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Components of RNA among life’s building blocks found in NASA asteroid sample

Bio-essential sugars found in asteroid Bennu samples

Astronomers observe a coronal mass ejection from a distant star

Burst from M-dwarf star could be powerful enough to strip the atmosphere of any planets that orbit it, with implications for the search for extraterrestrial life

An artist’s impression of a large red star releasing a bright, explosive burst of light. Swirling red and orange patterns surround the star, suggesting intense activity. In the background, a smaller blue planet appears with a faint, wispy trail extending away from it, indicating its atmosphere being blown off. The scene is set against a dark space backdrop dotted with stars.

Galactic gamma rays could point to dark matter

Spectrum from the Milky Way’s halo matches WIMP annihilation

Latest news

Light pollution from satellite mega-constellations threaten space-based observations

Study finds 96% of images from planned telescopes could be compromised

China’s Shenzhou-20 crewed spacecraft return delayed by space debris impact

Fears that the craft has been struck by a small piece of debris

NASA criticized over its management of $3.3bn Dragonfly mission to Titan

Cost overruns and delays have hit the drone-like rotorcraft mission

Artist's impression of Dragonfly mission

Cosmic microwave background pioneer George Smoot dies aged 80

Smoot and John Mather discovered tiny temperature fluctuations in the CMB

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Research headlines

Did cannibal stars and boson stars populate the early universe?

Accelerator experiment sheds light on missing blazar radiation

The Fireball experiment installed in the HiRadMat irradiation area at CERN

Plasma bursts from young stars could shed light on the early life of the Sun

Flattened halo of dark matter could explain high-energy ‘glow’ at Milky Way’s heart

Finding brings us a step closer to solving the mystery of dark matter, say astronomers

Classical gravity may entangle matter, new study claims

Surprising result could guide searches for quantum gravity

Rapidly spinning black holes put new limit on ultralight bosons

Gravitational waves confirm predictions of Einstein and Kerr

Young rogue planet grows like a star

Telescope observations reveal material accreting onto the planet Cha1107-7626 in a way that resembles the infancy of stars

New adaptive optics technology boosts the power of gravitational wave detectors

FROnt Surface Type Irradiator, or FROSTI, will allow future detectors to run at higher laser powers, reducing noise and expanding capabilities

Phase shift in optical cavities could detect low-frequency gravitational waves

Global network could pinpoint astronomical sources

Explore more in astronomy and space

Bring gravity back down to Earth: from giraffes and tree snakes to ‘squishy’ space–time

Emma Chapman reviews Crush: Close Encounters with Gravity by James Riordon

child sat cross legged on grass with a book on their lap and windfall apples by their feet

Quantum gravity: we explore spin foams and other potential solutions to this enduring challenge

Bianca Dittrich of the Perimeter Institute is our podcast guest

Photograph of Bianca Dittrich at the Perimeter Institute

Cosmic dawn: the search for the primordial hydrogen signal

Sarah Wild talks to astronomers across the world who are on a hunt for a subtle hydrogen signal that could confirm or disprove our ideas on the universe’s evolution

A radio antenna shaped like a table in remote tundra

‘Science needs all perspectives – male, female and everything in-between’: Brazilian astronomer Thaisa Storchi Bergmann

Meghie Rodrigues talks to Brazilian astronomer Thaisa Storchi Bergmann about curiosity, black holes and current challenges in research funding

Astronauts could soon benefit from dissolvable eye insert

A solution to microgravity-related vision problems is the topic of this week's podcast

Photographs of Diána Balogh-Weiser and Zoltan Nagy

Optical gyroscope detects Earth’s rotation with the highest precision yet

With further improvements, the instrument could enable direct tests of relativistic effects

A photograph of the ring laser at the Geodetic Observatory Wettzell in Bavaria. It's mounted on a circular platform, which is itself mounted on a chunky-looking metal dais. There's a person in black clothing working on the laser at the back of the room, but most other things in the room are grey or white.

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