Measuring the Atmospheres of Other Worlds to See if There are Enough Nutrients for Life
Life on Earth depends on six critical elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorous, and Sulfur. These elements are referred to…
Does the Rise of AI Explain the Great Silence in the Universe?
Artificial Intelligence is making its presence felt in thousands of different ways. It helps scientists make sense of vast troves…
If We Want to Visit More Asteroids, We Need to Let the Spacecraft Think for Themselves
Missions to asteroids have been on a tear recently. Visits by Rosetta, Osirix-REX, and Hayabusa2 have all visited small bodies…
Testing a Probe that Could Drill into an Ice World
I remember reading about an audacious mission to endeavour to drill through the surface ice of Europa, drop in a…
What Could We Build With Lunar Regolith?
It has often been likened to talcum powder. The ultra fine lunar surface material known as the regolith is crushed…
The World's Largest Digital Camera is Complete. It Will Go Into the Vera Rubin Observatory
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory, formerly the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), was formally proposed in 2001 to create an…
The First Atmospheric Rainbow on an Exoplanet?
Astronomers think they've detected the first-ever rainbow-like "glory effect" on an exoplanet. The observations were made with ESA's Cheops mission,…
Roman Will Learn the Ages of Hundreds of Thousands of Stars
Astronomers routinely provide the ages of the stars they study. But the methods of measuring ages aren't 100% accurate. Measuring…
Webb Sees a Galaxy Awash in Star Formation
Since it began operations in July 2022, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has fulfilled many scientific objectives. In addition…
The Stellar Demolition Derby in the Centre of the Galaxy
The region near the Milky Way's centre is dominated by the supermassive black hole that resides there. Sagittarius A*'s overwhelming…