As the hunt for dark matter, the universe’s most common yet most mysterious “stuff,” continues, scientists are understandably eager to get the most powerful space telescope in on the action. Space.com spoke to three scientists, cosmic detectives who are hot on the trail of dark matter candidates using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). The … Read more
In December 2024, the former RiAus editor-in-chief Ian Connellan and former Cosmos Editor Gail MacCallum embarked on his first visit to Antarctica. The well-travelled Connellan discovered a new world as a guest of Scenic, this is his account of the trip. Wednesday 18th Check-in is easy and after a few hours’ wait we’re on our … Read more
A total lunar eclipse will occur on March 13-14, 2025 — the first on Earth since 2022 — but only the night side of the planet will get to see it. During this global event, which will occur at the same time across the world, the lunar surface will turn reddish for 65 minutes — … Read more
Time to breathe a sigh of relief. The asteroid that once posed the greatest impact risk to Earth in recorded history now has an effective 0% chance of striking our planet. The probability of asteroid 2024 YR4 hitting Earth was reduced to zero thanks to new data collected on Sunday, Feb. 23. Discovered in Dec. … Read more
Newly released photos of the next spacecraft to launch to the moon have revealed a detail that the U.S. company behind it really hopes will soon never be seen again. Intuitive Machines on Thursday (Feb. 20) shared images of its second Nova-C lunar lander, “Athena,” as it was being encapsulated within a protective fairing for … Read more
Scientists searching for the fossilized remains of ancient microbes on Mars now have a better idea of what signs they should be looking for, thanks to a new study of Earthly microbial fossils embedded in the mineral gypsum that was produced when the Mediterranean Ocean dried up over 5 million years ago. Mars was once … Read more
When you wake up from a dream, is your brain full of vivid details that you recount to your friends and family? Or does the memory slip away by breakfast time? Our ability to remember dreams upon waking is called dream recall. But the factors that influence this ability are little understood. Now, new research … Read more
View at EarthSky Community Photos. | Paolo Palma in Naples, Italy, created this composite of star colors with images of individual stars taken over the course of 2 years, which he calls Kaleidocosmo. He captured all the stars he could see from Naples – up to +5 magnitude and brighter – some 1,250 stars! Then, … Read more
In 2007, astronomers discovered the Cosmic Horseshoe, a gravitationally lensed system of galaxies about five-and-a-half billion light-years away. The foreground galaxy’s mass magnifies and distorts the image of a distant background galaxy whose light has travelled for billions of years before reaching us. The foreground and background galaxies are in such perfect alignment that they … Read more
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — The private Athena lunar lander is on its way to the moon. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off shortly after sunset this evening (Feb. 26), carrying Athena and NASA’s ride-along Lunar Trailblazer orbiter aloft against a darkening sky here at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Athena — which was built … Read more