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NASA's newly unfurled solar sail has started 'tumbling' end-over-end in orbit, surprising observations show
By Harry Baker published
A NASA spacecraft erected a large, foil solar sail in orbit around Earth last week, after a failed attempt days earlier. However, subsequent observations of the spacecraft show it is "tumbling or wobbling" through space, which may have also impacted its trajectory around our planet.
Sunspots surge to 23-year high as solar maximum continues to intensify far beyond initial expectations
By Harry Baker published
The average number of visible dark patches on the sun's surface in August was higher than any other month since September 2001. The final count was more than twice as high as experts initially predicted it would be.
Saturn at opposition: How to see the ringed planet at its biggest and brightest this week
By Gretchen Rundorff published
Saturn will enter opposition on Sept. 7 and 8, orbiting on the opposite side of Earth as the sun. Here's everything you need to know to spot Saturn at its peak size and brightness this week.
Early galaxies weren't mystifyingly massive after all, James Webb Space Telescope finds
By Charles Q. Choi published
'The bottom line is, there is no crisis in terms of the standard model of cosmology.
SETI searches for alien life in over 1,000 galaxies using unexplored radio frequencies
By Keith Cooper published
Although no aliens were found, the results have helped constrain expectations of possible alien transmitter power.
Space photo of the week: Milky Way's galactic twin captured by Dark Energy Camera
By Jamie Carter published
NGC 6744 is a spiral galaxy bigger than, but otherwise very similar to, our own. NASA has dubbed the large spiral galaxy the Milky Way’s ‘big brother’.
Astronomers discover new 'odd radio circle' near the center of our galaxy
By Keith Cooper published
A mysterious ring invisible at all wavelengths except radio could be a trace of a dramatically unstable star shedding its skin.
Why is everything in space always moving?
By Ashley Hamer published
From the moment of the Big Bang, everything in the universe has kept moving, but why is that?
NASA discovers planet-wide electric field around Earth that's shooting bits of our atmosphere into space
By Ben Turner published
NASA scientists have discovered a planet-wide electric field surrounding Earth, confirming a 60-year-old hypothesis. Studying the field could yield some vital information about how our planet's atmosphere has evolved.
'Catastrophic' SpaceX Starship explosion tore a hole in the atmosphere last year in 1st-of-its-kind event, Russian scientists reveal
By Harry Baker published
A new study from Russian scientists claims that the unexpected detonation of SpaceX's Starship rocket during a test flight in November 2023 tore an "ionospheric hole" in the upper atmosphere. It is the first time this type of hole has been created by a human-caused explosion.
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