows the upper stage of SpaceX's Starship coming down for a nocturnal splashdown during its fifth test flight.

© SpaceX via X

The five-part Avatar saga will continue three years after The Way of Water, with a threequel showing us a different side of Pandora. Here’s what we know.

© 20th Century Studios

HBO Max released a new trailer for "Dune: Prophecy" at New York Comic Con 2024, revealing the series to be just as epic as the films.

© HBO

The U.S. Space Force has awarded SpaceX $730 million to launch at least nine national security missions, seven of them for the Space Development Agency.

© SpaceX

SpaceX launched 20 more of its Starlink broadband satellites, including 13 with direct-to-cell capability, from Florida tonight (Oct. 18).

© SpaceX via X

A full decade later, Sega and Creative Assembly are returning to the Alien universe with Alien: Isolation 2.

© Sega

"Killer electrons" stashed in radiation belts around Earth could be dislodged by lightning to create a game of "cosmic pinball" that influences space weather around our planet.

© UCLA EPSS/NASA SVS

Netflix released its first trailer for its upcoming big-budget sci-fi fantasy film, "The Electric State."

© Netflix

Garbage is a growing problem for astronaut missions on the ISS. As NASA seeks to send people to the moon later this decade, Sierra Space is ready to test a trash compactor on the ISS in 2026.

© Sierra Space

The parts for a 1972 full-size space shuttle mockup are now about a city block closer to being reassembled and restored for display. The City of Downey, California began relocating "Inspiration."

© Shoreline Films via collectSPACE.com

Author(s): Michael Schirber

A new method for studying the behavior of multiparticle systems relies on a simple “head count” of particles in imaginary boxes.

[Physics 17, 153] Published Fri Oct 18, 2024

The European Space Agency has taken the first big steps toward rendezvousing with the infamous asteroid Apophis during its close approach to Earth in 2029.

© OHB Italia

The Hunter's Moon rose on Thursday (Oct. 17), becoming the biggest and brightest full moon of the year and wowing skywatchers around the globe with a spooky pre-Halloween show.

© Getty Images/China News Service

An astrophotographer who visited Easter Island for the annular solar eclipse on Oct. 2, 2024, shared a stunning view of the "ring of fire."

© Aditya Madhavan

John Vermette, taken from Saguaro National Park near Tucson, Arizona Comet C/2023 A3 is pictured here Oct. 15. The image is a stack of twenty-six 3-second shots with a 50mm f/1.4 lens at ISO 3200.

The post Comet and cactus appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Getting started in astrophotography can be daunting. With so many different telescopes, cameras, and mounts and all their variations, where do you start? The first piece of equipment you should choose is a mount, the mechanical base that the telescope attaches to. For astrophotography, the mount must be motorized, and ideally computer-controllable. This might soundContinue reading "Finding your first astroimaging rig"

The post Finding your first astroimaging rig appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The Orionid meteor shower 2024 reaches its peak in the pre-dawn hours on Monday, Oct. 21, but this year a bright moon could make it difficult to see these shooting stars.

© VCG/VCG via Getty Images

A new search for extraterrestrial radio signals during planetary occultations in the TRAPPIST-1 system provides a promising new strategy for hunting for extraterrestrial life.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech

Friday, October 18There’s still time to catch Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) in the west after sunset, even as it pulls away from the Sun and Earth on its way back toward the outer reaches of the solar system. Currently hovering between 1st and 2nd magnitude, the comet can be spotted with naked eyes from aContinue reading "The Sky This Week from October 18 to 25: The Orionid meteors peak"

The post The Sky This Week from October 18 to 25: The Orionid meteors peak appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Have you seen comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS yet? If you haven't yet seen the bright, icy space rock that's traveled from the edge of the solar system, it's not too late. But you need to see it soon.

© Josh Dinner/Future

Europe has officially launched the Moonlight program, which aims to provide services for the more than 400 moon missions planned by space agencies and private companies over the next two decades.

© ESA-ATG

Here's to an unforgettable decade in sci-fi movie innovation, our round-up of the best 90s sci-fi movies.

© Carolco Pictures

Comet C/2023 A3, also known as Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, has been in the evening sky for a week now. If you haven’t seen it, that’s understandable because there’s also been a bright Moon in the sky. But the Moon is Full tonight (Oct. 17) and will rise later tomorrow (Oct. 18) and each night thereafter. So, tryContinue reading "See Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS while you still can"

The post See Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS while you still can appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson will serve as co-pilot on tourism company Space Perspective's first crewed balloon flight, expected to occur in 2025.

© Space Perspective

The European Space Agency's Hera asteroid mission has beamed back its first images from space.

© ESA

The Milky Way galaxy has had a violent history. It did not grow though simple and calm accretion, but rather through the aggressive mergers of multiple smaller galaxies. Recently, a team of astronomers found the remnants of perhaps the oldest merger, right in our stellar neighborhood. The Milky Way’s stars have a wide variety ofContinue reading "A baby Milky Way may have swallowed a dwarf galaxy named Loki"

The post A baby Milky Way may have swallowed a dwarf galaxy named Loki appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

SpaceX's Starlink satellites now make up 40% of reentering satellite debris. But is Elon Musk's space company the worst polluter of Earth's upper atmosphere?

© SpaceX via X

Author(s): Charles Day

Axions—theorized particles that could account for dark matter—could accumulate around rapidly rotating neutron stars to the point that they become detectable.

[Physics 17, s114] Published Thu Oct 17, 2024

Author(s): Ryan Wilkinson

The prediction that twisted semiconductor bilayers can host so-called non-Abelian states without a magnetic field holds promise for fault-tolerant quantum computing.

[Physics 17, s129] Published Thu Oct 17, 2024

From lunar water hunts to Mars sample returns, China's space program is embarking on groundbreaking missions across the solar system, aiming for the moon, Mars and beyond.

© China National Space Administration

'Photosynthetic habitable zones' could exist beneath radiation-filtering ice on Mars, offering scientists another region in which to hunt for alien life.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

Join our whistlestop tour of the planets of 'Star Wars Outlaws,' Ubisoft's massive open-world adventure in a galaxy far, far away.

© Ubisoft

The fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Lower Decks" is almost here, and Paramount+ has released a new trailer to get us ready for the final voyages of the U.S.S. Cerritos.

© Paramount+

The Full Hunter's Moon of October 2024 will join Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS in the night sky on Thursday (Oct. 17), and you can enjoy both with a free livestream courtesy of the Virtual Telescope Project.

© Zabed Hasnain Chowdhury/NurPhoto/David McNew/Getty Images

The fifth flight test of SpaceX's Starship megarocket on Oct. 13 demonstrated not only great engineering but also some amazing photography. Here are some of the best shots.

© SpaceX

Axiom Space's new AxEMU spacesuit for Artemis moon missions features a variety of advanced tech, including 4G comms and an HD camera system.

© Andrew Jones/Space.com

NASA is still unsure when it will next put astronauts on Boeing's Starliner spacecraft, which experienced issues during its first crewed test flight this summer.

© NASA

NASA and China will need to discuss exchanges of data and mission plans as the two sides move to build sustainable presences on the moon, according to NASA chief Bill Nelson.

© NASA

On Sept. 30, NASA's Perseverance rover turned its eyes toward the sky and photographed a solar eclipse from Mars, capturing the tiny moon Phobos as it transited the sun.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU

NASA's Curiosity rover has new insights into how Mars might have changed from a potentially habitable, water-rich planet to an absolutely uninhabitable desert.

© NASA/MAVEN/The Lunar and Planetary Institute

A pair of papers published today in Nature look at the origins of many meteorites that have fallen to Earth. By examining the detailed makeup of the rocks, ascertaining the time that has passed since they broke off larger bodies, and comparing these to asteroids in space, researchers found evidence that a great majority ofContinue reading "Most meteorites come from just three sources"

The post Most meteorites come from just three sources appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Author(s): Charles Day

Emus inherited from their dinosaur ancestors a crouched posture that dictates the gait they adopt when moving quickly, according to a new computer simulation of bird motion.

[Physics 17, 151] Published Wed Oct 16, 2024

Andor was a surprise Star Wars hit in 2022 and it's returning in the near future for a second season. Here's everything we know.

© Disney

The first and most famous "failed star" discovered by humanity isn't one brown dwarf, but two! The duo comprising Gliese 229B are so tightly bound they orbit each other in 12 days.

© Robert Lea (created with Canva)

Author(s): Marric Stephens

Theorists have developed a model to explain how a protein structure keeps its position while being buffeted by currents.

[Physics 17, s125] Published Wed Oct 16, 2024

In a teleconference Oct. 15, representatives from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the Sun has reached the peak level in its current cycle of activity, the 25th for which humans have kept detailed records. The 25th cycle has been far more active than the previous one, especially this year,Continue reading "The Sun has reached solar maximum, NASA and NOAA scientists say"

The post The Sun has reached solar maximum, NASA and NOAA scientists say appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Chris Schur, taken from Payson, Arizona Bright comets like Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) — captured here with an 6-minute exposure on an 8-inch RASA — sometimes develop an anti-tail. This secondary tail appears to protrude forward from the comet’s nucleus in the opposite direction of the “normal” tail. An anti-tail is a perspective effect created whenContinue reading "Tsuchinshan-ATLAS’ anti-tail"

The post Tsuchinshan-ATLAS’ anti-tail appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos once pledged that if his company's first rocket to reach space and land vertically back on Earth survived, he would put it in a museum. He has made good on his word.

© Smithsonian/collectSPACE.com

The next U.S. astronauts to walk on the moon will do so in style. Axiom Space and Prada have revealed the outer cover layer for the AxEMU spacesuit.

© Axiom Space

SpaceX just caught the giant first-stage booster of its Starship megarocket — and it plans to do the same with the vehicle's upper stage soon.

© SpaceX via X

Troubleshooting the leaking ISS is ongoing, with NASA and Russia now identifying 50 "areas of concern" and four cracks, according to a media report.

© NASA

Solar Cycle 25 remains in its maximum phase, and more powerful sun storms are likely to come over the next few months, experts say.

© Space.com/ Josh Dinner

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas — The first private spacewalk, an on-orbit symphonic performance, and nearly 40 scientific research experiments. Those were just a few highlights of September’s Polaris Dawn mission: a five-day, four-person orbital spaceflight purchased from SpaceX and commanded by Jared Isaacman, the billionaire CEO of Shift4 Payments. But Isaacman — now a SpaceX “frequent flier”Continue reading "Polaris Dawn crew talks mission highlights, next steps"

The post Polaris Dawn crew talks mission highlights, next steps appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Fission technology is well established in power generation and nuclear-powered submarines, and its application to drive or power a rocket could one day give NASA a faster, more powerful alternative to chemically driven rockets.

© NASA

These fleeting beacons from the outer solar system make for fantastic shots.

The post Beginner’s guide: How to photograph comets appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The nations signed up to the Artemis Accords are looking to spread the word on common principles and best practices on exploring outer space.

© NASA

U.S. company Vast has unveiled Haven-2, its proposed commercial successor to the soon-to-be-retired International Space Station.

© VAST

SpaceX launched two Starlink satellite missions just hours apart today (Oct. 15), one of which was the company's 100th liftoff of the year.

© SpaceX

The "first page" of an incredible cosmic atlas being built by the Euclid Space Telescope has been released. The millions of stars and galaxies represent just 1% of the 3D map the mission will create.

© ESA/Euclid/Euclid Consortium/NASA, CEA Paris-Saclay, image processing by J.-C. Cuillandre, E. Bertin, G. Anselmi CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO

The largest full moon of 2024 rises this week when the Hunter's Supermoon takes to the sky on Wednesday (Oct. 16), becoming officially full the next morning.

© DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images

The Euclid space observatory launched in July 2023, tasked with creating a 3D map of more than a third of the sky, surveying billions of galaxies up to 10 billion light-years away. Today, scientists revealed the first page in its cosmic atlas, a mosaic comprising 208 gigapixels of data revealing billions of galaxies in awesomeContinue reading "Euclid releases stunning first map of the deep sky"

The post Euclid releases stunning first map of the deep sky appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Author(s): Fangwei Ye

Overlapping two 3D lattices with a relative twist opens the door to synthesizing crystals with diverse symmetries that showcase nontrivial band structures and novel properties.

[Physics 17, 147] Published Tue Oct 15, 2024

Author(s): Charles Day

A quantum degeneracy named after a Chinese yo-yo boosts the magnetization lifetime of a short chain of magnetic iron atoms by a factor of 1000.

[Physics 17, s118] Published Tue Oct 15, 2024

In the wake of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton, SpaceX has distributed more than 10,000 Starlink kits and waived monthly fees for using the satellite internet service in affected areas.

© Sen

Leaders of major space agencies stated grand plans for the near future at the International Astronautical Congress in Milan, while noting concerns regarding Earth and the space environment.

© ESA

Once again, we’ve scoured the astro-marketplace to find the finest, most practical, and most innovative products for Astronomy magazine’s Star Products, 2024 edition. This collection of 35 items, in no particular order, offers a diverse selection. From tools tailored for visual observing to those crafted for astrophotography, there’s something here for everyone, whether you’re aContinue reading "Astronomy’s 14th annual star products"

The post Astronomy’s 14th annual star products appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Whether discovering exoplanets or measuring the size of an asteroid, cubesats are affordable throughout the space community, even to small startup, private companies and university laboratories.

© Victor Habbick Visions/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

The growing number of rocket launches and satellites burning up in Earth's atmosphere could trigger the world's next big environmental emergency.

© Paul Fleet / shutterstock

A preview of the upgraded "Predator: Hunting Grounds" release for PS5 and Xbox X/S.

© IllFonic

An exclusive interview with "Infinite Cosmos'" astrophysicist author Ethan Siegel.

© National Geographic

SpaceX’s Starship program—responsible for developing the largest and most powerful rocket ever flown—continues to make history. On Sunday, Starship and the Super Heavy booster lifted off around 8:25 a.m. EST from SpaceX’s Starbase launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, on the rocket’s fifth suborbital test flight. But rather than splash down in the Gulf ofContinue reading "SpaceX achieves historic booster catch during Starship test"

The post SpaceX achieves historic booster catch during Starship test appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Does HTC's latest VR headset get the red light, or the green light?

© Ian Stokes

A video preview of Julien's "Bid Long & Prosper" "Star Trek" exhibition and auction.

© Julien's Auctions

NASA has extended its CAPSTONE moon mission through December 2025, allowing the cubesat to continue its pioneering exploration work.

© Illustration by NASA/Daniel Rutter

Scientists know quite a bit about the surface of Mars from robotic missions, but there are still many unexplored geologic features that could tell researchers more about the solar system’s formation.

© NASA

NASA's $5 billion Europa Clipper probe overcame huge obstacles, including a switch to an entirely different rocket, to launch toward Jupiter. Here's how it happened.

© SpaceX

Europa Clipper launched today (Oct. 14) atop a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Florida, kicking off a highly anticipated astrobiology mission to the Jupiter ocean moon Europa.

© NASA TV

In this episode, Dave Eicher invites you to observe a close meeting of the Moon and the ringed planet, Saturn. This celestial meet-up will take place on the evening of Oct. 14. You won’t need binoculars or a telescope to view it, although binoculars may give a more pleasing view. Head out an hour afterContinue reading "The Moon meets Saturn: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher"

The post The Moon meets Saturn: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

NASA's Chandra X-ray space telescope has spotted the cosmic serial killer that, like Michael Myers, is back for a sequel, killing a star and attacking a second star with its remains.

© X-ray: NASA/CXC/Queen's Univ. Belfast/M. Nicholl et al.; Optical/IR: PanSTARRS, NSF/Legacy Survey/SDSS; Illustration: Soheb Mandhai / The Astro Phoenix; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

Philippe Moussette The aurora dances above the Cap-Rouge trestle bridge in Quebec City the night of Oct. 10/11.

The post An auroral cape appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The new home of NASA's retired space shuttle Endeavour, the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, has reached new heights and the California Science Center is celebrating with a "topping off" ceremony.

© California Science Center

How much color should I be able to see in sky objects through a 10-inch telescope?  Dennis HoltConcordia, Kansas Unfortunately, when you look at distant galaxies and nebulae, you won’t see much color through your telescope. That’s because you’re viewing objects that are too faint to trigger your eyes’ color receptors. This is the sameContinue reading "Will my telescope show color when viewing deep-sky objects?"

The post Will my telescope show color when viewing deep-sky objects? appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Journey to Jupiter and Europa with four sci-fi films centered around the Jovian system ahead of NASA's Europa Clipper mission.

© Warner Bros.

In the coming weeks, NASA's Europa Clipper will take off on a long journey to Jupiter's moon Europa. The icy moon could potentially host alien life — and there's only one way to find out.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech

Europe's Mars Express and Trace Gas Orbiter missions captured a variety of cryptic surface features poking through melting ice across the Red Planet's south pole as spring hit the region.

© ESA/DLR/FU Berlin

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope had to race against time to image a young exoplanet before it disappeared for a decade.

© Robert Lea (created with Canva)/ K. Franson., et al/ the Astrophysical Journal Letters

See what moon phase it is tonight and find out when you can see the rest of the moon phases for 2024.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech

See the latest updates for the launch of NASA's Europa Clipper to Jupiter's icy moon here.

© NASA

NASA's first mission to another ocean world in our solar system will launch toward Jupiter today (Oct. 14), but if you want to watch it live, you'll need to know when to tune in.

© SpaceX/NASA/JPL

SpaceX launched its enormous Starship rocket for the fifth time ever today (Oct. 13), on a dramatic test flight that featured a mid-air catch of the first-stage Super Heavy booster.

© Sergio Flores/AFP via Getty Images

You've seen the Predator on the big screen, now here are the top ten Predator comics you must read.

© Dark Horse Comics

Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau flew three times in space, conducting some tricky Canadarm robotic arm moves. On the 40th anniversary of his first flight, he celebrates how far Canada has come.

© NASA

SpaceX will launch its fifth Starship launch test, called Starship Flight 5, in what will be an audacious attempt to capture the giant rocket's booster at its launch site on Sunday, Oct. 13.

© SpaceX

SpaceX's Crew-8 astronaut mission for NASA was scheduled to depart the International Space Station early Sunday morning (Oct. 13), but NASA and SpaceX waved off the attempt due to weather.

© NASA/Matthew Dominick

NASA has postponed the launch of its next flagship mission to Jupiter by at least another day due to the impact of Hurricane Milton at its Florida launch site.

© NASA Kennedy Space Center

On Episode 132 of This Week In Space, Rod and Tariq talk with Lynn Rothschild on how mushroom mycelia might be utilized as a Mars habitat-building resource.

© TWiT

The third brightest object in the sky after the Sun and Moon, Venus is known for its opalescent splendor at dawn or dusk. Humans have long been drawn to its exquisite beauty and tied it to goddesses of love — from Inanna of Mesopotamian myth to the Greek Aphrodite and Roman Venus. But Venus isContinue reading "30 years ago: Magellan Venus mission successfully concluded"

The post 30 years ago: Magellan Venus mission successfully concluded appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday (Oct. 11) that it has given SpaceX the green light to resume launches of its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket.

© SpaceX

Read the latest news about SpaceX's Starship megarocket test flights, launches, photos and more.

© SpaceX

NASA astronauts Don Pettit and Matthew Dominick captured a supercharged, super-red aurora display from the International Space Station.

© NASA/Don Pettit

Author(s): Rachel Berkowitz

A rare configuration of seven galaxies aligned behind a galaxy cluster allows researchers to probe with high precision the dark matter distribution within the cluster.

[Physics 17, 148] Published Fri Oct 11, 2024

Author(s): Philip Ball

The algorithm called AlphaFold has now been used to predict structures for all known proteins.

[Physics 17, 149] Published Fri Oct 11, 2024

Solar cycle 25 continues to deliver, with flares and coronal mass ejections delivering repeated auroral storms visible at latitudes much lower than normal. Last night’s geomagnetic storm reached G4 levels — the strongest since the historic G5 storm of May 10/11. This collection of photos includes the best of reader submissions, social media, and our ownContinue reading "The best images of the Oct. 10 auroral storm"

The post The best images of the Oct. 10 auroral storm appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The James Webb Space Telescope has observed 'inside-out' star formation in a galaxy just 700 million years after the Big Bang, fleshing out our understanding of the early universe.

© JADES Collaboration

The vital ingredients for life on Earth may have been delivered by meteorites from larger bodies called "planetesimals" in the early solar system. The discovery could assist in the search for alien life.

© Robert Lea (created with Canva)/Rayssa Martins/Ross Findlay

NASA’s newest scientific flagship is on its way to the Jupiter system to explore the icy moon Europa, one of the most compelling worlds in our solar system. The mission lifted off Oct. 14 from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:06 p.m. EDT aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.Continue reading "NASA’s Europa Clipper sets sail for Jupiter"

The post NASA’s Europa Clipper sets sail for Jupiter appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A sodium cloud detected in the vicinity of an exoplanet named WASP-49 b hints at the presence of a natural satellite, also known as an exomoon.

© NASA/JPL-Caltech

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have found a "first of its kind" world, an exoplanet that is twice the size of Earth and has an atmosphere packed with steam.

© Robert Lea (created with Canva)

The U.S. military's X-37B space plane is about to begin a series of novel maneuvers, according to a rare official update on the spacecraft.

© Boeing Space

Nabta Playa in Egypt is an ancient stone circle that researchers suspect was used to determine the summer solstice, which signaled rain was on the way.

© Mike P Shepherd / Alamy Stock Photo

Recently, an international team took the HULC moon camera out for a test drive in lunar-like conditions to improve the camera's design for Artemis moon missions.

© ESA – A. Romeo

In the pioneering days of long-exposure astrophotography in the late 19th century, the use of dry plates over wet collodion plates simplified the photographic process. The increased light sensitivity of the emulsion coatings on dry plates allowed for shorter exposure times and produced sharper images of the night sky. In 1881, the French inventors brothersContinue reading "How we found Morehouse’s Black Ring: A dark nebula hiding in plain sight"

The post How we found Morehouse’s Black Ring: A dark nebula hiding in plain sight appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

A powerful geomagnetic storm illuminated auroras that lit the skies over Earth on Thursday (Oct. 9) after X 2 solar flare that erupted from the sunspot AR 3848 on Tuesday (Oct. 8) evening.

© Future/ Josh Diner

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and New Horizons Pluto probe have teamed up to image the ice giant Uranus, which will help inform future direct imaging of exoplanets.

© NASA, ESA, STScI, Samantha Hasler (MIT), Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC), New Horizons Planetary Science Theme Team

There's too much antimatter in cosmic rays, showers of charged particles that pelt Earth. Could this be explained by annihilating dark matter? If so, does it point to the existence of WIMPs?

© CERN

Friday, October 11Jupiter, now located in Taurus the Bull, appears in telescopes wreathed by its four largest moons: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. At times, those moons pass in front of or behind the planet from our point of view, and tonight you can catch the latter as Europa pops into view after crossing behindContinue reading "The Sky This Week from October 11 to 18: 2024’s third Super Moon rises"

The post The Sky This Week from October 11 to 18: 2024’s third Super Moon rises appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In this video, Astronomy magazine editor Dave Eicher invites you to observe a comet that’s becoming visible in the evening sky. Starting around October 14, look just to the south of west between 15 and 30 minutes after sunset. The comet will be low, but with each evening that passes, it will be a littleContinue reading "See a comet in the evening: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher"

The post See a comet in the evening: This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Using the Gaia space telescope, astronomers have observed 55 massive stars ejected from their home star cluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud at speeds equivalent to 80 times the speed of sound.

© Danielle Futselaar, James Webb Space Telescope/NIRCam - NASA, ESA, CSA and STScI.

After putting on a show in the predawn sky earlier this month, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3) was eventually lost in the glare of the Sun. But now that it has crossed behind the Sun from our point of view, it is emerging in the early evening sky and becoming more visible every night as itContinue reading "Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is rising higher in the evening sky. Here’s where to look"

The post Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS is rising higher in the evening sky. Here’s where to look appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

The Hubble Space Telescope has seen Jupiter's Great Red Spot oscillating in width as it drifts around the planet. Could this be related to its overall shrinking?

© NASA/ESA/Amy Simon (NASA-GSFC)

There's been talk of another spectacular comet putting on a show in our sky after Tsuchinshan-ATLAS. Unfortunately, however, it doesn't look like the newcomer will deliver.

© Shutterstock

A severe solar storm sparked by an intense flare from the sun could reach "extreme" levels as it bombards Earth, NOAA officials warned Thursday (Oct. 10).

© NASA/SDO

The Europa Clipper probe rode out the arrival of Hurricane Milton Oct. 9 inside a SpaceX hangar, as NASA's Kennedy Space Center experienced strong winds.

© NASA

New cameras aboard the International Space Station captured stunning 4k views of Hurricane Milton as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico.

© Sen

On Oct. 8, an X-class solar flare gave rise to a coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the surface of the Sun, racing toward Earth at 1.5 million mph (2.4 million km/h). It arrived at Earth at 11:15 a.m. EDT today, Oct. 10. At 12:57 p.m. EDT, the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)Continue reading "Earth sees strong aurorae Oct. 10 as solar storm hits ‘severe’ G4 level"

The post Earth sees strong aurorae Oct. 10 as solar storm hits ‘severe’ G4 level appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In a new video, China's Shenzhou 18 astronauts zoom in on their nation's launch sites from the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit.

© CCTV

The Celestron NexStar 4SE is one of the best telescopes on the market and now it's at its lowest price in years, 34% off post-Prime Day.

© Future/Amazon

In between the moon's solid core and external surface may swirl a partially molten layer of rock.

© Chris Vaughan/Starry Night

Author(s): Susan Curtis

The mitigation of a previously neglected energy-loss mechanism in organic light-emitting diodes has enabled researchers to enhance both efficiency and lifetime of these devices.

[Physics 17, s115] Published Thu Oct 10, 2024

Newfound comet C/2024 S1 will light up Earth's skies in late October before a super close slingshot around the sun.

© Shutterstock

The Taurid Meteoroid Stream, responsible for two November meteor showers and possibly the Tunguska and Chelyabinsk impacts, probably doesn't hide a civilization-killing asteroid, a new study finds.

© NASA/JHUPL/Carnegie Institution of Washington/SwRI

Free, open source climate data can help bridge the gap between information and environmental action.

© NASA/NOAA

A powerful X-class solar flare that erupted on Tuesday (Oct. 8) could generate a strong geomagnetic storm Thursday (Oct. 10) and Friday (Oct. 11), possibly leading to supercharged auroras.

© NASA/SDO

The SOHO spacecraft captured amazing imagery of Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) zooming near the sun as the star unleashed a powerful X flare.

© ESA/NASA/SOHO

NASA plans to send humans on a scientific round trip to Mars potentially as early as 2035. The trip will take about six to seven months each way and will cover up to 250 million miles (402 million kilometers) each way. The astronauts may spend as many as 500 days on the planet’s surface beforeContinue reading "NASA wants to send humans to Mars in the 2030s − a crewed mission could unlock some of the Red Planet’s geologic mysteries"

The post NASA wants to send humans to Mars in the 2030s − a crewed mission could unlock some of the Red Planet’s geologic mysteries appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Titan Publications' 'Star Trek Explorer' launches one last issue into the final frontier.

© titan

Material harvested from asteroids could be used to sustain astronauts during long-duration space missions.

© NASA/Goddard/University of Arizona

The Dominican Republic has signed the Artemis Accords, becoming the 44th nation to join the United States' moon-exploration coalition.

© NASA

A last-minute Prime Day lightsaber deal, you need? 40% off The Black Series Yoda's Force FX, we recommend.

© Future/Amazon

It's your last chance to grab a Prime Day telescope deal and the Celestron AstroMaster 130EQ is still 31% off, ideal for beginners.

© Future/Amazon

Jets of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gas were seen coming from a centaur, but what drives them is a big mystery.

© NASA/ESA/CSA/Leah Hustak (STScI)

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida as soon as Wednesday (Oct. 9), with Category 5 force. NASA's Kennedy Space Center and several space missions will be affected.

© NASA

A full-scale mockup of the astronaut accommodations for a small space station orbiting the moon has arrived at Space Center Houston. Northrop Grumman has donated its prototype for the Gateway HALO.

© collectSPACE.com