Astronomy and space

Latest developments

Photo of the Main Spectrometer at the KATRIN experiment during installation of its inner electrode system. The photo is taken inside the experiment and shows a tunnel-like interior with electronics panels covering every visible surface. At the centre is a metal platform with scaffolding and ladders. Three people in clean-room protective clothing are standing on the platform.

KATRIN sets tighter limit on neutrino mass

Photo of the set-up in the ISAC-II experimental hall at TRIUMF. The room resembles a high-ceilinged warehouse with metal supports and high windows in the background. In the foreground is an experimental apparatus supported by a yellow metal frame.

Helium nanobubble measurements shed light on origins of heavy elements in the universe

Particle-accelerator study focuses on the r-process thought to be responsible for forming elements heavier than iron

Photon collisions in dying stars could create neutrons for heavy elements

Simulations shed light on the r-process of nucleosynthesis

Latest news

Euclid mission spots 26 million galaxies in first batch of survey data

The dataset includes a catalogue of 380,000 galaxies that have been detected by artificial intelligence or citizen-science efforts

‘Milestone’ as Square Kilometre Array Observatory releases its first low-frequency image of the cosmos

The new SKA-Low image was created using 1024 two-metre-high antennas

NASA launches $488m megaphone-shaped SPHEREx observatory to map the universe

Craft will plot the distribution of galaxies to better understand cosmic inflation

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Research headlines

Artist's impression of the gravitational wave and electromagnetic radiation signals from a distant binary neutron star merger arriving at Earth. The image shows the Earth floating in space with a telescope hovering above it in the bottom left corner, while in the top right corner a pair of bright spots are emitting ghostly blue waves

AI speeds up detection of neutron star mergers

Graph showing a neutral current interaction in the NOvA Far Detector

Sterile neutrinos are a no-show (again)

Composite image showing photos of PTB's ion traps and the PENTATRAP Penning trap mass spectrometer at MPIK in Heidelberg superimposed over a grid of blue, black and pink squares labelled with the name and mass number of different isotopes. Some of the black squares are raised, and these are the ytterbium isotopes the team studied

Atomic anomaly explained without recourse to hypothetical ‘dark force’

The enigma of Trappist-1 b: a thick atmosphere or airless rock?

Thermal emission measurements from the exoplanet Trappist-1 b suggest two plausible yet contradictory scenarios

How would an asteroid strike affect life on Earth?

New simulations reveal that the climate, atmospheric chemistry and even global photosynthesis would be dramatically disrupted by an asteroid collision

Black hole’s shadow changes from one year to the next

New analyses advance understanding of complex dynamic processes governing black holes

Astronomers create a ‘weather map’ for a gas giant exoplanet

Supersonic winds and water vapour feature in new study of WASP-127b

Ultrahigh-energy neutrino detection opens a new window on the universe

Particle could have been created by a blazar or a cosmic collision

Organic photovoltaic solar cells could withstand harsh space environments

Study challenges long-standing belief that OPV devices systematically degrade when irradiated

Explore more in astronomy and space

DESI delivers a cosmological bombshell

“Phantom” dark energy existed long ago, observations suggest

James Webb Space Telescope spots spectacular auroras on Neptune

Measurements represent the first direct detection of auroras on the planet

Firefly Aerospace’s Blue Ghost mission achieves perfect lunar landing

Firefly Aerospace claims to be the first commercial company to achieve a ‘fully successful soft-landing on the Moon'

US-led missions launched to investigate the Moon’s water

Athena will test water-extraction methods while Lunar Trailblazer will map water deposits

Curled lock of the volcanic material Pele's hair

Threads of fire: uncovering volcanic secrets with Pele’s hair and tears

Hear from volcanologists about these stunning geological phenomena and the thrill of working in volcanic landscapes

European Space Agency’s Euclid mission spots spectacular Einstein ring

The ring is due to the gravitational effects of a galaxy located around 590 million light-years from Earth

Artist’s rendering showing a white dwarf orbiting a supermassive black hole

Supermassive black hole displays ‘unprecedented’ X-ray outbursts

Rapid X-ray oscillations detected near the innermost orbit of a supermassive black hole could indicate the presence of a nearby orbiter such as a white dwarf

Asteroid Bennu contains the stuff of life, sample analysis reveals

Rock and dust samples brought back to Earth from the asteroid Bennu contain organic matter and a variety of minerals crucial to the emergence of life

Eileen Collins in the pilot’s station of the NASA Space Shuttle Discovery

Spacewoman: trailblazing astronaut Eileen Collins makes for a compelling and thoughtful documentary subject

Andrew Glester reviews the film Spacewoman directed by Hannah Berryman

Artist’s impression of the Tetrahedron Constellation Gravitational Wave Observatory

Researchers in China propose novel gravitational-wave observatory

The Tetrahedron Constellation Gravitational Wave Observatory would consist of four satellites positioned in space

Kenzie Nimmo presenting this work at a recent conference. She's standing beneath a large screen that says "Using scintillation to identify the magnetospheric origin of FRB 20221022A", holding a microphone.

Fast radio burst came from a neutron star’s magnetosphere, say astronomers

Scintillation measurements show that FRB 20221022A originated from the highly magnetized region around a neutron star, challenging existing models of conditions there

Image of a simulation of a core-collapse supernova, which looks like a messy, uneven green object inside a bubble

Wrinkles in space–time could remember the secrets of exploding stars

Distortions known as gravitational memory are permanent and potentially detectable from Earth

Astrophysicists reveal huge variation in the shape of exocomet belts

A population of 74 planetesimal belts orbiting nearby stars has been studied by researchers

World’s darkest skies threatened by industrial megaproject in Chile, astronomers warn

AES Andes is aiming to develop a green hydrogen project in Chile’s Atacama Desert

Artist's impression of the Solar Parker Probe

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe survives its first close-up solar encounter

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will perform 24 orbits around the Sun with the next close solar passes occurring on 22 March and 19 June

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman telescope in a clean room

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope nears completion

The mission is expected to be complete next year with a launch by May 2027

Artist's impression of a superflaring Sun-like star as seen in visible light. The image shows a bright golden ball with a few dark spots on it and a prominent flare emerging from the upper left side along with a flash of intense white light.

Sun-like stars produce ‘superflares’ about once a century

Highly energetic events happen much more often than previously thought, say astronomers

Geological map of the lunar surface, showing the Kepler crater

Moonstruck: art and science collide in stunning collection of lunar maps and essays

Ian Randall reviews LUNAR: a History of the Moon in Myths, Maps + Matter

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