Virgin Orbit Shows off its “Launcher One”, a Rocket Carried by an Airplane
The commercial space sector is about to get a little more crowded. SpaceX and Blue Origin have created headlines with…
What is the Direct Imaging Method?
A highly effective (but very difficult) method of exoplanet detection involves capturing direct images of bodies orbiting distant stars from…
How Science Journalism Helped Me Become a Better Sci-Fi Writer
My work with Universe Today has helped fashion me into a better science fiction writer and led to the publication…
Whoa. That’s the Milky Way, Bouncing off the Moon in Radio Waves
The universe wasn't always such a well-lit place. It had its own Dark Ages, back in the days before stars…
Messier 70 – the NGC 6681 Globular Cluster
Located in the "tea pot" of the Sagittarius constellation, some 29,300 light years from Earth, is the globular cluster known…
Astronomy Cast Ep. 503: Gravity Mapping
The Earth looks like a perfect sphere, but down here on the surface we see that there are mountains, rivers,…
Blue Origin will be Landing its Rockets on a Used Cargo Ship. It’ll Get Converted in Time for First Flights in 2021
Blue Origin recently received a large cargo ship, which they will retool to retrieve the first stage of their reusable…
There’s a Funny Cloud on Mars, Perched Right at the Arsia Mons Volcano. Don’t Get Too Excited, Though, it’s not an Eruption
This 1500km long cloud on Mars is formed by the size and shape of Arsia Mons, but it's not related…
Gravitational waves were only recently observed, and now astronomers are already thinking of ways to use them: like accurately measuring the expansion rate of the Universe
Neutron stars scream in waves of spacetime when they die, and astronomers have outlined a plan to use their gravitational …
Has a New Dwarf Galaxy Been Found Hiding Behind Andromeda?
Thanks to the work of an amateur astronomer, an international team of scientists recently confirmed the existence of a previously-unknown…