The Milky Way’s Role in Ancient Egyptian Mythology
Look through the names and origins of the constellations and you will soon realise that many cultures had a hand…
You Can't Know the True Size of an Exoplanet Without Knowing its Star's Magnetic Field
In 2011, astronomers with the Wide Angle Search for Planets (WASP) consortium detected a gas giant orbiting very close to…
Stellar Winds Coming From Other Stars Measured for the First Time
An international research team led by the University of Vienna has made a major breakthrough. In a study recently published…
Neutron Stars Could be Heating Up From Dark Matter Annihilation
Astronomers have an intriguing idea for searching for dark matter, measuring the effect of particle self-annihilation inside various astronomical objects,…
The Brightest Gamma Ray Burst Ever Seen Came from a Collapsing Star
After a journey lasting about two billion years, photons from an extremely energetic gamma-ray burst (GRB) struck the sensors on…
Formation-Flying Spacecraft Could Probe the Solar System for New Physics
It's an exciting time for the fields of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology. Thanks to cutting-edge observatories, instruments, and new techniques,…
Watch a Satellite Reaction Wheel Melt in a Simulated Orbital Re-Entry
Most satellites share the same fate at the end of their lives. Their orbits decay, and eventually, they plunge through…
NASA is Building an Electrodynamic Shield to Deal with all that Dust on the Moon and Mars
Exploration of the Moon or other dusty environments comes with challenges. The lunar surface is covered in material known as…
Did An Ancient Icy Impactor Create the Martian Moons?
The Martian moons Phobos and Deimos are oddballs. While other Solar System moons are round, Mars' moons are misshapen and…
NASA’s Next Solar Sail is About to Go to Space
Everyone knows that solar energy is free and almost limitless here on Earth. The same is true for spacecraft operating…