Space News & Blog Articles

One of Webb’s strong points is its ability to directly image planets around another solar system. The telescope has been in operation for long enough now that a flood of those images are starting, as more and more systems come under the telescope’s gaze. One of those is described in a recent paper and press release from NASA. According to the paper, the planet in a nearby system is about the size of Saturn, which would make it the smallest planet ever found by direct observation.

Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs) have remained a mystery to astronomers even since the first was detected in 2007 (known as the Lorimer Burst). These quick bursts typically last for mere nanoseconds, though some have been found to last up to 3 seconds, and their precise cause remains unknown. In recent years, scientists have traced a few FRBs back to their source and have determined that they came from neutron stars. This has led to the theory that FRBs are caused by compact objects, though this has yet to be proven.

The $10,000 Schweickart Prize is awarded every June to mark Asteroid Day and draw attention to risks from above — and this year's prize is going to a team of students who are proposing a panel to focus on what could happen when we start tinkering with asteroids.

Space exploration enthusiasts tend to overlook the regulatory aspects of their desired goals. They focus on technologies and the science we can do with them rather than mundane things like property rights or environmental considerations. However, in the long run, those enthusiasts will have to grapple with all aspects of exploration programs as they begin to affect more and more of the public. With such foresight, various groups have started putting forward ideas for frameworks of how to holistically think about how to utilize the Moon, as that seems the most likely first stepping stone out to the wider solar system. A new paper from Ekaterina Seltikova and her colleagues at the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) and the University of Toronto puts forth one such framework, with a particular focus on how to develop a lunar economy that is open for everyone.

When astronomers search for potentially habitable planets beyond our Solar System, they typically focus on whether these worlds orbit at the right distance from their stars to maintain liquid water. But new research reveals that violent flares and eruptions from host stars may be equally important in determining whether these distant worlds could support life.

Scientists studying tiny life forms in Antarctica's ice covered ponds have discovered compelling evidence that similar environments could have sheltered complex life during one of Earth's most extreme periods, the so called "Snowball Earth" era.

The coming of asteroid (99942) Apophis in April 2029 has sparked plenty of discussion both inside and outside the astronomical community. Despite original fears that it would pose a threat, Apophis will safely pass around 32,000 km away from Earth - though admittedly that is still closer than some geostationary communications satellites. That close approach offers a unique opportunity for those interested in asteroid science to take an up-close look at one of these relics of the early solar system, and various groups are planning to do just that. A new paper from Victor Hernandez Megia and his colleagues at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) suggests a new mission that could provide even further insight into the interior of Apophis - by returning part of it to Earth.

Detecting exoplanets is one thing, but imaging them is another thing entirely. Astronomers can detect them by the way they block their star's light and by the way they make their stars wobble, and from that they can infer a lot. But that's not the same as seeing them.

Building on the Moon is a challenge we have yet to fully grasp. Plenty of projects have grandiose plans from using blood sweat and tears to create bricks out of regolith to building towers to wirelessly transmit power between isolated locations. However, these projects all but ignore one of the most important types of material we use commonly here on Earth - ceramics. A new paper from Dr. Alex Ellery, an Engineering professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, discusses why ceramics are so critical to the development of the lunar economy, and points to further developments in materials science that must be completed in order to manufacture and utilize them on the surface of the Moon.