How Do Scientists Measure Distance in Space?
How do scientists measure distance in space? They use a chain of methods rather than one universal measuring tape. Radar can reach planets. Parallax works for nearby stars. Farther out,…
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Cosmos
This category presents the reader with astronomical events that can be seen each week, and month.
Boyajian’s Star May Have a Giant Companion Stirring Up Its Comets
Boyajian’s Star may have a large companion orbiting it, according to a new study of the system’s motion. The best estimate puts the object at about 9.4 times the mass…
Scientists Finally See Tiny Vortices on the Sun
The Sun’s surface is not a smooth, glowing shell. It is a restless layer of boiling plasma, threaded by magnetic fields and covered in motions that are far too small…
China Has Postponed Its Chang’e-7 Mission to the Moon’s South Pole
China says its Chang’e-7 lunar south-pole mission will not launch in the planned 2026 window. Here is what the mission is designed to investigate.
A Star Racing Around the Milky Way’s Black Hole Could Reveal How It Spins
Astronomers have found a faint star taking an extraordinary route around the black hole at the centre of the Milky Way. The star, named S301, reaches about 25,000 kilometres per…
What Are Lagrange Points—and Why Do Space Telescopes Use Them?
What are Lagrange points? They are five regions in a two-body system where the gravity of the larger bodies and the motion of a smaller object combine in a useful…
A Young Planet 23 Times Heavier Than Earth Is Challenging How Rocky Worlds Form
Astronomers have confirmed an unusually heavy planet around a young star. GJ 523b is about 23.5 times as massive as Earth, yet its radius is only 2.55 times larger. That…
An Artemis-Tested Vest Could Protect Astronauts During Severe Solar Storms
Measurements from NASA’s uncrewed Artemis I mission show how a targeted radiation vest could reduce the dose astronauts receive during major solar particle events.
NASA Maps Places Where Human-Related Microbes Could Survive on the Moon
Simulations suggest that some bacteria and fungi carried by astronauts could remain alive for at least a day in shaded pockets near the lunar south pole.
Why Does the Sun Shine? The Nuclear Fusion Inside Our Star
The Sun shines because nuclear fusion is taking place in its core. Under immense pressure and a temperature of about 15 million degrees Celsius, hydrogen nuclei join to form helium.…
Hubble Finds the Milky Way’s Earliest Major Merger in Ancient Star Clusters
Hubble observations of 39 globular clusters reveal evidence that the young Milky Way absorbed a dwarf galaxy about 11.8 billion years ago.
We May Be Missing Most Interstellar Objects. Here’s Why
Interstellar visitors are hard to find and even harder to classify. Survivorship bias may shape what we think we know about objects like ‘Oumuamua and 3I/ATLAS.
Why Does Earth Have Seasons? It Is Not Because We Move Closer to the Sun
Earth has seasons because its axis is tilted by about 23.4 degrees. As the planet travels around the Sun, one hemisphere leans toward the Sun while the other leans away.…
Why Does Jupiter Have a Great Red Spot?
Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is a storm system wider than Earth, turning inside the planet’s cloud tops for centuries of recorded observation. It is not a solid mark on the…
Could Gamma Rays Reveal the Universe’s Fossil Neutrinos?
A new study proposes using gamma-ray sources to search for the universe’s fossil neutrinos, a relic signal left from the first seconds after the Big Bang.
Why Is Mars Red? The Rust in Its Dust Has a Complicated Story
Mars looks red because its surface dust contains oxidised iron. The same broad chemical idea explains rust on Earth: iron reacts with oxygen or other oxidising agents and forms minerals…
How Does a Spacecraft Navigate to Another Planet?
A spacecraft travelling to another planet is not aimed at a stationary target. Earth and the destination are both moving around the Sun, while the spacecraft follows its own path…
Avi Loeb Proposes a Galileo Observatory at Carl Sagan’s Former Home
Avi Loeb has proposed a Galileo Observatory at Carl Sagan’s former Ithaca home, linking public astronomy with a transparent search for UAP evidence.
How Do We Know Earth Has a Core If No One Has Seen It?
No drill has come close to Earth’s centre. The deepest boreholes reach only a few kilometres, while the core begins roughly 2,900 kilometres below the surface. Our knowledge of the…
Why Is Venus So Hot? The Runaway Greenhouse Effect Explained
Why is Venus the hottest planet when Mercury is closer to the Sun? The answer is not distance alone but an atmosphere that traps heat so efficiently that the surface…
Perseverance Found the Mineral Behind Rubies in Strange Rocks on Mars
The rover did not find gemstones scattered across Mars. It detected tiny grains of corundum—the mineral that forms rubies and sapphires—inside pale, silica-rich rocks whose chemistry is difficult to explain.
Before the First Humans Land on Mars, Robots Will Have to Build Their First Outpost
Before astronauts land on Mars, autonomous robots may need to scout sites, prepare power, move soil and test life-support systems. Here is how a robot-first outpost could work.
Meteor, Meteoroid or Meteorite? The Difference Explained
What is the difference between a meteor, meteoroid and meteorite? They are three stages of one possible journey: a meteoroid travels through space, a meteor is the bright trail made…
The First Moon Base Will Be Built by Cargo Missions Before Astronauts Arrive
The first permanent foothold on the Moon will not begin with a crew stepping out of a lander and planting a flag beside a finished habitat. It will begin with…