Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Dark matter dominates in nearby dwarf galaxy

By measuring the mass of a nearby dwarf galaxy called Triangulum II, atronomers may have found the highest concentration of dark matter in any known galaxy.

November 18, 2015 Read more

The five most Earth-like exoplanets (so far)

With nearly 2000 exoplanets found to date, it is no wonder so many of them will resemble our planet in some way. But which exoplanets are similar enough to the Earth that they could actually be habitable?

November 18, 2015 Read more

We've got the beat: Astronomers discover a distant galaxy with a pulse

Astronomers have found a galaxy with a heartbeat - and they've taken its pulse. It is the first time scientists have measured the effect that pulsating, older red stars have on the light of their surrounding galaxy.

November 16, 2015 Read more

Explainer: what is interplanetary dust and can it spread the ingredients of life?

'Interplanetary dust' is hugely important. It is thought to have played a crucial role in the formation and evolution of our solar system. What's more, it may even have provided our planet with water - and kick-started life.

November 13, 2015 Read more

How to clean up space debris using game theory

The dilemma of whether to accept the cost of acting or risk disaster by waiting is the kind of strategic problem studied by game theory. A situation like the space debris problem, where players act just for their own benefit instead of taking group interests into account, is referred to in game theory as the 'tragedy of the commons'.

November 13, 2015 Read more

5400mph winds discovered hurtling around planet outside solar system

The wind speed recorded is 20x greater than the fastest ever known on earth, where it would be seven times the speed of sound.

November 13, 2015 Read more

Newfound Earth-size exoplanet may be an important milestone in search for alien life

Three astrophysicists, including the discoverers of exoplanet GJ 1132b, discuss why this new exoplanet could be crucial to understanding the habitability of worlds in other solar systems.

November 12, 2015 Read more

Machine learning could solve riddles of galaxy formation

A new machine-learning simulation system promises cosmologists an expanded suite of galaxy models - a necessary first step to developing more accurate and relevant insights into the formation of the universe.

November 11, 2015 Read more

Mars' moon Phobos is slowly falling apart

The long, shallow grooves lining the surface of Phobos are likely early signs of the structural failure that will ultimately destroy this moon of Mars.

November 11, 2015 Read more

Asteroid ripped apart to form star's glowing ring system

The sight of an asteroid being ripped apart by a dead star and forming a glowing debris ring has been captured in an image for the first time.

November 11, 2015 Read more

Close-up view of galaxies prompts re-think on star formation

Astronomers have identified for the first time one of the key components of many stars, a study suggests. A type of gas found in the voids between galaxies - known as atomic gas - appears to be part of the star formation process under certain conditions, researchers say.

November 10, 2015 Read more

Physicists find clue to formation of magnetic fields around stars and galaxies

An enduring astronomical mystery is how stars and galaxies acquire their magnetic fields. Physicists now have found a clue to the answer in the collective behavior of small magnetic disturbances. They report that small magnetic perturbations can combine to form large-scale magnetic fields just like those found throughout the universe.

November 9, 2015 Read more

Unlocking the mysteries of 'little starlets'

For the first time a powerful laser has been used to further our understanding of some of the most mysterious celestial objects just beyond the solar system - brown dwarfs.

November 6, 2015 Read more

MAVEN mission reveals speed of solar wind stripping Martian atmosphere

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission has identified the process that appears to have played a key role in the transition of the Martian climate from an early, warm and wet environment that might have supported surface life to the cold, arid planet Mars is today.

November 5, 2015 Read more

Hubble uncovers the fading cinders of some of our galaxy's earliest homesteaders

Using the Hubble Space Telescope to conduct a 'cosmic archaeological dig' at the very heart of our Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have uncovered the blueprints of our galaxy's early construction phase.

November 5, 2015 Read more

Scientists discover the gene that will open the door for space-based food production

Plant geneticists discovered the gene in the ancient Australian native tobacco plant Nicotiana benthamiana, known as Pitjuri to indigenous Aboriginals tribes.

November 3, 2015 Read more

Disk gaps don't always signal planets

When astronomers study protoplanetary disks of gas and dust that surround young stars, they sometimes spot a dark gap like the Cassini division in Saturn's rings. It has been suggested that any gap must be caused by an unseen planet that formed in the disk and carved out material from its surroundings. However, new research shows that a gap could be a sort of cosmic illusion and not the sign of a hidden planet after all.

November 2, 2015 Read more

How stars grow into heavyweights

Astronomers find a stable disk around a young, massive sun.

November 2, 2015 Read more