Space and astronomy news
An ancient passerby may have visited the Sun and inadvertently helped shape the Solar System into what it is today. It happened billions of years ago when a stellar drifter came to within 110 astronomical units (AU) of our Sun. The effects were long-lasting and we can see evidence of the visitor’s fleeting encounter throughout the Solar System.
Continue reading “A Stellar Flyby Jumbled Up the Outer Solar System”
Ask most people what a galaxy is made up of, and they’ll say it’s made of stars. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, hosts between about 100 to 300 billion stars, and we can see thousands of them with our unaided eyes. But most of a galaxy’s mass is actually gas, and the extent of the gas has been difficult to measure.
Researchers have found a way to see how far that gas extends into the cosmos.
Continue reading “The True Size of Galaxies is Much Larger Than We Thought”
Archaeology is the study of human prehistory, so it seems incongruous to use its methods to study how humans behave in space. But that’s what astronauts aboard the International Space Station are doing.
Continue reading “Archaeological Methods Reveal How Astronauts Work on the International Space Station”
Where on Earth did life originate, and where else could it occur? A comprehensive answer is most likely a long way off. But it might depend on how many suitable sites for abiogenesis there are on different worlds.
Continue reading “Asking the Big Question: Where Did Life Originate?”
Human bodies are sacks of fluids supported by skeletons. The entire human organism has evolved over billions of years on Earth in harmony with the planet’s specific gravity. But when astronauts spend too much time on the ISS in a microgravity environment, the organism responds, the fluids shift, and problems can occur.
One of those problems is with vision, and scientists are working to understand how it happens and what they can do about it.
Continue reading “How Can Astronauts Avoid Vision Loss from Spaceflight?”
Paradoxically, even though we produce more scientific output than ever before – each year, researchers around the world publish millions of academic papers – the pace of scientific discovery is slowing down.
Continue reading “Is Science Slowing Down?”
Humanity’s been fortunate to have a star situated over Earth’s north pole. The star, known as Polaris, or the North Star, has guided many sailors safely to port. But Polaris is a fascinating star in its own right, not just because of its serendipitous position.
Continue reading “Polaris, Earth’s North Star, Has A Surprisingly Spotted Surface”
We have gained so much powerful knowledge in the past few hundred years. But there’s still so much that we don’t know.
Continue reading “The Knowledge We Don’t Yet Have”
Venus is sometimes called Earth’s sister planet because of their shared physical, geological, and atmospheric features. Scientists have discovered something new about Venus’ geology that’s reminding us of the similarities between the two planets. We have to look deep inside both planets to see what the researchers found.
Continue reading “Scientists Discover New Geological Link Between Earth and Venus”
Panspermia is an innately attractive idea that’s gained prominence in recent decades. Yet, among working scientists, it gets little attention. There are good reasons for their relative indifference, but certain events spark renewed interest in panspermia, even among scientists.
The appearance of Oumuamua in our Solar System in 2017 was one of them.
Continue reading “How Oumuamua Changes Our Perspective on Galactic Panspermia”