China’s Chang’e 4 lander finds gel-like substance on the far side of the moon
China's Chang'e 4 mission is currently exploring the lesser-known far side of the moon, which faces away from Earth. Previously it found minerals which may have come from deep beneath the lunar surface, and now it has found something even stranger: An oddly-colored gel-like substance of unknown origin.
Japanese probe prepares to return sample of asteroid to Earth
Japan's Hayabusa 2 probe recently touched down on asteroid Ryugu and collected a sample from this rock. Now, the Japanese Space Agency, JAXA, has revealed its future plans for the craft, including deploying a lander onto the asteroid and a procedure for returning the collected sample to Earth.
Scientists develop implant to restore sight by stimulating the optic nerve
Blindness is difficult to treat, in part because it can be caused by so many different issues in the eye, the brain, or the optic nerve which connects the two. Now, scientists have developed a technology to directly stimulate the optic nerve, which could be used to restore people's sight in the future.
Time spent on smartphones isn’t damaging teens’ mental health, study shows
In the last decade, many commentators have expressed concern over how much time young people, in particular, spend using technology and its potential effects on mental health. A new study investigated this issue and spoiler alert: The researchers didn't find a link between technology use and mental health.
Uncrewed Russian craft fails to dock with ISS, will make second attempt tomorrow
An uncrewed Russian spacecraft had issues docking with the International Space Station. As the craft approached the ISS at 1:36 a.m. on Saturday, the Russian team overseeing the maneuver decided to abort the docking. The craft is still in orbit and will make a second attempt at docking on Monday night.
Spitzer studies hellish planet with surface temperature of thousands of degrees
Astronomers have examined a planet that can only be described as a rocky hellscape: Heat of thousands of degrees, lava on the surface, and almost no atmosphere. Using the Spitzer telescope, a team was able to take a look at the close-up conditions of planet LHS 3844b, located 48.6 light-years away.
Scientists find evidence of ancient supernova activity in Antarctic snow
We are made of starstuff, Carl Sagan once said, and new findings from Antarctica show that to be literally true in some cases. A rare isotope of iron, called iron-60, is formed only when a star explodes in a supernova. And recently, scientists found traces of iron-60 in fresh snow in Antarctica.
Storms on Jupiter throw up ammonia from deep inside its atmosphere
Jupiter is famous for its epic storms and beautiful cloud formations which give it is distinctive striped appearance. However, these clouds make it difficult for astronomers to see what lies in the atmosphere beneath. Now, a team of astronomers has peered deep into the planet's atmosphere.
Huge supernova unlike any discovered before illuminates deaths of earliest stars
Scientists have discovered the most massive star ever destroyed by a supernova - SN 2016iet, which occurred in a dwarf galaxy located 900 million light-years away. It is noteworthy because it represents what supernova events of the largest stars would look like, even the earliest stars in the universe.
Hubble captures the glowing aftermath of the death of a star
The latest object captured by the Hubble Telescope is a planetary nebula called NGC 2371/2, located in the constellation of Gemini. It has an unusual name because of its unusual shape - when astronomers first studied the nebula, they thought it was two different structures named NGC 2371 and NGC 2372.
NASA’s satellite projects will study the sun using solar sailing
Small satellites can be used for anything from collecting images of Earth to exploring the Solar System. NASA has been searching for ideas to push ahead the capabilities of the hardware, and now the agency has announced two new projects to demonstrate the potential of small satellites.
Parker Solar Probe makes a second orbit of the sun, captures solar wind on video
The Parker Solar Probe, launched last year, has completed its second orbit around the sun. To celebrate, the team has released a video from one of the instruments, the Wide-Field Imager for Solar Probe, which has captured the solar wind in action as the structures stream out from the Sun.
Hubble captures a beautiful cosmic jellyfish made of glowing gas
A new image from Hubble might look like a deep-space jellyfish, but it's not a sign of extraterrestrial life -- in fact, it's a planetary nebula called NGC 2022, located in the constellation of Orion (The Hunter). A planetary nebula is made of ionized gas which glows and creates an expanding shell.
SpaceIL’s crashed lander may have sent thousands of tardigrades to the moon
When the SpaceIL craft Beresheet crashed into the moon earlier this year, it left more than just an impact mark. Part of the lander's payload was a lunar library, about the size of a DVD case, which included an archive of human history. And there were thousands of tardigrades along for the ride too.
The black hole at the center of our galaxy is flaring and no one knows why
At the heart of our galaxy lies a supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*. Normally this giant monster is relatively docile, but recently it's been a hotbed of unexpected activity. Astronomers have noticed it emitting bright flares of energy, rapidly glowing 75 times brighter than normal.
NASA selects landing site candidates for OSIRIS-Rex to sample asteroid Bennu
Last year, the OSIRIS-REx craft arrived at asteroid Bennu and imaged it, beginning the process of selecting a site from which to collect a sample from the asteroid to be brought back to Earth. Now, the NASA team has selected four potential sites to choose from for the sampling mission.
Latest Windows 10 update is causing random reboots and can break Visual Basic
The latest update for Windows 10 includes patches against two critical vulnerabilities but is causing a string of issues including random reboots and failure to install. The update was made available on Tuesday this week. However, some users have run into problems when trying to apply the latest update.
1.5% of Chrome users’ passwords are known to be compromised, according to Google
1.5% of passwords used in Chrome are unsafe and have been released in data breaches, according to new information from Google. In February, the Chrome browser introduced a feature that checks whether users' passwords are secure. Now, Google has released eye-opening stats gathered from Password Checkup.
Dead planets give off ghostly radio waves which we should be able to detect
Dead planets orbiting dead stars can give off ghostly radio wave emissions that can be detected from Earth, allowing us to track planets even after their stars have run out of fuel. Astronomers have proposed we could tune into radio waves given off by cores of exoplanets which orbit around white dwarfs.
The sun shakes the solar system with interplanetary shocks
The sun shakes the solar system by sending out dramatic interplanetary shocks, and NASA has observed these shocks for the first time, using its Magnetospheric Multiscale mission. MMS consists of four spacecraft which have been in orbit around Earth since 2015, moving through our planet's magnetosphere.
Virtual universe machine models galaxies to learn about dark matter
Researchers are discovering new facts about our universe by creating a virtual universe machine that models the way galaxies develop over time. A team from the University of Arizona created a computer simulation of 12 million different galaxies, stretching back 400 million years after the Big Bang.
Telescope array discovers a trove of ancient, massive galaxies
Huge, billion-year-old galaxies have been hiding in plain sight, according to a new study. Astronomers discovered 39 ancient, massive galaxies by combining data from different telescopes around the world. They were hard to find because the light they give off is very faint, and they are obscured by dust.
Icy snowball planets may not be as inhospitable to life as previously thought
Astronomers have long assumed that, in order to be habitable, an exoplanet should be a rocky planet within the habitable zone (the distance at which water can exist on a planet's surface as a liquid). But a new study suggests that even icy planets could be theoretically capable of supporting life.
Space radiation can damage mice’s brains and cause anxiety, study shows
Out in the depths of space, far from the protection of Earth's atmosphere, radiation lurks. Space radiation causes sickness and increases the lifetime risk of cancer in astronauts, and now scientists have shown that exposure to radiation can cause damage to the brains of mice and affect their behavior.
Beautiful emission nebula is 100 light-years wide and shaped like a seagull
The stunning Seagull Nebula is so named because its shape suggests a bird with wings spreading out across space. The nebula is massive, spanning 100 light-years across, and was recently shown off in an image that was captured by the European Southern Observatory's VLT Survey Telescope.
Hubble images Jupiter, our Solar System’s most beautiful planet
Arguably our Solar System's most beautiful planet, Jupiter, has been imaged in stunning detail by the Hubble Space Telescope. The image shows more intense colors than previous images of the planet, showing off the dramatic cloud formations which move in bands, giving the planet its striped appearance.
3D map of the Milky Way depicts our galaxy’s twisted disk
Astronomers have created a 3D map of our entire galaxy, pinpointing stars called Cepheids which pulsate and can be used to track distance and changes in space. When put into a map, the data showed how the Milky Way is warped. The disk of the Milky Way is not uniform but rather twists at its edges.
Hubble image shows a glowing spiral galaxy turned on its side
A new image shows the galaxy NGC 3432, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. Although it appears to be a flat line from this angle, the galaxy is actually spiral-shaped and we are observing it edge-on. The galaxy is located 45 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Leo Minor.
Soft robots can be formed into firm shapes using light and magnets
Soft robots may be the future, but there are challenges with them. Some applications require a stiff material which will hold its shape, and soft materials won't do the job. Now, scientists have come closer to overcoming this challenge by creating soft robots which can be reconfigured into firm shapes.
Extreme forces shape this planet like a football and cause metals to boil away
Astronomers have discovered a planet where heavy metals like magnesium and iron are being turned into gas and streaming out into space. Using Hubble, they observed the metals being are heated so much that instead of condensing into clouds, they are evaporating and escaping from the planet entirely.
There may be frozen water on the moon, new study suggests
A new study suggests that there could be thick deposits of frozen water on the moon, located in craters near the lunar pole. Discovering potential frozen water on the moon is not only of scientific interest. It could also be important for future lunar exploration, providing a water source for astronauts.
Planet hunter TESS finds more potentially habitable worlds
NASA's planet-hunting satellite TESS has been hard at work lately discovering a bevy of exoplanets, some of which could be potentially habitable. The findings include GJ 357 d, a prime candidate for further exploration, which is located within the outer edge of its star’s habitable zone.
Apollo rocks show the moon is 100 million years older than previously thought
The moon is 100 million years old than we thought, according to a new study from the University of Cologne's Institute of Geology and Mineralogy. Previously, the moon was thought to have formed 150 million years after the Solar System was formed. But the new study suggests the moon is much older.
See Hayabusa2 touch down on asteroid Ryugu and collect a sample
Japanese probe Hayabusa2 has been exploring asteroid Ryugu since it first touched down in February, and now the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) has shared a video of the touchdown the craft made last month. The video is a 10 times speed animation captured by the CAM-H small monitor camera.
E3 leaks personal information of thousands of journalists
The personal details of thousands of journalists have been leaked by the organizers of E3. The Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the annual E3 gaming conference, had a publicly accessible document on its website which showed the names, phone numbers, and home addresses of journalists.
Astronomers spot formation of baby gas giant using planet-hunting satellite TESS
A young planet still in the process of being formed has been identified using NASA’s planet-hunting satellite, TESS. The planet, DS Tuc Ab, is nearly six times the size of the Earth, making it in between the sizes of Neptune and Saturn and most similar to the gas giants in our Solar System.
Space telescope to probe the mysteries of dark energy and dark matter
Two of the biggest mysteries in astronomy are dark matter and dark energy. A new project from the European Space Agency (ESA), the Euclid mission, will attempt to unravel some of the puzzles over these forces and is set to launch in 2022. Euclid will perform a survey of billions of distant galaxies.
This pair of white dwarf stars orbit each other at record-breaking speeds
Astronomers have observed two stars orbiting each other every seven minutes, making them the fastest eclipsing white dwarf binary system ever discovered. The stars are expected to be strong sources of gravitational waves which could be detectable using gravitational wave detectors like the upcoming LISA.