'Your world is running out of time. But I can help you'

Walmart's "Bricktember Lego Sales" event is live, and this nearly 2,000-piece model of Space history has a massive $63 reduction.

"Once these objects get too faint to see, they will never be seen again,"

This quiz invites you to journey into the depths of these gravitational giants.

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The cannibal solar storm didn't hit its full potential, but still put on a good show.

On Sept. 1, 1859, amateur astronomer Richard Carrington observed a massive eruption of bright light from the Sun’s surface. It was the first recorded observation of a solar flare. Within only 17.5 hours, a coronal mass ejection (CME) – an expulsion of plasma and magnetic waves that often accompanies flares and prominences – reached Earth,Continue reading "Sept. 2, 1859: The Carrington Event peaks"

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Magnetic fields can replace bulky centrifuges in space oxygen systems, making them lighter, more efficient and better suited for deep-space missions, a new study finds.

Aboard the International Space Station, astronauts use creativity and culture to make life in orbit feel a little more like home.

"Since I landed in Lucknow around 7:30 this morning, I must have clicked about 2,000 selfies."

Mercury passes 1.2° north of Regulus at 6 A.M. EDT; the pair is visible in the east just before sunrise, but it might be a challenging observation. You’ll want to get to a location above the surrounding terrain if possible, with an eastern horizon free of tall trees or buildings.  Rising around 5:30 A.M. localContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, September 2: Mercury meets Regulus"

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On Wednesday (Sept. 3), the asteroid 2025 QDB will come to within just over half the distance between Earth and the moon, and you can watch its progress live online.

Mercury will be close to Regulus embedded among the stars of the constellation Leo.

Today, NASA recovers over 90% of the water used in space.

A new live-action trailer for the upcoming sci-game "Borderlands 4" is here urging us all to "Quit Earth" and get on the rocket.

Hasbro, the toy manufacturer, and Disney, who own the rights to Star Wars, both make top lightsabers, but what are the differences between them?

The view underneath SpaceX's Starship spacecraft shows the Super Heavy booster's complex array of 33 Raptor engines.

Titan Books' hardcover cartoon collection makes you see militant Klingons in a whole new light.

The Potensic Atom 2 is an upgrade on its successful predecessor and now you can get the lowest-ever price on a useful bundle when you get it on Amazon.

NASA is using Colorado's rugged peaks to rehearse the risky final moments of future Artemis lunar landings.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Emeritus Dave Eicher invites you to head out during the early morning hours the first week of September. It’s then when you’ll see the brilliant planet Venus pass by the Beehive Cluster, which lies in the constellation Cancer the Crab. Venus will be easy to spot but if twilight has started,Continue reading "This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: Venus and the Beehive"

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Humanity is obsessed with astronomical record keeping. The Babylonians compiled their first listing of the stars in the 12th century b.c.e. Around 1000 b.c.e., they followed it with an expanded catalog that includes familiar constellations and star clusters, as well as motions of the Sun, the Moon, and the planets. The Mayans inscribed into stoneContinue reading "An introduction to common astronomical catalogs"

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Cepheid variables are some of the most well-known variable stars in the sky, responsible for helping astronomers accurately measure cosmic distances and famously clueing Edwin Hubble in to the fact that the Andromeda Galaxy was far beyond the Milky Way. So, tonight let’s begin September by finding the Cepheid variable that started it all: DeltaContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, September 1: Observe Delta Cephei"

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The writing has been on the wall for years that the UK Space Agency would be scrapped, but will its end after a mere 15 years in existence undermine Britain's space ambitions?

"The surfaces of Nix and Hydra are as close to unaltered as you can get."

Beyond the blaze, wildfires can have rippling effects on a community’s health and the land.

On Sept. 1, 1804, German astronomer Karl Ludwig Harding peered through a 5-centimeter refracting telescope at a private observatory near Bremen, and discovered a celestial body he named Juno. Harding was part of the so-called Celestial Police. This group of astronomers had dedicated themselves to the search for the “missing planet” that the Titius-Bode lawContinue reading "Sept. 1, 1804: Karl Harding spots 3 Juno"

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The Solar Orbiter spacecraft has tracked near-light-speed electrons back to the sun, finding two distinct families generated by solar flares and CMEs.

A new concept for a next generation space telescope could provide an affordable breakthrough in the hunt for Earth's twin.

September’s sky is rich with opportunities. Titan’s shadow continues to transit Saturn. The ringed planet reaches opposition along with Neptune, with both worlds in the same region of the sky. Mars is descending toward solar conjunction. Uranus is a fine binocular target, while Jupiter dominates the early morning. Venus starts the month near M44, thenContinue reading "September 2025: What’s in the sky this month? Saturn and Neptune reach opposition, as Jupiter and Venus greet the dawn"

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The evening sky boasts two naked-eye planets. Start your night’s viewing with ruddy Mars, which lies in the west as darkness falls. It treks eastward against the backdrop of Virgo, passing 2° north of the Maiden’s brightest star, 1st-magnitude Spica, on Sept. 12. The Red Planet shines at magnitude 1.6, slightly fainter than the blue-whiteContinue reading "September 2025: What’s in the Southern Hemisphere sky this month?"

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Think you know Pluto? From icy plains to planetary debates, this quiz dives deep into the mysteries of our solar system’s most controversial—and captivating—dwarf planet.

Jupiter, Venus and Mercury move into line formation predawn on Sept. 1

Auroras may be visible from Alaska to Illinois as a cannibal solar storm impact could spark geomagnetic storm conditions Sept. 1-2.

NASA plans to prioritize the fission reactor as power necessary to extract and refine lunar resources.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 28 Starlink broadband internet satellites was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2025.

The Aurigid meteor shower hails from debris of the comet C/1911 N1 Kiess, which last visited the inner solar system 2,000 years ago.

On Aug. 31, 1913, Alfred Charles Bernard Lovell was born in England. When he was 15, a school trip to hear a lecture on electricity prompted a keen interest in science and math, and Lovell would go on to study physics at Bristol University. He graduated with honors in 1934 and finished his Ph.D. onlyContinue reading "Aug. 31, 1913: Birth of Bernard Lovell"

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Europe's Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer probe completed its Venus flyby on Aug. 31, keeping it on track to reach the Jovian system in July 2031.

A total lunar eclipse will take place on Sept. 7-8, creating a spectacular blood moon effect.

A pair of solar eruptions may combine into a powerful "cannibal CME," boosting chances for dazzling auroras over Labor Day.

Bright Venus hangs near the lovely Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer this morning. Both rise more than two hours before the Sun and reach nearly 20° high in the east an hour before sunrise. Venus shines at magnitude –3.9, a blazing beacon just 1.4° southwest (to the upper right) of the Beehive.  At magnitude 3.1,Continue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, August 31: Venus hangs with the Beehive"

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Leap into the killer cosmic combat for Keepsake Games' retitled first-person PvE shooter

On Episode 175 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and and Tariq Malik are joined by Daniel Selva to talk about crew interactions and trust with AI using computers.

In this quiz, you’ll test your knowledge of Neptune's features, moons, and the science that keeps astronomers fascinated.

The Trump administration's "One Big, Beautiful Bill" slashes federal funding for efforts to create renewable or sustainable types of fuel for aircraft.

The third member of NASA’s space shuttle program, Discovery had a fraught journey to its launch. First, a test in June of 1984 found a flaw in the thermal shield; then a launch scheduled for later the same month was delayed due to a computer failure. Attempt No. 2 was halted only four seconds beforeContinue reading "Aug. 30, 1984: Space Shuttle Discovery launches"

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A new executive order signed by President Donald Trump removes NASA employees from federal labor-management protections, under the justification of national security.

The moon will appear in the constellation Scorpius at sunset on Aug. 30-31.

SpaceX launched another batch of its Starlink broadband satellites today (Aug. 30), sending 24 of them up from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Saturn’s moon Iapetus reaches greatest western elongation today, now located 9.5’ west of the ringed planet. Iapetus has two vastly different hemispheres, one light and one dark. As the moon orbits Saturn, it slowly rotates so that one and then the other side faces us, with its brightness varying vastly depending on which region isContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, August 30: Iapetus reaches western elongation"

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The James Webb Space Telescope has observed a planet-birthing disk of gas and dust around a young star, uncovering some strange and unexpected chemistry.

This quiz will challenge your knowledge of Uranus's strange rotation, chilly atmosphere, and curious collection of moons.

Rocket Lab's new Launch Complex 3 will launch Neutron rockets that can land themselves on land or at sea just like SpaceX rockets.

On Saturday, September 20, an ambitious project will be announced and celebrated in Animas, New Mexico, which lies near the Arizona border. And you’re invited. Dubbed “Lunar Base Alpha,” it will replicate the lunar landscape and feature rovers conducting science experiments and habitats that you’ll be able to stay in. The initial project will coverContinue reading "Experience the Moon on Earth"

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The half-lit moon will appear close to Antares in the constellation Scorpius later this week.

Here's a rundown of Isaac Asimov's mind-numbing field of mathematics that predicts future events.

The seven members of the Expedition 73 crew welcomed the arrival of a SpaceX resupply ship, worked on science and kept the International Space Station up and running station this week in Earth orbit.

The Celestron SkyMaster binoculars come highly recommended by our experts, and with a saving of over $116, now is the time to spot stars and galaxies for less.

Can we turn to the past to learn more about how interactions between plants and pollinators changed during climate change?

Astronomers may have solved the mystery of how hypervelocity white dwarfs rocket out of the Milky Way at breakneck speeds.

As humans expand into space, how we'll continue to expand the species remains an important question.

The first light from the explosion that was the death of a massive star in the nearby Large Magellanic Cloud reached Earth on Feb. 23, 1987. Supernova 1987A’s proximity gave astronomers unprecedented access into the final stages of stellar life, and in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope began taking high-res images of the former star.Continue reading "Aug. 29, 1990: Hubble sees Supernova 1987A clearly"

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There's more to being a Vulcan than prosthetic ears and playing it straight.

The near-Earth asteroid's microscopic surface tells a detailed story.

Newly released SpaceX footage gives us great looks at the final moments of Starship's epic Flight 10 test on Aug. 26, which ended with an Indian Ocean splashdown.

Rodney Pommier, taken from Portland, Oregon Roughly 40 million years ago near the core of the spiral galaxy NGC 7331, a white dwarf star ended its life in a thermonuclear explosion. The light from that explosion was detected July 14 by the Gravitational-wave Optical Transient Observer project. This astroimager acquired the shot on the leftContinue reading "Spot the supernova"

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This evening Titan stands east of Saturn and Iapetus is far to the west, the latter approaching its greatest western elongation tomorrow. You can find the ringed planet already 15° high in the east at 10 P.M. local daylight time, continuing to rise until around 2:30 A.M., when it reaches the highest point in itsContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, August 29: Saturn’s moons line up"

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Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, August 29The waxing Moon lies in southern Libra tonight. Our satellite is quickly approaching Scorpius, where it will meet the Scorpion’s brightest star in just a few days.  High in the southeast in the few hours after sunset is the small constellation SagittaContinue reading "The Sky This Week from August 29 to September 5: Saturn’s time to shine"

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SpaceX's Starship nailed its 10th-ever test flight on Aug. 26. Footage from the launch pad that day shows just how much power the giant rocket packs.

This sneak peek at 'Skin in the Game' is a battle of wits between galactic heavyweights.

The glacial flood risks that Juneau is now experiencing each summer are becoming a growing problem in communities around the world.

Scientists have retreated to deep beneath the French Alps to broaden the hunt for dark matter particles that could be "WIMPier than WIMPS."

Altair, Vega and Deneb can be seen shining with the Milky Way throughout August.

NASA's Perseverance rover captured a striking new image of massive, wind-carved sand formations known as "megaripples" during its latest exploration stop on the Red Planet.

Patrick A. Cosgrove from Honeoye Falls, New York Sharpless 2–124 is a faint emission nebula located around 15,000 light-years away in Cygnus. This image reveals intricate filaments of dust crossing the bright central region, reminiscent of the Trifid Nebula (M20). The imager took 14.2 hours of SHO and LRGB data with a 2.8-inch f/5.6 astrograph.

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It will take the most sensitive instruments ever imagined to reveal ripples from the Big Bang, but they could change our understanding of the entire universe.

A new NASA-IBM algorithm called Surya could be a major leap in space weather forecasting.

iAFS2 automatic focuser  iOptronWoburn, MA The iAFS2 automatic focuser is designed to stay focused even after it is adjusted. It allows the user to control its movement three ways: by connecting to a computer, with affixed adjuster buttons, or with a manual focus wheel. The focuser also features a built-in temperature sensor and two USBContinue reading "Make summer last with these new astronomy products"

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A team of scientists claims a computational tool for studying black hole collisions could be our best bet for answering mysterious questions about the universe’s origins. In a new paper in Living Reviews in Relativity, they argue for applying a technique called numerical relativity to peer into the moment before the Big Bang.  At itsContinue reading "Scientists seek to discover what came before the Big Bang"

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The Northern Hemisphere’s summer is — by far — the best time to view our galaxy’s rich star fields. And it’s during summer that the spectacular Wild Duck Cluster flies through the Milky Way. German astronomer Gottfried Kirch discovered the Wild Duck Cluster in 1681. Messier made it his 11th catalog entry May 30, 1764,Continue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Observe the Wild Duck Cluster"

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Engineers at NASA successfully tested key hardware for the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope in a crucial two-day sequence on Aug. 7 and 8, according to an Aug. 26 press release from the agency. In simulated space-like conditions, the team confirmed that the telescope’s four solar panels and a unique, visor-like sunshade will unfold asContinue reading "Watch as the Roman Space Telescope unfurls its solar panels and visor in successful test"

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Here's where to find very dark skies in the U.S. and Canada.

The Milky Way is a spectacular sight in the summer skies but why does it look so much more brilliant than it does in the winter?

NASA has opened a new Orion Mission Evaluation Room at the Johnson Space Center to analyze in-flight spacecraft data and provide support for Artemis 2 and other future missions to the moon.

The space probe Galileo was launched in 1989 with the goal of studying Jupiter and its moons. On its way to the gas giant, it became the first spacecraft to do a flyby of an asteroid as it zoomed past 951 Gaspra on Oct. 29, 1991. Then, on Aug. 28, 1993, Galileo made its secondContinue reading "Aug. 28, 1993: An asteroid harbors a surprise"

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The USS Enterprise, a 'Star Trek' spaceship, is created from pumpkins as part of a German contest.

The Butterfly Nebula, which is a planetary nebula resulting from the death of a sun-like star, has been caught creating large dust grains that could form planets.

If you're a student or between 18 and 24 years old, you can get nearly 73% off an annual subscription to Peacock and enjoy a huge selection of fantastic documentaries, movies, sports, and entertainment.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket flew for a record 30th time early Thursday morning (Aug. 28), sending 28 Starlink satellites to orbit from Florida.

Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś) is passing less than 0.5° from magnitude 5.4 Lambda (λ) Coronae Borealis in the western sky this evening. The comet is quite faint at 15th magnitude, so you’ll want a dark observing site and a large scope to net it. Fortunately, you have the luxury of waiting until the sky isContinue reading "The Sky Today on Thursday, August 28: Comet Wierzchoś passes Lambda Coronae Borealis"

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In the late 20th century, when we still captured celestial images on film, the few days around New Moon were the only times we could image deep-sky objects. The grainy, low-sensitivity films we used back then demanded the darkest skies possible for quality portraits. When First Quarter arrived, it was time to say goodbye toContinue reading "Tips for imaging during a Full Moon"

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Astronomers are amazed to have discovered a baby exoplanet gobbling up matter around an infant star like a planetary Pac-Man.

SpaceX’s more than 400-foot-tall Starship rocket returned to form Tuesday, deploying its first payload and completing critical heat shield tests following a string of in-flight and preflight failures. The spacecraft experienced different issues on each of its previous three test flights, with explosions in January and March disrupting air travel. In June, a Starship exploded on the test stand asContinue reading "SpaceX Starship Flight 10 viewed as roaring success"

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Academy Award-winning "Star Wars" legend Roger Christian shares how he recreated the vibe of the original 'Alien' film in Hulu's new series 'Alien: Earth.'

Although the existence of the warps is widespread, their origin is still a mystery.

Starship performed very well on its 10th-ever test flight Tuesday (Aug. 27), but SpaceX will soon move on from the shiny silver vehicle —to an even bigger version of it.

China is going full throttle in its quest to land astronauts on the moon by 2030, notching several important milestones over the past few months.

MIT professor, Nobel prize winner, and renowned astrophysicist Rainer Weiss has passed away at the age of 92.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Aug. 27 and made the company's 400th Falcon 9 landing on a droneship at sea.

Scientists have solved how molten "raindrops" in meteorites, called chondrules, were formed — and the discovery reveals key details about Jupiter's origin.

New research suggests a giant impact may not have been responsible for the formation of Jupiter’s core. Most planetary scientists thought that a colossal collision with an early planet containing half of Jupiter’s core material could have mixed up the central region of the gas giant enough to explain its interior today. But a newContinue reading "A new theory explains how Jupiter’s core formed"

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We've rounded up the best Nikon lenses from ultra-wide to telephoto, just what you need to take your photography to the next level.

Scientists have developed a new technique that could help them understand "polka dot" stars using the transits of exoplanets.

The National Science Foundation is already implementing some recommendations after a recent survey found issues with sexual assault and harassment on Antarctic missions.

A happy coincidence and a theory first put forward by Albert Einstein over 100 years ago helped scientists detect faint radiation around a distant supermassive black hole.

When the Sun, Earth, and Mars all align so that from an earthly perspective, Mars is opposite the Sun, Mars is said to be at opposition. Mars oppositions happen about every other year, and at opposition – or rather, within a few days of it – Mars is also at its closest approach to EarthContinue reading "Aug. 27, 2003: Mars zooms in"

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) saw the moon pass almost directly in front of the sun and captured it on a coronagraph.

Scientists studying the famous 'Wow! signal' think they've finally pinpointed a possible origin for the baffling radio transmission detected in 1977.

The Starship megarocket checked every significant box during its 10th test flight on Tuesday evening (Aug. 26), according to SpaceX.

José J. Chambó, taken from Farm Hakos, Namibia Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS) glides by the star 9 Herculis in this Aug. 21 image, glowing with a greenish coma about 2′ wide and a 20″ tail. Captured at roughly magnitude 12.5, this icy visitor was 0.33 astronomical units (the average Earth-Sun distance) from the Sun. TheContinue reading "A comet in Hercules"

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The Moon moves 1.2° south of Spica during the daylight hours, sitting due south of Virgo’s luminary at 11 A.M. EDT. By this evening, a new line has formed in the sky, with Spica now between Mars and the Moon, which sits to the star’s left. An hour after sunset, Spica is still some 7°Continue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, August 27: The Moon moves past Spica"

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داده‌های تلسکوپ فضایی جیمز وب اطلاعات ارزشمندی درباره‌ی فرآیند ستاره‌زایی درون کهکشان‌ها به دانشمندان می‌دهد. توان تفکیک بالای این تلسکوپ، همراه با پوشش گسترده‌ی طول‌موجی ( از ۰/۵ تا ۳/۵ میکرومتر)، امکان مطالعه‌ی کهکشان‌ها را در انتقال‌به‌سرخ‌های بالاتر و با درخشندگی‌های سطحی پایین‌تر برای منجمان فراهم می‌سازد. یکی از موضوعات کلیدی در مطالعه‌ی ستاره‌زایی کهکشان‌ها، بررسی توده‌های^۱ چگال و ستاره‌زا است. این توده‌ها که در طول‌موج فرابنفش^۲ و تابش هیدروژن-آلفا^۳ به‌وضوح قابل مشاهده‌اند، بخش قابل‌توجهی از نرخ تشکیل ستاره‌ در کهکشان را به خود اختصاص می‌دهند. در انتقال‌به‌سرخ‌های پایین (کم‌تر از ۰/۱۵)، پژوهش‌های گسترده‌ای درباره‌ی ارتباط میان نرخ ستاره‌زایی و فلزیت^۴ در توده‌ها انجام شده است. در مطالعه‌ی ساختار کهکشان‌ها، «فلزیت» به میزان حضور عناصر سنگین‌تر از هیدروژن — که حاصل فرایندهای هسته‌ای در ستارگان هستند — در محیط گازی یا درون خود ستارگان گفته می‌شود. این نتایج نشان می‌دهند که ورود گازهای با فلزیت پایین به درون کهکشان می‌تواند با افزایش منابع سوخت ستاره‌زایی، موجب تشدید نرخ تشکیل ستاره شود. در عین حال، ورود این گازها موجب تغییر در ترکیب شیمیایی گازهای درون کهکشان شده و با رقیق کردن آن، میزان فلزیت درون توده‌های ستاره‌زا را کاهش می‌دهد.

نویسندگان این مقاله با بهره‌گیری از داده‌های تصویری و طیفی تلسکوپ فضایی جیمز وب، به مطالعه‌ی کهکشان‌هایی می‌پردازند که توده‌های ستاره‌زایی در آن‌ها دیده شده‌اند. هدف اصلی این مطالعه، بررسی فلزیت و میزان تغییرات آن در این نوع از کهکشان‌ها در انتقال به سرخ بین ۰/۶ تا ۱/۳۵ است. این بازه‌ی انتقال‌به‌سرخ به‌گونه‌ای انتخاب شده است که خطوط نشری هیدروژن-آلفا (Hα) و گوگرد ۳ (SIII) در طیف این کهکشان‌ها قابل مشاهده باشند. خط هیدروژن-آلفا نشان‌دهنده‌ی تابش ناشی از بازترکیب هیدروژن یونیزه است. در نواحی ستاره‌زا، مناطقی از گاز هیدروژن یونیزه وجود دارد که پیرامون ستارگان جوان و پرجرم تشکیل می‌شوند. این ستارگان با تابش فوتون‌های پرانرژی، اتم‌های هیدروژن اطراف را یونیزه کرده و باعث جدا شدن الکترون‌های آن‌ها می‌شود. زمانی که این الکترون‌ها دوباره با هسته‌های هیدروژن ترکیب می‌شوند، در طول‌موج‌های مشخصی تابش می‌کنند، که شامل خطوط بازترکیب هیدروژن مانند هیدروژن-آلفا (از سری خطوط بالمر هیدروژن با طول موج ۶۵۶۳ آنگستروم) می‌شود. میزان تابش این خط مستقیماً با میزان فعالیت ستارگان جوان و در نتیجه نرخ ستاره‌زایی اخیر در کهکشان مرتبط است. گوگرد ۳ نیز یکی از مهم‌ترین خطوط طیفی برای مطالعه‌ی فلزیت است، زیرا نسبت شدت آن به خطوط دیگر، به‌ویژه خطوط دیگر گوگرد و اکسیژن، به دما و ترکیب شیمیایی گاز حساس است و می‌تواند برآورد دقیقی از فراوانی عناصر سنگین‌تر (فلزیت) در محیط ارائه دهد.

تصویر شماره ۱ چندین نمونه از کهکشان‌های مطالعه شده در این مقاله را نشان می‌دهد. یکی از مزایای داده‌های طیفی و تصویری جیمز وب، وضوح بالای آن‌ها از نظر توان تفکیک طیفی^۵ و مکانی^۶ است. این ویژگی امکان مطالعه‌ی کهکشان‌ها را در مقیاس‌های کوچک‌تر و با جزئیات بیش‌تر فراهم می‌کند. در هر ردیف نمایش داده شده در تصویر شماره ۱، تصویر رنگی از کهکشان، نقشه‌های تفکیکی^۷ از توده‌های ستاره‌زا، میزان ستاره‌زایی و فلزیت به ترتیب از چپ به راست نمایش داده شده است. با توجه به این تصاویر، به‌وضوح می‌توان مشاهده کرد که فلزیت این توده‌های ستاره‌زا نسبت به سایر نواحی نشان‌داده شده از کهکشان کم‌تر است .

نویسندگان در ادامه برای مقایسه‌ی فلزیت توده‌های ستاره‌زا با فلزیت نواحی اطراف آن، ابتدا فلزیت داخل توده‌ها و سپس دیسک خارج از آن‌ها را اندازه‌گیری می‌کنند. در نمودار سمت چپ تصویر شماره‌ی ۲، فلزیت مربوط به توده‌ها و دیسک اطراف آن‌ها نمایش داده شده است. برازش‌های خطی نشان می‌دهند که توده‌های ستاره‌زا عموماً فلزیتی کم‌تر از دیسک پیرامون‌شان دارند، که بیان‌گر رقیق‌شدن گاز در این توده‌ها است. نمودار سمت راست، میانه‌ی فلزیت اندازه‌گیری‌شده برای همه‌ی توده‌های ستاره‌زای هر کهکشان نشان می‌دهد. شواهدی از وجود دو جمعیت احتمالی در این کهکشان‌ها دیده می‌شود: کهکشان‌هایی که فلزیت توده‌های آن‌ها مشابه فلزیت دیسک پیرامونشان است، که با رنگ قرمز نشان داده شده‌اند و نزدیک به خط برابری قرار دارند و کهکشان‌هایی که توده‌هایشان اختلاف فلزیت بیش‌تری دارند، که با رنگ آبی نمایش داده شده‌اند.

آنچه احتمالاً در این‌جا مشاهده می‌کنیم این است که کهکشان‌هایی با اختلاف فلزیت کم‌تر بین توده‌های ستاره‌زا و دیسک پیرامونشان (رنگ قرمز در نمودار سمت راست شکل ۲) ممکن است عمدتاً توده‌های ستاره‌زای خود را از طریق ناپایداری‌های دیسکی تشکیل داده باشند و بنابراین این توده‌ها از گازی که پیش‌تر در خود کهکشان وجود داشته شکل گرفته باشند و منجر به اختلاف فلزیت کم بین آن‌ها و محیط پیرامون‌شان شده باشد. در مقابل، کهکشان‌هایی با اختلاف فلزیت بیش‌تر توده‌های ستاره‌زا و دیسک پیرامونشان (رنگ آبی در نمودار سمت راست شکل ۲) احتمالاً توده‌هایشان را از گازهای ورودی به کهکشان تشکیل داده‌اند. این گاز که فلزیت کمی دارد، می‌تواند باعث افزایش میزان ستاره‌زایی در این توده‌ها شود، و هم‌زمان با رقیق کردن محیط باعث کاهش فلزیت توده‌ها شود.

نویسندگان این مقاله پس از بررسی تغییرات فلزیت در نواحی مختلف کهکشان، به دنبال یافتن ارتباط میان نرخ ستاره‌زایی و فلزیت هستند. نقشه‌های نرخ‌ستاره‌زایی و فلزیت (تصویر شماره ۱) نشان می‌دهد که کاهش فلزیت در توده‌های ستاره‌زا با افزایش نرخ ستاره‌زایی ارتباط دارد. برای بررسی بیشتر این ارتباط، آن‌ها یک کهکشان خاص را که درتصویر شماره ۳ نشان داده شده است، بررسی کرده‌اند. برای ارزیابی رابطه‌ی میان نرخ ستاره‌زایی و فلزیت، شار هیدوژن-آلفا را بر روی نوار نشان داده شده در تصویر جمع زده و فلزیت را در طول این نوار اندازه‌گیری کرده‌اند. این نوار شامل سه توده‌ی‌ستاره‌زا و بخشی از برآمدگی مرکزی کهکشان است. نمودار پایین تصویر کهکشان، فلزیت (خطوط سفید) را به‌طور مستقیم با شار هیدوژن-آلفا (نقاط سبز) مقایسه می‌کند. این نمودار با تصویر رنگی هم‌تراز شده است تا محل دقیق اندازه‌گیری شار هیدوژن-آلفا و فلزیت به درستی مشخص شود.

هر توده نه‌تنها نرخ ستاره‌زایی بالاتر و فلزیت کم‌تری دارد، بلکه ناحیه‌ای که بیشترین چگالی نرخ ستاره‌زایی را نشان می‌دهد، کمترین فلزیت را نیز دارد. برآمدگی بخش مرکزی کهکشان در مجاورت یک توده‌ی ستاره‌زا قرار گرفته است. توزیع شار هیدوژن-آلفا نشان می‌دهد که بخش مرکزی مقدار زیادی شار هیدوژن-آلفا منتشر می‌کند و شار اندازه‌گیری‌شده از توده‌ی مجاور را تحت‌تاثیر قرار می‌دهد. با این حال، فلزیت در جایی که شار هیدوژن-آلفا در مرکز مقدار بیشینه را دارد، به کمینه‌ی محلی نمی‌رسد، بلکه کمینه‌ی محلی فلزیت با مکان توده‌ی ستاره‌زا ارتباط دارد. این موضوع نشان می‌دهد که اگرچه میان نرخ ستاره‌زایی و فلزیت یک ارتباط معکوس وجود دارد، اما سازوکار محرک ستاره‌زایی در برآمدگی مرکز کهکشان با سازوکار موجود در توده‌های ستاره‌زا متفاوت است. همچنین مطالعه‌ی جمعیتی از توده‌های ستاره‌زا در کهکشان‌هایی با جهت‌گیری عمود به خط دید، روندی را نشان می‌دهد که در آن توده‌های پرجرم‌تر، بیش‌تر به مرکز کهکشان نزدیک هستند؛ رفتاری که برای توده‌هایی که درون کهکشان تشکیل شده و به سمت برآمدگی مرکز کهکشان مهاجرت می‌کنند، انتظار می‌رود.

یافته‌های این مقاله نشان می‌دهد که توده‌های ستاره‌زا در این کهکشان‌ها فلزیتی کم‌تر از نواحی پیرامون خود دارند.  این امر می‌تواند بیانگر ورود گاز کم‌فلزیت به درون کهکشان باشد. ورود این گاز با فلزیت پایین می‌تواند نرخ ستاره‌زایی را افزایش دهد و همزمان ترکیبات شیمیایی محیط را رقیق کند. این پژوهش بر اهمیت درک پیچیدگی رابطه‌ی بین ستاره‌زایی و غنی‌سازی شیمیایی در ظهرکیهانی اشاره می‌کند و قدمی است رو به جلو برای بررسی دیدگاه‌های تازه‌ در مورد سازوکارهایی که شکل‌گیری کهکشان‌ها را در انتقال به سرخ‌های بالاتر (عالم جوان‌تر) کنترل می‌کنند.

 

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Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket is set to launch an uncrewed science mission to suborbital space. The company has yet to determine a new launch date.

Satellites operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration watched Hurricane Erin as it swirled off of the U.S. coast on Aug. 11, 2025.

A galaxy in the early universe was rich with oxygen, astronomers have found. The discovery raises questions about how early life could have first appeared in the universe.

Everything we see around us, from the ground beneath our feet to the most remote galaxies, is made of matter. For scientists, that has long posed a problem: According to physicists’ best current theories, matter and its counterpart, antimatter, ought to have been created in equal amounts at the time of the Big Bang. ButContinue reading "How a mysterious particle could explain the universe’s missing antimatter"

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A rare quadruple star system with two brown dwarfs orbiting two red dwarf stars could help shed light on how these "failed stars" change with age.

In Star Trek's modern era, Starfleet and the Federation aren't the unquestioned forces for good they once were, but Strange New Worlds' latest episode aims to restore the faith.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Friday (Aug. 22), sending 24 of the company's Starlink broadband satellites to orbit.

We didn't know we needed a new 'Star Trek: Voyager' game announcement in 2025, but 'Across The Unknown' looks like a dream 'Trek' game.

The Celestron NexStar 8 SE telescope is universally loved by astronomers and comes highly recommended by our own telescope experts, and has hit its lowest price of the year.

A mysterious lunar landslide might have been caused by debris from a faraway crater-forming impact, new analyses of Apollo 17 moon samples suggest.

A rare black moon darkens the sky on Aug. 23, 2025, followed by a close encounter between the young crescent and Mars just days later.

'I went to the folks at Apple and told them I had this idea for a show and it's 'War of the Worlds' meets 'Babel.'

American astronomer Edwin Hubble (after whom the Hubble Space Telescope is named) coined the term “Local Group” for the galaxies he had identified as moving through space with the Milky Way. The term appeared in his 1936 book, The Realm of the Nebulae. He identified 11 definite members with a possible 12th. Today, astronomers have shownContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Meet the Local Group"

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The seven members of the Expedition 73 crew worked on science and station keeping activities during their week together aboard the International Space Station.

Author(s): Nikhil Karthik

The MicroBooNE experiment’s five-year dataset has shown that an unpredicted neutrino-flavor oscillation is not the cause of anomalous results obtained by its predecessor.

[Physics 18, s115] Published Thu Aug 21, 2025

Astronomers have spotted what could be the brightest Fast Radio Burst explosion of radiation ever, tracing it back to source and further investigating with the James Webb Space Telescope.

On Aug. 20, 1977, Voyager 2 launched from Cape Canaveral and began its epic journey to the outer planets – and beyond. Twelve years later, the spacecraft photographed Neptune as it approached the ice giant. Two days after that, on Aug. 22, 1989, NASA announced that Neptune had a ring system; the images had revealedContinue reading "Aug. 22, 1989: Voyager 2 reveals Neptune"

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The Canon EOS R8 is now $383 off and comes with a wide-angle zoom lens. Now is a good time to buy, too, with the galactic core of the Milky Way still visible — but not for too much longer!

This powerful side-by-side comparison shows just how bright a star explosion is.

It's back to the Wasteland for more nuked nightmares when Prime Video's hit sci-fi series returns in December.

The impending merger of the two galaxies hints at what might be in store for the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy if and when they collide.

Andrea Arbizza, taken from Modena, Italy The Omega Nebula (M17) in Sagittarius is also known as the Swan Nebula for its appearance in visual observations. But this deep image was taken with nearly 41 hours of exposure in Hα/OIII and SII/OIII dual-band filters with a 4-inch scope at f/4.8, revealing intricate detail in this star-formingContinue reading "Swan deep-dive"

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With no Moon in the evening sky, it’s time to check in with Comet C/2024 E1 (Wierzchoś), now in Hercules and visible for several hours after sunset. By 9:30 P.M. local daylight time, Wierzchoś is still 60° high in the west. You’ll find it about 9.5° west of magnitude 3.5 Eta (η) Herculis, one ofContinue reading "The Sky Today on Friday, August 22: Comet Wierzchoś passes planetary nebula NGC 6058"

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Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, August 22Reaching its highest point in the sky around 11 P.M. local daylight time tonight is the Swan Nebula (M17). This gorgeous deep-sky object is a fan favorite of amateur astronomers thanks to its brightness, which makes it easy to find and observeContinue reading "The Sky This Week from August 22 to 29: A Black Moon"

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The U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane lifted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket tonight (Aug. 21), carrying a variety of high-tech gear to Earth orbit.

SpaceX has moved its giant Super Heavy booster to the launch pad ahead of Sunday's (Aug. 24) planned liftoff of the Starship megarocket.

A weird and extremely violent new type of supernova in which a massive star was "stripped to the bone," offers a rare glimpse of the interior of a massive star prior to its death.

Some stars in the universe grow to 300 times larger our own sun. But how do they get so big, and how do they sustain their mass?

Studying the signals that humanity beams through the solar system has allowed a team of NASA researchers to pinpoint where and when astronomers should hunt for alien technosignatures.

A new study suggests a novel approach in the long-running scientific endeavor to find intelligent life beyond Earth. Instead of casting a wide, speculative net across the cosmos, researchers from Penn State and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory propose a more targeted strategy: listen for alien civilizations in the same way they might be listening forContinue reading "To find alien life, try eavesdropping on their conversations with spacecraft, astronomers suggest"

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Our heroic Navy SEAL gets interrogated years after the alien mothership plummets to Earth

The Double Cluster, Wild Duck open Cluster, and Coathanger asterism are on display in August.

An international team of scientists, led by Northwestern University astrophysicists, has detected a never-before-seen type of exploding star, or supernova, that is rich with silicon, sulfur, and argon. Astronomers long have theorized that massive stars (10 to 100 times heavier than our Sun) have a layered structure. The outermost layers are made of the lightestContinue reading "The first supernova of its kind"

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Astronomers used the Einstein Probe to track a powerful blast of X-rays back to its source in the early universe.

Tidal forces from Earth, Venus and Jupiter may help keep the sun calm, reducing the risk of powerful solar storms that threaten Earth, a new study suggests.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will liftoff Thursday, Aug. 21, with the Boeing-built X-37B space plane for the U.S. Space Force. The mostly classified mission will study experimental technology in orbit.

On Aug. 21, 1914, a total solar eclipse over Europe on the eve of World War I drew much attention. Albert Einstein had been waiting for an eclipse to verify his theory of relativity – specifically the light-bending effects of gravity – and enlisted help from Erwin Findlay-Freundlich of Berlin Observatory. Findlay-Freundlich was to leadContinue reading "Aug. 21, 1914: Total solar eclipse tensions"

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Two colossal plasma fountains tore away from the sun in a breathtaking double blast, one of the most impressive eruptions this solar cycle.

As part of its exploration of Mars's boxwork landscape, Curiosity found itself in a fork-in-the-road

Save the world and our lunar history in Lunar Strike, the 2026 sci-fi narrative adventure game that was just announced at the Future Games Show.

A deep partial solar eclipse will grace the Southern Hemisphere on Sept. 21, 2025, with the best views from remote seas and New Zealand's dawn skies.

Author(s): Haiwang Yong

Scientists have used ultrashort x-ray pulses to directly observe the motion of electrons driving a chemical reaction.

[Physics 18, 149] Published Wed Aug 20, 2025

Author(s): Marric Stephens

Superconducting sensors can detect single low-energy photons. Researchers have now used this capability in a dark matter experiment.

[Physics 18, s104] Published Wed Aug 20, 2025

Venus passes 7° south of Pollux at 5 A.M. EDT and the crescent Moon is now close to Mercury, preparing to pass 4° north of the solar system’s smallest planet at noon EDT. Let’s start in Gemini, which rises first and sits higher in the eastern sky before sunrise. An hour before the Sun crestsContinue reading "The Sky Today on Thursday, August 21: Venus treks past Pollux"

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If there's one thing astronauts know, it's "practice, practice, practice."

This quiz will explore the science behind the scenery, the facts behind the familiar, and the wonders that make Earth a living planet.

SpaceX’s powerful Starship rocket is nearing a return to action following an explosion on the company’s test stand in Texas and anomalies during three consecutive test flights. The FAA on Friday closed its mishap investigation into Starship Flight 9, during which the rocket reached orbit for the first time in 2025 but failed to hit its test objectives. That opens the doorContinue reading "SpaceX dissects Starship issues ahead of Flight 10"

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The U.S. Space Force's X-37B space plane will test a potential alternative to GPS that makes use of quantum science as a tool for navigation: a quantum inertial sensor.

Join us as director Valerie Weiss breaks down this 'Trekiest' episode of the sci-fi series yet.

Chappell Roan mentioned Canada's Saskatchewan just days before Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park hosts a "star party" festival in its dark-sky park.

Battlestar Galactica meets FTL in this just-announced "story-rich tactical roguelite" from the makers of Crying Suns.

Russia launched its Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite today (Aug. 20), sending 75 mice, 1,000 fruit flies and other organisms to orbit to learn more about the health effects of spaceflight.

Oleg Bouevitch from Nepean, Ontario, Canada The dark nebula LDN 1251 in Cepheus — sometimes called the Rotten Fish Nebula — is a cold and dense cloud dotted by the occasional warm glow of forming stars within. The imager captured this region with a 14-inch scope at f/2 and 4 hours of exposure in RGBContinue reading "Spawning stars"

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A fireball exploded into life in the skies above Japan on Aug. 19, briefly turning night to day before fragmenting close to the horizon.

Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy says it's time for the agency to focus on the moon and Mars, not the "smorgasbord of priorities," like climate science, the agency has been directing its resources.

Ursa Major III orbits the Milky Way at a distance of 32,600 light-years. Until now, it was considered a dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Normally such a faint object wouldn’t be classified as such, but astronomers did so because of its large mass, which they assumed contains a lot of invisible dark matter. Recently, however, an internationalContinue reading "The Milky Way’s faintest dwarf galaxy might actually be a star cluster"

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After five years, Pragmata could have been unambitious, but instead, it's a fascinating and innovative sci-fi game with heaps of potential.

Scientists have a good idea how stars should form in the central galaxies of rich clusters. The hot gas surrounding a cluster’s dominant innermost galaxy cools rapidly, sparking furious star formation. The problem: No one had found evidence for this cooling gas, and most central galaxies don’t create many stars. Astronomers suspect the solution toContinue reading "JWST’s view of the Phoenix Cluster sparks scientific conundrum"

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Rising levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere aren’t just affecting climate on Earth — they could also make weather in space more dramatic, says new research. A team led by scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, reports that the Earth’s upper atmosphere is changing how it responds toContinue reading "Our atmosphere is responding differently to solar storms, and satellites will feel the effects"

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South Korea's K-RadCube satellite has arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of its launch toward the moon on the Artemis 2 mission next year.

Recent observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) delivered a blow to hopes that the exoplanet TRAPPIST-1 d could be an Earth-like world, according to a new study published in The Astrophysical Journal. The data reveal that the rocky, Earth-sized planet does not possess a thick, Earth-like atmosphere. The finding is critical because aContinue reading "Earth-sized TRAPPIST-1 d does not have an Earth-like atmosphere"

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Scientists are calling attention to an extremely common health problem that's been making astronauts uncomfortable: sinus issues.

Born in 1915 in England, cosmologist Fred Hoyle attend Cambridge University, where he would later become a professor. Among other things, Hoyle would become known as the man who coined the term big bang – but, ironically, he used the phrase in his criticism of the theory. Instead of believing that the universe originated inContinue reading "Aug. 20, 2001: Cosmologist Fred Hoyle dies"

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This is part of a NASA-supported project hoping to fabricate "device-ready" wafers from space-grown crystals.

Author(s): Michael Schirber

Researchers have expanded the quantum wave function of a levitated nanosphere, a step toward future tests of quantum physics.

[Physics 18, s107] Published Tue Aug 19, 2025

Warhammer 40K's most iconic real-time strategy series is back next year and under new leadership.

Your new favorite lightweight spotting companion — the Noca Provisions Zero Tube.

An automated system co-developed by SpaceX prevents disruption to radio astronomical observations caused by megaconstellations in low Earth orbit.

The Moon passes 5° north of Venus at 7 A.M. EDT; in the early-morning sky, Luna now floats to the upper left of the blazing planet, between that world and the magnitude 1.2 star Pollux in Gemini.  Although cataloged as the Twins’ beta star, Pollux is actually a tad brighter than Alpha Geminorum, also calledContinue reading "The Sky Today on Wednesday, August 20: An early-morning gathering"

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A distant galaxy nicknamed "Cosmic Grapes" is bursting with massive star-forming clumps — far more than expected — offering fresh clues about how galaxies grew in the early universe.

Astronomers have learned how to find supernova explosions in their earliest stages, giving us an unprecedented look at how these stars blow up.

The family-friendly animated outer space flick scores its home video release starting today (Aug. 19).

We chatted to Moleskine President Ward Simmons about their new NASA-inspired notebook collection.

Amid the cold silence of the main belt, a giant rock drifts through space. It has existed for billions of years unchanged, but today, it will be irrevocably broken. Another rocky object hurtles toward it, smashing the asteroid and sending a shower of shards outward. One dangerously large fragment careens toward the Sun on aContinue reading "Did Earth once have a ring?"

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Astronomers have discovered a new, tiny moon orbiting Uranus, bringing the ice giant’s total number of known satellites to 29. A team led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in Boulder, Colorado, identified the previously unknown moon using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), according to a recent NASA press release. The detection was madeContinue reading "Webb spots a new, tiny moon orbiting Uranus"

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Astronomers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have discovered a newfound moon orbiting icy Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun.

See the waning crescent moon rendezvous with Jupiter and Venus in the eastern sky on Aug. 20.

A Black Moon rises tomorrow (Aug. 23), though you won't see it. Its timing makes it a rare lunar event.

This quiz is dedicated to the mechanical marvels that have rolled across the surfaces of alien worlds: the iconic space rovers!

Voyager 2 has traveled farther than any spacecraft. It’s a little more than 12.4 billion miles (20 billion kilometers) away, just beyond the edge of our solar system. But Fudan University astrophysicist Cosimo Bambi is already thinking about how we might study black holes a generation from now: by sending tiny spacecraft on a decades-longContinue reading "What a mission to a black hole could look like"

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You want a piece of this? You won't have to wait long for as this Disney+ animated sequel strikes back on Sept. 19.

A rock that crashed through the roof of a Georgia home this summer has a story to tell, and it begins long before the existence of our planet. Scientists at the University of Georgia (UGA) who studied fragments of the object determined it is approximately 4.56 billion years old, making it about 20 million yearsContinue reading "A Georgia meteorite older than Earth"

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Take a flight with us to see Hurricane Erin through the eyes of NOAA satellites and the Air Force's Hurricane Hunters.

On Aug. 19, 1646, John Flamsteed was born in Derbyshire, England. Though he left school early due to illness and family obligations, he studied astronomy independently and eventually attended Cambridge University. European maritime trade was rapidly expanding during his lifetime, yet sailors still struggled with the longitude problem – north-south distance was easy to calculateContinue reading "Aug. 19, 1646: The birth of John Flamsteed"

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Author(s): Xichao Zhang and Masahito Mochizuki

Pairs of skyrmions—tiny whirlpools that emerge in some magnetic materials—might be able to self-propel, a behavior reminiscent of that of active-matter systems such as motile bacteria.

[Physics 18, 146] Published Mon Aug 18, 2025

NASA's Artemis 2 astronauts are gearing up for their planned 2026 moon launch by photographing an inflatable version of Earth's nearest neighbor.

Greg Polanski, taken remotely via AstroCamp in Nerpio, Albatece, Spain The emission nebulae Sharpless 2–115 glows in this image at right, while planetary nebula Sh 2–116 sits just left of top center in this scene near Deneb in Cygnus. The photographer used a 5-inch scope to take 16.8 hours of data in the Hubble palette.

The post A Cygnus pair appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

While observing the Halley-type comet 12P/Pons-Brooks with ALMA and NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility, researchers determined that the comet's water is strikingly similar to the water on Earth.

Mercury reaches its greatest western elongation 19° from the Sun at 6 A.M. EDT. Now shining a bright magnitude 0, it stands 5° high in the east an hour before sunrise. The planet is now some 42 percent lit and 7” wide.  Mercury is located near central Cancer, just 2° south of M44, the BeehiveContinue reading "The Sky Today on Tuesday, August 19: Mercury reaches greatest western elongation"

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The FAA has closed its investigation into SpaceX's Starship failure this spring and given the green light for Starship Flight Test 10 to proceed this weekend.

Portugal's space ambitions grow as Atlantic Spaceport Consortium secures approval to operate the nation's first launch center in the mid-Atlantic

Mission highlight: Starship Flight 10 scheduled for Sunday  With the future of NASA’s Artemis moon missions riding on its success, SpaceX is targeting this Sunday, August 24, for the tenth flight test of its Super Heavy Starship vehicle. Liftoff from the company’s Starbase facility in Texas is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EDT. This flight isContinue reading "SpaceX’s tenth Starship flight test lifts off Sunday, August 24"

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Two Chinese astronauts spent more than six hours outside the Tiangong space station on Friday (Aug. 15), installing a debris shield on the third spacewalk of the Shenzhou 20 mission.

Mercury is farthest from the sun in Earth's morning sky on Aug. 19.

A panel of judges has selected the 25 finalists in NASA and Freelancer's global contest to design a plush "zero-g indicator" to fly to the moon with the agency's Artemis 2 astronauts.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 24 Starlink satellites launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on Monday (Aug. 18). It was the company's 100th Falcon 9 launch of the year.

Pluto isn't the only dwarf planet residing in our solar system. Try your hand at naming the others!

A report published in June found that the world only has three years before it crosses the 1.5 C climate target. So what should we do now?

Before spacecraft missions, how did astronomers determine the mass, size, and composition of the giant planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)? K. QureshiCalgary, Alberta Excellent question. Astronomers are often faced with seeking information about objects they cannot visit to examine. Instead, they use mathematical laws and observation to determine the characteristics of the planets. DeterminingContinue reading "Before spacecraft, how did astronomers determine the mass, size, and composition of the giant planets?"

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Gianni Tumino from Ragusa, Sicily, Italy Perseid meteors and lava shoot across the sky above Mount Etna in this composite. The photographer used a Canon mirrorless camera and zoom lens at 70mm and f/1.4 to take four 4-second exposures at ISO 6400.

The post Fire in the sky appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

In this episode, Astronomy magazine Editor Dave Eicher invites you to head out as twilight begins on the morning of August 19 to see a thin crescent Moon. Below the Moon, you’ll easily spot Jupiter and Venus. And still lower, if your sky conditions are good, you’ll be able to see Mercury, the innermost planet. Good luck!

The post This Week in Astronomy with Dave Eicher: The August 19 Morning Sky appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

Like birds returning to their nests, these feather-like grid fins help steer rockets back down through the atmosphere toward their landing zones.

Auroras may be visible from Alaska to Washington as an incoming speedy solar wind could spark geomagnetic storm conditions overnight.

During the total solar eclipse of Aug. 18, 1868, two astronomers, Pierre Jules César Janssen of France and J. Norman Lockyer of England, each independently discovered a new line in the Sun’s spectrum. Lockyer thought it showed an undiscovered element, which he named helium. (In Greek mythology, Helios was the Sun god.) Although scientists wouldContinue reading "Aug. 18, 1868: Helium is discovered"

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"It's a discovery that underlines things may be different from what they appear to us at first glance."

A rare August morning alignment brings Mercury, a thin crescent moon and the Beehive Cluster together in the predawn sky. Here's how you can see it for yourself.

The second Titan shadow transit of the month occurs overnight tonight, so set your sights on Saturn late this evening. The ringed planet rises in the east around 9:30 P.M. local daylight time, gaining altitude hour by hour. Shining at magnitude 0.7, Saturn is easy to find as the brightest point of light in southwesternContinue reading "The Sky Today on Monday, August 18: Titan’s shadow transits Saturn"

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Mercury is still shrinking as it cools in the aftermath of its formation; new research narrows down estimates of just how much it has contracted.

The Hyades, Pleiades and Hercules star clusters make for excellent targets in the late summer months.

This quiz will explore the facts, the fun and the fascinating quirks of our solar system’s speedster, Mercury

Astronomer Asaph Hall met Angeline Stickney at New York Central College in 1855. Two years his elder, she instructed him in geometry and German, and was reputedly so strong a mathematician that Hall and his classmate made a game of trying to stump her, yet never could. The pair were married the following year. ForContinue reading "Aug. 17, 1877: Asaph Hall discovers Phobos"

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The effects of Earth's changing climate is driving up the number of legal suits related to environmental issues

Google and NASA are trialing an AI-powered medical assistant that could help astronauts care for themselves when mission control is out of reach.

Nights are slowly shortening, but even as summer begins to wind down, the Summer Triangle still flies high in the sky overnight. Formed by three bright stars, this large asterism is highest around local midnight, when its center — through which the plane of the Milky Way flows — is some 70° high above theContinue reading "The Sky Today on Sunday, August 17: Open cluster NGC 6910 shines near Gamma Cygni"

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Think you know Earth's moon? Test your knowledge in a lunar quiz!

In a first, scientists have recreated the formation of the first ever molecules in the universe to learn more about early star formation.

On Episode 173 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and and Tariq Malik look back at the week in space news.

Beyond powering lights, it's also important to think about where all that light would go.

The second largest moon in the solar system will cast its shadow over Saturn on Aug. 19.

In March of 1899, William Pickering discovered Phoebe, a moon of Saturn, on photographic plates taken on Aug. 16, 1898, by DeLisle Stewart. It was the first moon to be discovered photographically, rather than observationally, and over a hundred years later, it would be the first target of the Cassini spacecraft. Phoebe orbits at aContinue reading "Aug. 16, 1898: Phoebe makes an appearance"

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"Being able to send something out there would enable us to take a lot more precise data than we currently can."

Last Quarter Moon occurs at 1:12 A.M. EDT as sunset sweeps across the lunar nearside following the Full phase last week. Visible in the early-morning sky, the Moon lies just under 4° west of the Pleiades in Taurus some two hours before sunrise, rising in the east. (The Moon will continue to creep closer toContinue reading "The Sky Today on Saturday, August 16: The Moon reaches Last Quarter"

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SpaceX is targeting Aug. 24 for the 10th Flight Test for its Starship rocket, following delays from a pad accident and May's failed mission.

Blue Origin's powerful New Glenn rocket will launch NASA's ESCAPADE Mars mission no earlier than (NET) Sep. 29.

NASA has awarded $1.4 million to six companies, to further their ideas about how to get vehicles farther into space cheaply and efficiently.

Russia is readying its Bion-M No. 2 biosatellite for a planned Aug. 20 launch. The mission will send 75 mice and other specimens on a monthlong mission to Earth orbit.

Unexpected X-ray polarization challenges long-held ideas about how black holes behave.

NordSpace begins building its new orbital spaceport on the Canada's east coast, as the company prepares for its first suborbital rocket launch.

Going boldly where someone has gone before! The "Star Trek" prequel series is overflowing with characters who debuted in the 1960s.

On Episode 172 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and guest host Rick Jenet are joined by Erika Alden DeBenedictis to discuss how terraforming Mars might work.

On Episode 171 of This Week In Space, Rod Pyle and guest host Isaac Arthur are joined by Rick Jenet to discuss the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA).

The members of Expedition 73-"B" settle in and get busy conducting science research on board the International Space Station.

In this quiz, you’ll test your cosmic knowledge by matching each moon to the planet it calls home.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday directed federal agencies to relax requirements for commercial launch and reentry licenses in a bid to jump-start competition in the U.S. space sector. The White House issued an executive order that calls for the elimination of environmental reviews and portions of Part 450 — a set of launch safety-related measures that tookContinue reading "Commercial spaceflight receives boost with Trump order"

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The basic unit of astronomical time measurement is the day, one rotation of Earth on its axis. But there is more than one way to define day. We can define it based on the Sun. One solar day is the time for the Sun to leave and return to your local meridian, the imaginary line that joins theContinue reading "Michael’s Miscellany: Sidereal Time"

The post Michael’s Miscellany: Sidereal Time appeared first on Astronomy Magazine.

There's a gap in black hole masses, and experts believe here is where 'lite intermediate black holes' reside.

Deep-field images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope revealed 300 unusually energetic early galaxy candidates, offering new insights into how the universe formed and evolved over 13 billion years ago.

Astronomers discovered a star-triggered explosion shaping its dusty disk, revealing a far more chaotic and intense environment than previously thought.

On Aug. 15, 1977, a narrowband radio signal was detected by the Big Ear Radio Telescope at Ohio State. The signal was powerful, lasted for 72 seconds, and was picked up on only 1 of 50 possible channels. It also showed a distinct pattern – starting low, growing, and then decreasing again — suggesting itContinue reading "Aug. 15, 1977: The Wow! Signal arrives"

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The Milky Way galaxy glows alongside the zodiacal light over the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile.

Two exotic new theories suggest dark matter could be either made from tiny black holes or formed by Hawking radiation at the cosmic horizon.