A collage of planets to scale – credit, CactiStaccingCrane CC 4.0. BY-SA via Wiki Next Saturday, the 28th of February, stargazers will have the chance to spot Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune all clustered together in the sky. Called a planetary alignment, they occur when the planets, which orbit atop the same horizonal … Read more
NASA The reproductive spores of a moss species were able to somehow survive the vacuum of space during a 9-month stint outside the International Space Station. In the immortal words of Jeff Goldblum, life, uh, finds a way. Physcomitrella patens is known as a hardy pioneer species of spreading moss that readily cultivates on muddy ground. … Read more
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope shows galaxy MoM-z14 – credit NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, Rohan Naidu (MIT); Image Processing Joseph DePasquale (STScI) NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed a mere 280 million years after the Big Bang; so close to the beginning … Read more
Artist’s concept of exoplanet candidate HD 137010 b – credit, NASA/JPL-Caltech/Keith Miller (Caltech/IPAC) In a story that proves you don’t have to be a star to find a star, astronomers are excited to train the next generation of telescopes at an Earth-like exoplanet discovered by a citizen scientist. Alexander Venner, currently studying studying at the … Read more
The Helix Nebula interior ring – credit, NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI; Image Processing Alyssa Pagan (STScI) In a new image taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, the dying breaths of the star at the heart of the famous Helix Nebula are exposed in wonder and radiance. Imaged many times by previous space telescopes, including … Read more
From a return of humans to Lunar orbit, to Japan’s first crack at Mars, the trend of humans spending more and more time and money on and in space is set to continue in 2026. Here are a few of the events to look forward to. An artist interpretation of the Orion capsule – credit … Read more
Prototypes of the four proposed telescopes – Schmidt Sciences If you’re a billionaire looking to jump into philanthropy there are hundreds of different causes to support. Fans of the seemingly always-cash-strapped NASA will certainly be cheering after news that a former Google CEO is going to foot the bill for a modern, updated replacement to … Read more
Kicking off the new calendar this month is a tasty opportunity to see Jupiter and its four largest moons with the naked eye. On January 10th, generally across the US time zones, Jupiter will crest the eastern horizon at sundown and continue to climb until midnight when it reaches the highest point in the sky. … Read more
An illustraion of the lemon world – credit, NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford (STScI) An exoplanet located 2,000 light years from Earth is so unusual it’s given astronomers the idea that it could be a totally new type of object. That’s because it’s shaped like a lemon, with a small tip just like the fruit … Read more
Cluster of young stars known as the Christmas Tree Cluster and Collagen fibers and fat cells appearing under a laser microscope Credit: Chandra X-ray Observatory and Nikon Small World contest -SWNS A microscopic ‘Christmas tree’ is a seasonal highlight of a remarkable science project that found eerie comparisons between the vast and the tiny. Curated … Read more