Astronomy and space Archives – Page 2 of 310

Astronomy and space

Latest developments

Laser-generated muons image hidden objects

Photo of three researchers in white lab coats standing near blocks of shielding. The first researcher wears a face mask and a hair net, the second one wears booties and is flashing a peace sign with a purple nitrile gloved hand, and the third has no additional protective gear

Primordial black holes could reveal a hidden fifth dimension

Primordial black holes formed in the early universe might experience an extra dimension of space; a recent study suggests new ways to search for these mysterious objects

Artist's impression of a supermassive black hole

Graham Farmelo: ‘What’s really striking is Stephen Hawking’s colossal determination and stubbornness’

Andrew Glester talks to Graham Farmelo, author of a new authorized biography of Stephen Hawking

Latest news

Japan launches sample-return mission to Mars’s moon Phobos

Officials celebrate completion of gamma-ray telescope array in La Palma

Thirty Meter Telescope rejects La Palma as alternative host site

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Research headlines

Earth’s gravity and magnetism have unexpected effects on the human genome and mitochondria

Microscopy image showing elongated green blobs surrounded by wisps of purple

Astronomers propose solution for ‘little red dot’ mystery

A glowing gas cloud mainly coloured pink, with areas of blue

New type of superionic water ice observed for the first time

Still from a video showing coppery-coloured magnetic field lines emerging from the planet Uranus and changing as the planet rotates and moves around the Sun. Uranus is a small blue dot in the midst of the blackness of space, with grid lines for reference.

Fastest star in the Milky Way feels the rotation of our central black hole

The Milky Way’s massive black hole is rapidly rotating, and a star in an unprecedentedly close orbit could help measure its spin

Scientists explain how a 300 TeV photon could reach Earth

A mysterious signal from a powerful gamma-ray burst may reveal how exotic particles and altered physics could let extreme radiation cross the universe

Einstein’s equivalence principle put to two new tests

The theory of general relativity still holds, according to new space-based and laboratory experiments

Proton–oxygen collisions put cosmic-ray models to the test

CERN’s ATLAS experiment probes the extreme universe

Microbes may survive at the Moon’s south pole

Crewed missions to the lunar polar regions must limit the unintended transfer of Earth life forms, say scientists

Could quantum information theory explain universe evolution?

Gravity from entropy theory offer hints of why low-entropy regions persist in the universe

Explore more in astronomy and space

Hawking, warts and all: a new biography of a scientific icon

Graham Farmelo's biography examines the brilliance and the imperfections of one of the world’s most famous scientists

Cosmic chronicles: the impact of celestial instabilities on human history

Emma Chapman reviews Ripples on the Cosmic Ocean: How the Solar System Shaped Human History – And May Help Save Our Planet by Dagomar Degroot

Francis Halzen and IceCube: why neutrinos keep attracting Nobel prizes

Neutrino expert Kirsty Duffy is our podcast guest

History
Blog

Did space weather delay a train in 1841?

It would have been the earliest example of space weather impacting human technology, but an international team of researchers found a slight problem

A photo of a steam engine pulling a train along the coast of Devon. Red cliffs and a greenish sea are visible in the foreground, while the background contains a golden field and blue water stretching into the distance

How the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will turn the sky into a dataset

Richard de Grijs looks at how the Roman Space Telescope will change astronomy forever

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope Launch

Spectacular image of the Shark Nebula wins Royal Observatory Greenwich prize

The picture – The Quiet Predator– was taken by Kuwaiti photographer Ali Alobaidly

Uncertainty and the random universe: a slide puzzle

Can you reconstruct the astrophysics illustration in our interactive slide puzzle?

Moon’s water reserves insufficient to sustain a lunar city, astronomers find

While energy usage could be met, water would cause some issues

Mercury may not need an ancient dynamo to explain its magnetic crust

New analyses of MESSENGER data find that present-day magnetic field can explain most of its crustal magnetism

Artist's impression of MESSENGER orbiting Mercury

Magnetism likely played a key role in early solar system formation

Study of inclusions in a primordial meteorite suggests that magnetism must be considered in simulations of planet formation, and may even be the dominant factor

Astronomers discover unusual 10-sided atmospheric wave on Saturn

Astronomers estimate the decagon-shaped wave may still be evolving

Image of a decagon atmospheric wave on Saturn

‘Lid’ of asteroid dust smothered and burned the dinosaurs, say scientists

Heat and fire may have caused the mass extinction of Cretaceous creatures

Photo of Alexandria Johnson and Brandon Johnson in a laboratory. They're casually dressed and there are some model dinosaurs sitting on a lab bench next to them. There's a fume hood in the background.

NASA launches Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope to shed light on the dark universe

The observatory will also study exoplanets, black holes and map billions of galaxies

Launch of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope

With e-MERLIN facing the axe, what next for Jodrell Bank and UK astronomy?

Exploring the fallout from STFC funding cuts that have left one of the UK’s most iconic scientific facilities facing an uncertain future

Aerial view of Jodrell Bank Observatory, surrounded by fields and hedges

The 12 August 2026 partial solar eclipse as seen from the Isle of Wight

Sean G Ryan snaps an astronomical spectacle that captured the public imagination

Radiation shielding vest could reduce cancer risk for astronauts on deep space missions

A new personal radiation shielding vest tested during the Artemis I flight could significantly reduce the radiation dose that future astronauts might receive

Testing the AstroRad vest inside the Orion spacecraft

Betelgeuse is not alone

Orion constellation's red supergiant has a companion star, say astronomers

VLT images of Betelgeuse and its companion, superimposed over a starry background and the outline of the constellation Orion

‘Little red dots’ could herald the birth of supermassive black holes

Did cocoons of dense gas shine brightly in the early universe?

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Related events

Materials | Symposium AVS 72nd International Symposium & Exhibition 8—13 November 2026 | Pittsburgh, US
Condensed matter | Workshop Hydrodynamic Approaches to Active Matter: Successes and Future Challenges (haam26) 9—13 November 2026 | Dresden, Germany
Materials | Conference SEMICON Europa 2026 10—13 November 2026 | Munich, Germany

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