Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Astrophysicists reveal the nature of dark matter through the study of crinkles in spacetime

A team of astrophysicists has provided the most direct evidence yet that Dark Matter does not constitute ultramassive particles as is commonly thought but instead comprises particles so light that they travel through space like waves.

April 25, 2023 Read more

Supermassive black hole tears apart a giant star in a display brighter, more energetic and longer lasting than any observed before

'Scary Barbie' is the affectionate nickname astronomers are calling one of the most energetic and luminous transients ever observed: a supermassive black hole tearing apart a massive star.

April 25, 2023 Read more

How to land on a planet safely

Simulations capture the interaction between a rocket plume and the surface and find ways to make planetary descents and ascents safer.

April 25, 2023 Read more

New stellar danger to planets identified by NASA's Chandra program

An exploded star can pose more risks to nearby planets than previously thought, according to a new study from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other X-ray telescopes.

April 21, 2023 Read more

The largest cosmic blast ever, pinpointed

Astronomers pinpointed the location of the brightest cosmic explosion ever recorded was pinpointed at 2.4 billion light years from Earth.

April 13, 2023 Read more

Quantum 'magic' could help explain the origin of spacetime

Physicists relate the quantum property of 'magic' to the chaotic nature of black holes for the first time.

April 13, 2023 Read more

New findings that map the universe's cosmic growth support Einstein's theory of gravity

Research by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope collaboration has culminated in a significant breakthrough in understanding the evolution of the universe.

April 11, 2023 Read more

Scientists map gusty winds in a far-off neutron star system

Astronomers have mapped the 'disk winds' associated with the accretion disk around Hercules X-1, a system in which a neutron star is drawing material away from a sun-like star. The findings may offer clues to how supermassive black holes shape entire galaxies.

April 10, 2023 Read more

Gravitational waves could indicate transition to strange quark matter

Telltale signatures in gravitational-wave signals from merging neutron stars should reveal what happens to matter at the extreme pressures generated during such mergers.

April 10, 2023 Read more

How to see the invisible: Using the dark matter distribution to test our cosmological model

A team of astrophysicists has measured a value for the 'clumpiness' of the universe's dark matter that suggests the standard cosmological model might need to be revised.

April 8, 2023 Read more

Webb reveals never-before-seen details in Cassiopeia A

Glowing dust and elements display complex structures that are challenging for scientists to explain.

April 7, 2023 Read more

Hubble sees possible runaway black hole creating a trail of stars

This supermassive black hole, weighing as much as 20 million Suns, has left behind a never-before-seen 200,000-light-year-long 'contrail' of newborn stars, twice the diameter of our Milky Way galaxy.

April 6, 2023 Read more

Hubble unexpectedly finds double quasar in distant universe

Astronomers have made an unexpected and rare discovery: a pair of gravitationally bound quasars, both blazing away inside two merging galaxies. They existed when the universe was just 3 billion years old.

April 5, 2023 Read more

Researchers devise new membrane mirrors for large space-based telescopes

Lightweight flexible mirrors could be rolled up during launch and then precisely reshaped after deployment.

April 4, 2023 Read more

How to see the invisible: Using dark matter distribution to test our cosmological model

An international team of astrophysicists and cosmologists have submitted a set of five papers, measuring a value for the 'clumpiness' of the universe's dark matter, known to cosmologists as S8, of 0.76, which aligns with values that other gravitational lensing surveys have found in looking at the relatively recent universe - but it does not align with the value of 0.83 derived from the Cosmic Microwave Background.

April 4, 2023 Read more

Galaxy clusters yield new evidence for standard model of cosmology

A new study probing the structure and evolution of galaxy clusters shows good agreement with the predictions of standard cosmological models.

April 3, 2023 Read more

'Taffy galaxies' collide, leave behind bridge of star-forming material

A head-on collision between the two galaxies UGC 12914 (left) and UGC 12915 (right) 25-30 million years ago appears to have resulted in a different kind of structure - a bridge of highly turbulent material spanning the two galaxies. Though this intergalactic bridge is teeming with star-forming material, its turbulent nature is suppressing star formation.

March 30, 2023 Read more

How cosmic winds transform galactic environments

Much like how wind plays a key role in life on Earth by sweeping seeds, pollen and more from one place to another, galactic winds - high-powered streams of charged particles and gases - can change the chemical make-up of the host galaxies they form in, simply by blowing in a specific direction.

March 30, 2023 Read more