If you explore the night sky it won’t be long before you realise there is a lot of dust and gas up there. The interstellar dust between the stars accounts for 1% of the mass of the interstellar medium but reflects 30% of the starlight in infrared wavelengths. The dust plays a key role in the formation of stars and the evolution of the Galaxy. A team of astronomers have attempted to map the dust out to a distance of 3000 light years and have just released the first 3D map of the dust in our Galaxy.
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How We Get Planets from Clumping Dust
Our gleaming Earth, brimming with liquid water and swarming with life, began as all rocky planets do: dust. Somehow, mere dust can become a life-bearing planet given enough time and the right circumstances. But there are unanswered questions about how dust forms any rocky planet, let alone one that supports life.
A Nova in the Making: Will T Coronae Borealis Pop in 2024?
If predictions are correct, a key outburst star could put on a show in early 2024.
How Dark Does It Get During a Total Solar Eclipse?
Totality may not be quite as dark as nighttime, but the difference between 99% obscuration and 100% is still night and day.
Proba-3's laser-precise positioning
Image: Proba-3's laser-precise positioning
SpaceX launches Leap Day Starlink satellites into orbit, lands rocket at sea (video)
SpaceX launched 23 Starlink satellites from Florida on Leap Day (Feb. 29) after postponing a Crew-8 astronaut launch for NASA.
Magic secrets on the moon: Q&A with David Copperfield (exclusive)
Famed illusionist David Copperfield discusses his involvement with Intuitive Machines' historic moon mission and his desire to help preserve humanity's knowledge on and away from Earth.
How will space transform the global food system?
Video: 00:09:47
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), global agricultural production will need to increase by 60% by 2050 to meet the food demands of the growing global population.
'Axion stars' that went boom after the Big Bang could shed light on dark matter
Hypothetical particles called axions may have gathered to form "axion stars" that exploded in the early universe to create readable signals that could reveal the secrets of dark matter.
SpaceX squeezes in rare Leap Day Falcon 9 launch following Crew-8 astronaut delay
In just the fourth Leap Day launch in history, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Image: Adam Bernstein/Spaceflight Now
SpaceX made the most of a weather delay to an astronaut launch from Florida’s Space Coast. The company launched a batch of Starlink satellites from pad 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday morning.
Air is leaking from a Russian ISS module, but 'no impact to crew,' NASA says
The space station has a leak at the aft end of the Russian Zvezda service module where the nation's Progress spacecraft dock to the orbital lab, NASA officials said on Wednesday (Feb. 28).
Get to the choppa! Artemis 2 moon astronauts practice splashdown with U.S. Navy (images, video)
The Artemis 2 moon astronauts went to the Pacific Ocean this month to practice splashdown operations alongside NASA and the U.S. Navy. The footage is incredible.
Astronomers Find New Moons of Uranus and Neptune
The three new moons for Uranus and Neptune are each part of a "family," groupings that fragmented from a single parent object.
A baby star's planet-forming disk has 3 times more water than all of Earth
Astronomers have discovered that the water content of a planet-forming disk around an infant star is enough to fill Earth's oceans three times over.
One week left to apply for the ESA Young Graduate Trainee Programme
The ESA Young Graduate Trainee call for applications closes on 7 March 2024. Don’t hesitate to apply and kick-start your career in space today! Positions are available in engineering, science, IT and business services.
SpaceX delays Crew-8 astronaut launch for NASA to March 2 due to bad weather
SpaceX's first astronaut launch of 2024 will lift off nearly 48 hours later than planned due to weather concerns, NASA says.
What time is the SpaceX Crew-8 astronaut launch for NASA on March 2?
SpaceX will launch its first NASA astronaut flight of 2024 and you can watch it live online, but you'll need to know when.
Watch the bittersweet trailer for 'Star Trek: Discovery's final season (video)
Paramount+ released a trailer for the fifth and final season of "Star Trek: Discovery."
Odysseus Is Going to Sleep After Sending Snapshots From Moon Landing
Intuitive Machines says it’s putting its Odysseus moon lander to bed for a long lunar night, with hopes of reviving it once the sun rises again near the moon’s south pole.
Private Odysseus moon lander broke a leg during historic touchdown. 'He's a scrappy little dude.' (new photos)
Intuitive Machines' Odysseus moon lander overcame a number of hurdles during its epic Feb. 22 touchdown, including one or more broken legs.
How to watch SpaceX launch Crew-8 astronauts to the space station on March 2 (free livestream)
How to watch SpaceX launch four astronauts to the International Space Station on March 2.
