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The young planetary system PDS 70, located nearly 400 light-years away from Earth.

Astronomers spot first evidence of two planets sharing the same orbit

Two planets in one orbit? It could be possible, according to new research looking at planetary system PDS 70.
car sized object washed up on beach could be space junk australia

Car-sized object washed up on beach could be space junk

A large chunk of metal that suddenly appeared on an Australian beach is believed to have fallen from an Indian rocket.
Three NASA Orion spacecraft in production.

Trio of Orion spacecraft prepped for NASA moon missions

NASA has shared an image of three spacecraft that will play a central role in its next three Artemis missions to the moon.
A billowing pair of nearly symmetrical loops of dust and gas mark the death throes of an ancient red-giant star, as captured by Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab. The resulting structure, said to resemble an old style of English jug, is a rarely seen bipolar reflection nebula. Evidence suggests that this object formed by the interactions between the dying red giant and a now-shredded companion star. The image was obtained by NOIRLab’s Communication, Education & Engagement team as part of the NOIRLab Legacy Imaging Program.

This star shredded its companion to create a stunning double-lobed nebula

Nebulae are some of the most beautiful structures to be found in space. A new image from the Gemini South telescope shows an usual double-lobed nebula.
mars 2020 perseverance rover

Perseverance rover finds organic molecules in Mars’ Jezero Crater

The molecules are associated with life but can be created by other processes. So they aren't proof there was life there, but they are life's building blocks.
Virgin Galactic's space plane heading to the edge of space.

Virgin Galactic sets date for first tourism flight with fee-paying civilians

Virgin Galactic has announced a date for its first space tourism flight involving civilians who've paid upward of $250,000 for the experience.
NASA's new crew transportation electric vehicles.

These new NASA EVs will drive astronauts part way to the moon (sort of)

NASA's Kennedy Space Center has taken delivery of three new fully electric vehicles that will play a role in the upcoming Artemis lunar missions.
The first anniversary image from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope displays star birth like it’s never been seen before, full of detailed, impressionistic texture. The subject is the Rho Ophiuchi cloud complex, the closest star-forming region to Earth. It is a relatively small, quiet stellar nursery, but you’d never know it from Webb’s chaotic close-up. Jets bursting from young stars crisscross the image, impacting the surrounding interstellar gas and lighting up molecular hydrogen, shown in red. Some stars display the telltale shadow of a circumstellar disc, the makings of future planetary systems.

See the stunning image James Webb took to celebrate its first birthday

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope, and to celebrate NASA has shared another gorgeous image of space.
Blue Origin performing a ground-based test on a BE-4 engine.

Blue Origin suffers setback as one of its rocket engines explodes during test

A Blue Origin rocket engine exploded during a ground-based test last month in a setback for the spaceflight company owned by Jeff Bezos.
A section of a James Webb image showing a small part of the Extended Groth Strip, located between the Ursa Major and Boötes constellations.

Zoom into stunning James Webb image to see a galaxy formed 13.4 billion years ago

The visualization shows a small part of a region called the Extended Groth Strip, covering 5,000 galaxies and zooming in toward the distant Maisie's galaxy.
An artist impression of exoplanet LTT9779b orbiting its host star.

Astronomers spot the shiniest exoplanet ever discovered

Metallic clouds reflect sunlight and have helped the unusual planet to retain its atmosphere.
The Indian Space Research Organization's lunar lander for the Chanrayaan-3 mission.

India aims to join exclusive club with Friday’s moon mission

India is just days away from its latest lunar mission in which it hopes to become only the fourth country to achieve a controlled, soft landing on the moon.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches with NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) spacecraft onboard from Launch Complex 39A, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The IXPE spacecraft is the first satellite dedicated to measuring the polarization of X-rays from a variety of cosmic sources, such as black holes and neutron stars. Launch occurred at 1 a.m. EST.

Watch SpaceX achieve record 16th launch of first-stage Falcon 9 booster

SpaceX achieved a record 16th flight for one of its Falcon 9 first-stage boosters on Sunday night, highlighting the effectiveness of its unique system.
Artist's conception shows two merging black holes similar to those detected by LIGO.

Researchers want to use gravitational waves to learn about dark matter

A team of astronomers has come up with a method for using gravitational waves to study the mysterious phenomenon of dark matter.
The Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona. The LBTI instrument combines infrared light from both 8.4-meter mirrors to image planets and disks around young and nearby stars.

Astronomers spot an exoplanet creating spiral arms around its star

Astronomers investigated a giant exoplanet named MWC 758c which seems to be forming the spiral arms around its host star.
Juice flyby of Ganymede (artist’s impression)

How engineers on the ground fixed the Juice spacecraft’s stuck antenna

In April the Juice spacecraft launched to investigate the icy moons of Jupiter, but there was a problem: an antenna was stuck and wasn't deploying.
The peculiar galaxy NGC 3256 takes centre stage in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This distorted galaxy is the wreckage of a head-on collision between two spiral galaxies which likely occurred 500 million years ago, and it is studded with clumps of young stars which were formed as gas and dust from the two galaxies collided.

One galaxy, two views: see a comparison of images from Hubble and Webb

Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope operate in different wavelengths. That means that they can see different aspects of the same objects.
Crop of Webb's CEERS Survey image.

James Webb spots the most distant active supermassive black hole ever discovered

A very early example of a supermassive black holes was recently discovered, dating back to just 570 million years after the big bang.
NASA's X-59 supersonic aircraft.

NASA’s experimental supersonic jet edges toward first test flight

After six years of development, NASA is hoping to launch the first test flight of its quieter supersonic aircraft this year.
The Ariane 5 rocket launches on its final flight.

Watch Europe’s workhorse Ariane 5 rocket launch for the final time

After 27 years of distinguished service, Europe’s heavy lift Ariane 5 rocket launched for the final time on Wednesday.
blue origin nails another rocket mission ahead of space tourism flights new shepard

Blue Origin wants to launch rockets from new site outside U.S.

Blue Origin's plans to expand its spaceflight business include the establishment of its first rocket launch site beyond the U.S.
Saturn captured by the James Webb Space Telescope

Saturn as you’ve never seen it before, captured by Webb telescope

NASA has used the Webb telescope's special camera to capture an amazing image of Saturn in new work that could help deepen our understanding of the planet.
Mars helicopter

NASA restores contact with Mars helicopter after nine weeks of silence

NASA has restored contact with its Mars helicopter after 63 days of silence. The communications dropout, however, wasn't unexpected.
This artist’s concept shows the ESA (European Space Agency) Euclid mission in space.

Euclid mission launches to probe the mysteries of dark matter

The European Space Agency has successfully launch its Euclid space telescope to study the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy.
This artist’s concept shows stars, black holes, and nebula laid over a grid representing the fabric of space-time.

The universe has a cosmic ‘hum’ caused by merging black holes

A 15-year study has provided more evidence of gravitational waves, including those at very low frequencies.
An arrangement of 10 distant galaxies marked by eight white circles in a diagonal, thread-like line.

James Webb spots clues to the large-scale structure of the universe

If you look at the universe on a big enough scale, galaxies aren't randomly scattered. Instead, they form a structure known as the cosmic web.
how to photograph perseid meteor shower night sky with

NASA’s skywatching tips for July feature stars called Regulus and Fomalhaut

Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and stars feature in NASA's latest roundup of ideas on what to look out for in the night sky over the coming weeks.
VSS Unity during a test flight to the edge of space.

Watch highlights of Virgin Galactic’s first commercial trip to edge of space

Virgin Galactic has shared a video showing highlights from its first commercial flight to the edge of space on Thursday.
This spectacular picture of the Sh2-284 nebula has been captured in great detail by the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory. Sh2-284 is a star formation region, and at its centre there is a cluster of young stars, dubbed Dolidze 25. The radiation from this cluster is powerful enough to ionise the hydrogen gas in the nebula’s cloud. It is this ionisation that produces its bright orange and red colours.

Stunning nebula 15,000 light-years away imaged by VLT Survey Telescope

A gorgeous new image of a distant nebula has been captured by the European Southern Observatory (ESO)'s VLT Survey Telescope.
This artist impression shows Euclid leaving Earth and on its way to Sun-Earth Lagrange point L2. This equilibrium point of the Sun-Earth system is located 1.5 million kilometres from Earth in the opposite direction of the Sun. L2 revolves around the Sun along with Earth. During Euclid’s orbit at L2, Euclid’s sunshield always blocks the light from the Sun, Earth and Moon while pointing its telescope towards deep space, ensuring a high level of stability for its instruments.

How to watch the Euclid dark matter telescope launch this Saturday

Astronomers are getting a new instrument to probe the mysteries of dark matter with the launch of the Euclid telescope this Saturday. Here's how to watch.
virgin galactic sets date for final test of rocket plane vss unity flight

Virgin Galactic video shows what’s in store for first commercial passengers

Virgin Galactic is set to launch its first commercial rocket-powered ride on Thursday. This video shows what the passengers can expect.
SpaceX's Starship spacecraft during a test in June 2023.

Check out these stunning images of SpaceX’s recent Starship test

As part of preparations for the second test flight of its Super Heavy rocket, SpaceX this week performed a static fire test of the upper stage Starship.
An illustration of an asteroid hurtling past Earth.

Asteroid the size of Statue of Liberty about to zip by Earth

An asteroid the size of the Statue of Liberty will zip by Earth at a speed of 26,000 mph in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
This image is NIRCam’s view of the Orion Bar region studied by the team of astronomers. Bathed in harsh ultraviolet light from the stars of the Trapezium Cluster, it is an area of intense activity, with star formation and active astrochemistry. This made it a perfect place to study the exact impact that ultraviolet radiation has on the molecular makeup of the discs of gas and dust that surround new stars. The radiation erodes the nebula’s gas and dust in a process known as photoevaporation; this creates the rich tapestry of cavities and filaments that fill the view. The radiation also ionises the molecules, causing them to emit light — not only does this create a beautiful vista, it also allows astronomers to study the molecules using the spectrum of their emitted light obtained with Webb’s MIRI and NIRSpec instruments.

James Webb detects important molecule in the stunning Orion nebula

The molecule, called methyl cation, is important for the development of the complex carbon-based molecules on which life depends.