space

Astronomers can face ‘almost lethal levels’ of solar radiation – so why launch Artemis II during peak solar activity? Space scientist Patricia Reiff explains.

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Image of the Artemis I Orion capsule flying around the moon in 2022.

Astronomy Artemis II is about to take a trip to a record-breaking flight orbiting the moon, giving NASA a rare opportunity to study how deep space affects the human body. After leaving Earth’s protective gravity, the four-person crew will be exposed to space weather – which includes intense bursts of radiation from the sun, known … Read more

Unrecorded ‘space laser’ bursts from merging galaxies 8 billion light-years away

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A diagram showing the fabric of spacetime with a boxout on the top-left with a blurry blue-white orb with jets shooting from both sides. There's a red blurry ring around the orb, but the jets are slightly jutting out from the ring.

Astronomers have spotted the farthest and brightest “cosmic laser,” or megamaser, ever seen, and it’s still exploding as a result of a collision of galaxies that happened when the universe was halfway through its current age. This star system, named HATLAS J142935.3–002836, emits light that should have traveled about 8 billion years before arriving. The … Read more

SpaceX Finally Goes Public and the Space Industry Goes Buzzing

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A chalkboard illustration of an IPO and a rocketship going up.

SpaceX took space investors on a roller-coaster ride last week – and SpaceX hasn’t announced yet! SpaceX iHowever, rumours having an IPO prospectus is fine. But once it’s passed, the story won’t end; it will just be starting. Like The Wall Street Journal explained last week, Elon Musk’s “unusual” plan to IPO’ing SpaceX will begin … Read more

Henrietta’s New Spectrograph to Monitor Alien Space

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Image of the Swope Telescope located at Carnegie Science’s Las Campanas Observatory in Chile. (Credit: Yuri Beletsky/Carnegie Science)

Finding life beyond our planetary system is more than measuring exoplanet sizes, as rocky, Earth-sized worlds may not host life as we know it. Although exoplanets can be shown directly by blocking the light of their star, these images are not spectacular and do not have the resolution to provide sufficient information about their habitation. … Read more

Astronomers Capture Two Necks in a Collision with Amazing Deep Space Image

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Astronomers Catch Two Necks on a Colliding Road with Amazing Deep Space Imagery.

A stunning new astrophotograph of Groups of Antennae reveals the mysterious cosmic collision unfolding in deep space, providing a rare and detailed view of how galaxies evolve through violent interactions. Located about 45 million light-years away, this unique pair, NGC 4038 and NGC 4039it is caught in a magnetic field that is reorganizing both structures … Read more

Rubies on Mars? Rover finds fluorescent gems for the 1st time

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Rubies on Mars: View of a hilly, gravel-covered landscape with mountains in the distance.

See larger ones. | The Perseverance rover captured this view as it zoomed up to the rim of Jezero Crater on December 5, 2024. The rover has now found rubies on Mars, or perhaps sapphires, small pebbles outside the crater rim. Image still from video by NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ ASU/ MSSS. NASA’s Perseverance rover has found … Read more