Space Exploration News – Latest Headlines

Scientists precisely measure total amount of matter in the universe

A top goal in cosmology is to precisely measure the total amount of matter in the universe, a daunting exercise for even the most mathematically proficient. A research team has now done just that.

September 28, 2020 Read more

First study with CHEOPS data describes one of the most extreme planets in the universe

CHEOPS keeps its promise: Observations with the space telescope reveal details of the exoplanet WASP-189b - one of the most extreme planets known.

September 28, 2020 Read more

Remnants of an ancient asteroid shed new light on the early solar system

Researchers have shaken up a once accepted timeline for cataclysmic events in the early solar system. It was once thought that this period had a relatively sudden onset, but a research team has found evidence that this bombardment period may have started much earlier, and decreased in intensity over time.

September 27, 2020 Read more

Astronomers model, determine how disk galaxies evolve so smoothly

Computer simulations are showing astrophysicists how massive clumps of gas within galaxies scatter some stars from their orbits, eventually creating the smooth, exponential fade in the brightness of many galaxy disks.

September 25, 2020 Read more

Pair of massive baby stars swaddled in salty water vapor

Astronomers spotted a pair of massive baby stars growing in salty cosmic soup. Each star is shrouded by a gaseous disk which includes molecules of sodium chloride, commonly known as table salt, and heated water vapor.

September 25, 2020 Read more

Gravity causes homogeneity of the universe

Gravity can accelerate the homogenization of space-time as the universe evolves. This insight is based on theoretical studies of a physicist.

September 24, 2020 Read more

The ring around the M 87* black hole shadow glitters

In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration delivered the first image of a black hole, revealing M 87* - the supermassive object in the center of M87. Astronomers,have now analyzed archival data sets from 2009-2013, some of them not published before.

September 23, 2020 Read more

Water trapped in star dust

Astrophysicists prove that dust particles in space are mixed with ice.

September 22, 2020 Read more

Water on exoplanet cloud tops could be found with hi-tech instrumentation

New technology in ground-based observatories is powerful enough to analyse the thin layer of atmosphere at the top of clouds.

September 22, 2020 Read more

Astronomers discover the first 'ultrahot Neptune': one of nature's improbable planets

The planet orbits so close to its star that its year lasts only 19 hours, and stellar radiation heats the planet to over 1700 degrees Celsius.

September 22, 2020 Read more

Comet discovered to have its own northern lights

An atmospheric light show previously relegated to planets and Jupiter moons is found on comet using data from ESA's Rosetta spacecraft.

September 21, 2020 Read more

Cosmic X-rays reveal an indubitable signature of black holes

An international team of astrophysicists has found distinctive signatures of black hole event horizon, unmistakably separating them from neutron stars -- objects, comparable to black holes in mass and size but confined within a hard surface.

September 21, 2020 Read more

Astronomers capture stellar winds in unprecedented detail

Contrary to common consensus, astronomers found that stellar winds are not spherical but have a shape similar to that of planetary nebulae.

September 18, 2020 Read more

Dark matter even more elusive than previously thought

Dark matter might be disappearing and sending its signal - but not very fast - in dwarf satellite galaxies.

September 18, 2020 Read more

Your house on Mars may be made from chitin

Using chitin, a bioinspired material, to manufacture tools and shelters on Mars.

September 16, 2020 Read more

Can life survive a star's death? Webb telescope can reveal the answer

Astronomers show how NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope could find signatures of life on Earth-like planets orbiting white dwarfs.

September 16, 2020 Read more

Jupiter's moons could be warming each other

The gravitational push and pull by Jupiter's moons could account for more warming than the gas giant Jupiter alone.

September 16, 2020 Read more

Solar cycle 25 has begun

Since December 2019, the activity of the star has been increasing again - which is in line with the predictions.

September 16, 2020 Read more