Latest science news in Astronomy & Space
A newfound black hole in the Milky Way is weirdly heavy
A heavyweight black hole in our galaxy has some explaining to do. With a mass of about 68 suns, it is far heftier than other stellar-mass black holes (those with masses below...
Fraudulent websites could target Black Friday shoppers
Millions of people are searching for Black Friday deals. But some sites that look legitimate could end up tricking shoppers. Anna Werner explains.
Ultraluminous X-ray source UGC 6456 ULX investigated in detail
Russian astronomers have performed a detailed study of one of the ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) in the galaxy UGC 6456. Results of the research, presented in a paper published November...
Happy rovers
Image: The team behind ESA’s Analog-1 rover are all smiles after ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano successfully manoeuvres the rover in the Netherlands from space.Last week’s dry-run of the Analog-1 experiment, in which Luca...
Vega-C fairing’s trial by sound
Image: The 10-m high fairing of Europe’s inaugural Vega-C launcher atop a structural model of its upper stage, being prepared for acoustic testing within ESA’s Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF) – which is...
Attica floods
Image: With heavy rain causing flooding and mudslides in both Italy and France this week, parts of Greece have also been affected. The region of Attica, west of Athens, received torrential rain...
Call for media – Nobel Prize laureates call to Space Station
Press Release N° 21–2019 First ever video call between Space Station and Nobel Prize Laureates. Follow live on 6 December 2019. Astronauts Luca Parmitano and Jessica Meir will answer the call from space. Nobel...
ESA ministers commit to biggest ever budget
ESA Press Release No.22-2019ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level, Space19+, has concluded in Seville, Spain, with the endorsement of the most ambitious plan to date for the future of ESA and...
Watch live: third #SpacewalkForAMS
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano and his spacewalking buddy NASA astronaut Andrew Morgan will venture beyond the International Space Station’s airlock for the third time on 2 December as part of...
Astronaut Luca feeling the force, to advance rover control
ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano has made robotics history, reaching out from the International Space Station in orbit around Earth at 8 km/s, to control an Earth-based rover, equipped with an...
Scientists inch closer than ever to signal from cosmic dawn
Researchers have taken a new and significant step toward detecting a signal from the period in cosmic history when the first stars lit up the universe.
A new theory for how black holes and neutron stars shine bright
Astrophysicists employed massive super-computer simulations to calculate the mechanisms that accelerate charged particles in extreme environments. They concluded their energization is powered by the interplay of chaotic motion and reconnection...
Voyager 2 Makes an Unexpectedly Clean Break from the Solar System
The first scientific results from the spacecraft’s exit into interstellar space have been published, revealing a simpler departure than its predecessor -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Proposed Interstellar Mission Reaches for the Stars, One Generation at a Time
Starting in the early 2030s, the project could become our first purposeful step out of the solar system—if it launches at all -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Space Alien Research Could Get Its First Grad Program
Scientists aim to make the search for extraterrestrial intelligence academically respectable -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Levitating Drugs, Star Wars Tech and a Simulated Universe: Science GIFs to Start Your Week
Enjoy and loop on -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
NASA's Curiosity Rover Finds Unexplained Oxygen on Mars
Fluctuating levels of the atmospheric gas, a potential tracer of alien life, have left researchers mystified -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Record-Breaking Gamma Rays Reveal Secrets of the Universe's Most Powerful Explosions
Two teams of astronomers using ground-based telescopes to study gamma-ray bursts have detected the highest-energy light ever seen from celestial sources -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
A Missing Neutron Star May Have Been Found after 30-Year Hunt
Astronomers say they have detected the long-sought remnant of a relatively close supernova -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announces his resignation
After weeks of violent protests in Iraq, Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi announced Friday that he will submit his resignation to the Iraqi Parliament.
Researchers discover stellar black hole too large for science to explain
A team of scientists based in China announced the discovery of a stellar black hole so large that science currently lacks an explanation for it.
Phoenix cluster is cooling faster than expected
From the very beginning, it was clear that the Phoenix cluster was different from other galaxy clusters. When assistant professor of physics Michael McDonald looked at the first image of the Phoenix cluster...
NASA Wants to Book a Seat on a Short Private Mission to the Space Station
NASA is looking to book a seat aboard a privately organized mission to the International Space Station sometime in the next five years. And this mission would be brief, lasting...
Explore Space in VR with $50 Off the Oculus Go This Black Friday
Best Buy has slashed the price if the Oculus Go to by $50 for Black Friday.
Thanksgiving in Space: For Astronauts, It's a Cosmic Friendsgiving!
They may be circling hundreds of miles above the United States, but the three American residents of the International Space Station have a plan to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving Night Sky 2019: Venus, Jupiter and the Moon Gather for Skywatching Feast
This week, Venus and Jupiter are very low in the southwest during the chilly November dusk.
Watch Boeing's Starliner Meet Its Rocket for the 1st Time in This Awesome Drone Video
A drone flying around the Kennedy Space Center recently captured incredible footage of a small step forward for NASA's delayed commercial crew program.
Astronaut Snoopy Floats on Space Station, Flies in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Snoopy, "the world famous astronaut," has reached new heights — above the streets of New York City and aboard the International Space Station.