In recent decades, technological advances have opened up the possibility of light-powered space travel at a significant fraction of light speed. This involves a ground-based light beamer pushing ultra-light nanocrafts – miniature space probes attached to lightsails – to speeds of up to 100 million miles an hour (160 million kph). Such a system would … Read more
This Hubble image shows a supernova named SN 2022aajn in a distant galaxy about 600 million light-years away with the unwieldy name of WISEA J070815.11+210422.3. However, the obtuse yet scientifically descriptive names aren’t what’s important. What’s important is that SN 2022aajn is a Type 1a supernova, also known as a standard candle, and this image … Read more
View larger. | An example of weird, dark streaks called recurring slope lineae on the slopes of Mars’ Horowitz crater. Do liquid water brines form these streaks? A new study suggested brines on Mars are less likely to occur than scientists thought. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ University of Arizona. 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar is available … Read more
It’s not often that DJI is behind the curve, but even the world’s leading drone manufacturer isn’t going to be leading the pack all of the time. The DJI Neo is a sub-250 g beginner drone that can be flown autonomously, with the DJI Fly app, using the DJI RC-N3 Controller, and even flown as … Read more
SpaceX had a pretty good 2024. Elon Musk’s company broke its own record for most launches in a single year, continued pushing the boundaries of rocket reuse and made serious strides toward getting Starship, its next-generation megarocket, up and running. Oh, and Musk has apparently entered the inner circle of President-elect Donald Trump, wielding political … Read more
View larger. | NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this view of Io on December 30, 2023. A new NASA study suggested Io doesn’t have a global subsurface ocean of magma. Rather, each of Io’s raging volcanoes is self-powered with its own magma pool. Image via NASA/ JPL-Caltech/ SwRI/ MSSS/ Gerald Eichstädt. Jupiter’s moon Io is the … Read more
View larger. | Artist’s illustration of TRAPPIST-1 b as it is about to pass behind its red dwarf star. A new study suggested that TRAPPIST-1 b is either airless but very geologically active, or has a hazy carbon dioxide atmosphere. Image via Thomas Müller (HdA/ MPIA/ Max Planck Society). TRAPPIST-1 b is the innermost rocky … Read more
The past year was a big one for space. Skywatchers across the United States witnessed a total solar eclipse, SpaceX caught a giant rocket out of mid-air with a pair of chopstick arms, and telescopes on Earth and in space revealed to us images of the universe that have changed our very understanding of the … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has discovered that the centaur called 2060 Chiron is an oddball. The object, which is a minor body that orbits the sun in the expanse between Jupiter and Neptune, has a mixture of ices and gases that make it stand out from other objects in the distant outer solar system. … Read more
NASA’s first two crewed Artemis moon missions have been pushed back to 2026 and 2027, respectively, and the move could have big ramifications for the agency’s Artemis program and competition with China for leadership in space. Artemis 2, which will send a crew of three Americans and a Canadian astronaut around the moon, was due … Read more