https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/satellites/ Satellites. Read science articles on every type of satellite, from the new infrared satellite to micro-satellites. Free satellite pictures too. en-us Sun, 19 Apr 2026 09:33:33 EDT Sun, 19 Apr 2026 09:33:33 EDT 60 https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/scidaily-logo-rss.png https://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/satellites/ For more science news, visit ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260411022025.htm A major international effort has produced an ultra-precise measurement of the Universe’s expansion rate, confirming it’s faster than early-Universe models predict. By linking multiple distance-measuring techniques, scientists ruled out simple errors as the cause of the discrepancy. The persistent “Hubble tension” now looks more real than ever. It could mean our current model of the cosmos is incomplete. Sun, 12 Apr 2026 02:37:50 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/04/260411022025.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260330001156.htm Astronomers have spotted a bizarre cosmic explosion that refuses to play by the rules—and it’s leaving scientists scrambling for answers. GRB 250702B, detected by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and a global network of observatories, lasted an astonishing seven hours—far longer than typical gamma-ray bursts, which usually fade in under a minute. Mon, 30 Mar 2026 08:33:20 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260330001156.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260321012648.htm In an incredibly lucky cosmic accident, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captured a comet breaking apart in real time—something astronomers have long tried and failed to observe. The comet, C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), wasn’t even the original target, but when researchers pivoted to it, they unknowingly caught it mid-disintegration into multiple pieces. Sat, 21 Mar 2026 01:26:48 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260321012648.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260317015938.htm The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed new details in a bizarre nebula that looks like a brain floating in space. Formed by a dying star, the “Exposed Cranium” nebula shows layered gas and a dark central divide that creates its eerie shape. Webb’s infrared view suggests powerful jets may be shaping the structure. The images capture a brief and dramatic phase in a star’s final evolution. Tue, 17 Mar 2026 01:59:38 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260317015938.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260315225144.htm Astronomers may have found an exciting new clue about dark energy—the mysterious force driving the universe’s accelerating expansion. They discovered an extraordinarily bright supernova from more than 10 billion years ago whose light was bent and magnified by a foreground galaxy, creating multiple images through gravitational lensing. Because the light from each image traveled slightly different paths, it arrived at Earth at different times, letting scientists effectively watch different moments of the same cosmic explosion simultaneously. Mon, 16 Mar 2026 23:48:22 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260315225144.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260311213429.htm Astronomers have caught what may be a rare cosmic catastrophe unfolding 11,000 light-years away. A seemingly ordinary sun-like star suddenly began flickering wildly, puzzling scientists until they realized the strange dimming was caused by vast clouds of hot dust and debris drifting across the star. The most likely explanation is a violent planetary collision—two worlds smashing together and scattering glowing material throughout the system. Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:08:41 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260311213429.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260228093453.htm Astronomers have long known the universe is expanding—but exactly how fast remains one of the biggest mysteries in cosmology. Different techniques for measuring the Hubble constant stubbornly disagree, creating the so-called “Hubble tension.” Now researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago have unveiled a bold new way to weigh in on the debate using gravitational waves—the faint ripples in spacetime produced by colliding black holes. Sun, 01 Mar 2026 07:55:42 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260228093453.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260221000307.htm Astronomers have uncovered one of the most mysterious galaxies ever found — a dim, ghostly object called CDG-2 that is almost entirely made of dark matter. Located 300 million light-years away in the Perseus galaxy cluster, it was discovered in an unusual way: not by its stars, but by four tightly packed globular clusters acting like cosmic breadcrumbs. Sat, 21 Feb 2026 01:57:52 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260221000307.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212234205.htm A dazzling new Hubble image peels back the layers of the mysterious Egg Nebula, a rare and fleeting phase in a Sun-like star’s death just 1,000 light-years away. Hidden inside a dense cocoon of dust, the dying star blasts twin beams of light through a polar opening, carving glowing lobes and delicate ripples into the surrounding cloud. These striking, symmetrical arcs hint that unseen companion stars may be shaping the spectacle from within. Fri, 13 Feb 2026 07:48:37 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/02/260212234205.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260126075846.htm Webb’s latest image of the Helix Nebula reveals a dramatic close-up of a dying star shedding its outer layers. The detailed view highlights glowing knots of gas shaped by fast-moving stellar winds colliding with older material. Changes in color trace a shift from scorching hot gas near the center to cooler regions farther out. The scene captures how stellar death helps supply the building blocks for future worlds. Mon, 26 Jan 2026 08:32:26 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260126075846.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260118064633.htm A huge bar of iron has been discovered lurking inside the iconic Ring Nebula. The structure is enormous, spanning hundreds of times the size of Pluto’s orbit and containing a Mars-sized amount of iron. It was detected using a new instrument that allowed astronomers to map the nebula in far greater detail than ever before. The origin of the iron bar is still a mystery, with one theory suggesting it could be the remains of a vaporized planet. Sun, 18 Jan 2026 10:24:20 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260118064633.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260109235153.htm Astronomers have uncovered the long-hidden cause behind Betelgeuse’s strange behavior: a small companion star carving a visible wake through the giant’s vast atmosphere. Using nearly eight years of observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based observatories, scientists detected swirling trails of dense gas created as the companion, called Siwarha, moves through Betelgeuse’s outer layers. Sat, 10 Jan 2026 00:08:18 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260109235153.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260109220500.htm Hubble has revealed a strange cosmic object called Cloud-9, a dark matter–dominated cloud with no stars at all. Scientists believe it is a “failed galaxy,” a leftover building block from the early Universe that never lit up. Its discovery confirms long-standing theories about starless galaxies. Cloud-9 offers a rare glimpse into the dark side of cosmic evolution. Fri, 09 Jan 2026 22:05:00 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260109220500.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260106224642.htm Around the bright star Fomalhaut, astronomers spotted glowing clouds of debris left behind by colossal collisions between large space rocks. One of these clouds was even mistaken for a planet before slowly fading away. Seeing two such events in just two decades hints that violent impacts may be surprisingly common in young star systems. It’s like watching planets-in-the-making collide before our eyes. Wed, 07 Jan 2026 18:21:49 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/01/260106224642.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251225035346.htm Astronomers tracking a nearby star system thought they had spotted an exoplanet reflecting light from its star. Then it vanished. Even stranger, another bright object appeared nearby. After studying years of Hubble Space Telescope data, scientists realized they were not seeing planets at all, but the glowing debris left behind by two massive collisions between asteroid-sized bodies. Thu, 01 Jan 2026 17:02:26 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251225035346.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251209043036.htm Scientists are testing a novel way to measure cosmic expansion using time delays in gravitationally lensed quasars. Their results match “local” measurements but clash with early-universe estimates, strengthening the mysterious Hubble tension. This mismatch could point to new physics rather than observational error. Researchers now aim to boost precision to solve the puzzle. Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:26:59 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251209043036.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251209043034.htm A sudden X-ray flare from a supermassive black hole in galaxy NGC 3783 triggered ultra-fast winds racing outward at a fifth the speed of light—an event never witnessed before. Using XMM-Newton and XRISM, astronomers caught the blast unfold in real time, revealing how tangled magnetic fields can rapidly “untwist” and hurl matter into space much like an enormous, cosmic-scale version of the Sun’s coronal mass ejections. Tue, 09 Dec 2025 09:02:44 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/12/251209043034.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251127102115.htm The discovery of strange, ultra-red objects—especially the extreme case known as The Cliff—has pushed astronomers to propose an entirely new type of cosmic structure: black hole stars. These exotic hybrids could explain rapid black hole growth in the early universe, but their existence remains unproven. Sat, 29 Nov 2025 09:49:27 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251127102115.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251114041208.htm Scientists have finally confirmed a powerful coronal mass ejection from another star, using LOFAR radio data paired with XMM-Newton’s X-ray insights. The eruption blasted into space at extraordinary speeds, strong enough to strip atmospheres from close-orbiting worlds. This suggests planets around active red dwarfs may be far less hospitable than hoped. Fri, 14 Nov 2025 09:07:09 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251114041208.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251027023748.htm Two Sydney PhD students have pulled off a remarkable space science feat from Earth—using AI-driven software to correct image blurring in NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Their innovation, called AMIGO, fixed distortions in the telescope’s infrared camera, restoring its ultra-sharp vision without the need for a space mission. Mon, 27 Oct 2025 08:12:49 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251027023748.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251025084540.htm A UCLA-led team has achieved the sharpest-ever view of a distant star’s disk using a groundbreaking photonic lantern device on a single telescope—no multi-telescope array required. This technology splits incoming starlight into multiple channels, revealing previously hidden details of space objects. Sat, 25 Oct 2025 09:48:31 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251025084540.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251009033233.htm The James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered a massive red supergiant star just before it exploded, finally solving a cosmic mystery. Hidden beneath layers of dust, the doomed star revealed itself through Webb’s infrared eyes. The finding shows that many massive stars do explode but are obscured from view — until now. Thu, 09 Oct 2025 07:54:34 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/10/251009033233.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250930034237.htm Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope are unraveling the mysteries of TRAPPIST-1e, an Earth-sized exoplanet 40 light years away that could harbor liquid water. Early data suggests hints of an atmosphere, but much remains uncertain. Researchers have already ruled out a hydrogen-rich primordial atmosphere, pointing instead to the possibility of a secondary atmosphere that could sustain oceans or ice. Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:28:50 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250930034237.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250926033415.htm Although this spiral galaxy appears unremarkable from afar, NGC 7456 is bursting with newborn stars and glowing gas, providing researchers with insight into galactic evolution. Fri, 26 Sep 2025 03:42:39 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250926033415.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250915205900.htm Behind the dusty clouds of the Cigar Galaxy lies a dazzling powerhouse of star formation, where stars are being born ten times faster than in the Milky Way. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered massive super star clusters in its core, each glowing with hundreds of thousands of stars and shining brighter than typical clusters. These observations reveal not only the galaxy’s extraordinary pace of star creation but also provide a rare look into how such enormous clusters develop and evolve. Mon, 15 Sep 2025 21:07:36 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250915205900.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250910233533.htm Hubble has uncovered a rare ultra-massive white dwarf created in a violent star merger. Once thought to be ordinary, the star’s ultraviolet signature revealed its explosive history and hinted that such cosmic collisions may be surprisingly common. Wed, 10 Sep 2025 23:43:07 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250910233533.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250903075205.htm Spotting Earth-like planets is nearly impossible with conventional telescopes, but researchers propose a bold fix: a rectangular design that can separate a planet’s faint glow from its blinding star. This approach could uncover dozens of nearby worlds that might host life. Wed, 03 Sep 2025 10:01:31 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/09/250903075205.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250828002403.htm James Webb has revealed that the Butterfly Nebula hides a complex mix of gemstone-like crystals, fiery dust, and unexpected carbon molecules. The discovery may rewrite how we understand the chemistry that seeds planets and life itself. Thu, 28 Aug 2025 05:19:31 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250828002403.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250822073800.htm Earth may already be broadcasting its presence to alien civilizations without realizing it. A new study shows that our deep-space transmissions, especially those aimed at Mars and interplanetary spacecraft, spill over into space in detectable patterns. If extraterrestrial observers were aligned with certain planetary positions, they’d have a strong chance of catching our signals. The findings suggest that by mirroring this logic—looking for exoplanet alignments and focusing on nearby star systems—we could boost our own search for alien technosignatures. Sat, 23 Aug 2025 02:19:43 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250822073800.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250818102125.htm Hubble has taken the clearest image to date of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is racing through our solar system at 130,000 miles per hour. Astronomers are using Hubble and other telescopes to better understand its icy nucleus and chemical composition. Mon, 18 Aug 2025 10:21:25 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250818102125.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250814081821.htm NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has detected strong evidence for a giant planet orbiting Alpha Centauri A, the nearest Sun-like star to Earth. Located just 4 light-years away, this possible Saturn-mass world may travel between one and two times the distance from its star that Earth does from the Sun. The planet appears to lie in the habitable zone, though its gas giant nature makes it unlikely to host life. Thu, 14 Aug 2025 10:29:13 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250814081821.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250806094126.htm Hubble has helped uncover a white dwarf that’s likely the result of two stars crashing together. Carbon traces in its atmosphere tell a story of a cosmic merger, a rare phenomenon previously invisible in ordinary optical light. Thu, 07 Aug 2025 11:05:46 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250806094126.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250804084700.htm In a spectacular image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the spiral galaxy NGC 1309 glows with cosmic elegance and hides a strange survivor. Mon, 04 Aug 2025 08:51:43 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/08/250804084700.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250715043347.htm Our galaxy may reside in a billion-light-year-wide cosmic bubble that accelerates local expansion, potentially settling the long-running Hubble tension. Galaxy counts reveal a sparsely populated neighborhood, and “fossil” sound waves from the Big Bang bolster the void scenario, hinting that gravity has hollowed out this region. Confirming the bubble could refine the universe’s age and reshape our grasp of cosmic growth. Tue, 15 Jul 2025 06:04:22 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250715043347.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250701020715.htm Japan’s Himawari weather satellites, designed to watch Earth, have quietly delivered a decade of infrared snapshots of Venus. By stitching 437 images together, scientists tracked daily thermal tides and shifting planetary waves in the planet’s cloud tops, even flagging calibration quirks in past spacecraft data. Wed, 02 Jul 2025 09:43:49 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250701020715.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250628051357.htm A newly discovered radio halo, 10 billion light-years away, reveals that galaxy clusters in the early universe were already steeped in high-energy particles. The finding hints at ancient black hole activity or cosmic particle collisions fueling this energy. Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:06:19 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250628051357.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250619035510.htm Astronomers have uncovered a colossal, searing-hot filament of gas linking four galaxy clusters in the Shapley Supercluster a discovery that could finally solve the mystery of the Universe s missing matter. This giant thread, 10 times the mass of the Milky Way and stretching 23 million light-years, is one of the best confirmations yet of what cosmological simulations have long predicted: that vast, faint filaments connect the Universe s largest structures in a cosmic web. Thu, 19 Jun 2025 03:55:10 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/06/250619035510.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250509122129.htm Researchers have developed an innovative photodetector capable of detecting a broad range of mid-infrared spectra. Fri, 09 May 2025 12:21:29 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250509122129.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250506131338.htm Astronomers have probed the physical environment of repeating X-ray outbursts near monster black holes thanks to data from NASA's NICER (Neutron star Interior Composition Explorer) and other missions. Tue, 06 May 2025 13:13:38 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250506131338.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250424165651.htm The world's largest solar telescope has reached an important milestone. The data published now were obtained during the technical commissioning of the instrument. Thu, 24 Apr 2025 16:56:51 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250424165651.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416204034.htm Astronomers have detected the most promising signs yet of a possible biosignature outside the solar system, although they remain cautious. Wed, 16 Apr 2025 20:40:34 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416204034.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250411105903.htm Astronomers are investigating the longest and most energetic bursts of X-rays seen from a newly awakened black hole. Watching this strange behavior unfold in real time offers a unique opportunity to learn more about these powerful events and the mysterious behavior of massive black holes. Fri, 11 Apr 2025 10:59:03 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250411105903.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409212531.htm Astronomers have peered back in time to find what looks like a population of 'hidden' galaxies that could hold the key to unlocking some of the universe's secrets. If their existence is confirmed it would 'effectively break current models of galaxy numbers and evolution'. The possible galaxies may also provide the missing piece of the puzzle for the energy generation in the universe in infrared light. That's because their combined light would be enough to top-up the energy budget of the universe to the maximum we observe, effectively accounting for all remaining energy emission at these long wavelengths. Wed, 09 Apr 2025 21:25:31 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250409212531.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250402122619.htm An international team is currently closely tracking the near-Earth asteroid 2024 YR4. The impact probability estimates for the year 2032 has been reduced from a peak of 3 percent to below 0.001 percent. Wed, 02 Apr 2025 12:26:19 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250402122619.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250312190827.htm Scientists identify a new way to detect life in outer space with currently existing telescopes. The method hinges on worlds that look nothing like Earth, and gases rarely considered in the search for extraterrestrials. Wed, 12 Mar 2025 19:08:27 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250312190827.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250311121309.htm A new study presents a compelling new model for the formation of super-Earths and mini-Neptunes -- planets that are 1 to 4 times the size of Earth and among the most common in our galaxy. Using advanced simulations, the researchers propose that these planets emerge from distinct rings of planetesimals, providing fresh insight into planetary evolution beyond our solar system. Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:13:09 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250311121309.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250311121136.htm The discovery of the dwarf galaxy Andromeda XXXV --located roughly 3 million light-years away and the smallest yet found in the Andromeda system -- is forcing astronomers to rethink how galaxies evolve in different cosmic environments and survive different epochs of the universe. Tue, 11 Mar 2025 12:11:36 EDT https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250311121136.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250304143526.htm The puzzle of predicting how three gravitationally bound bodies move in space has challenged mathematicians for centuries, and has most recently been popularized in the novel and television show '3 Body Problem.' There's no problem, however, with what a team of researchers say is likely a stable trio of icy space rocks in the solar system's Kuiper Belt. Tue, 04 Mar 2025 14:35:26 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250304143526.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250227124837.htm Located 2.5 million light-years away, the majestic Andromeda galaxy appears to the naked eye as a faint, spindle-shaped object roughly the angular size of the full Moon. What backyard observers don't see is a swarm of nearly three dozen small satellite galaxies circling the Andromeda galaxy, like bees around a hive. Thu, 27 Feb 2025 12:48:37 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250227124837.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250218113643.htm Lobster-eye satellite Einstein Probe captured the X-ray flash from a very elusive celestial pair. The discovery opens a new way to explore how massive stars interact and evolve, confirming the unique power of the mission to uncover fleeting X-ray sources in the sky. Tue, 18 Feb 2025 11:36:43 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250218113643.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250204132023.htm NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a cosmic bullseye! The gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424 is rippling with nine star-filled rings after an 'arrow' -- a far smaller blue dwarf galaxy -- shot through its heart. Astronomers using Hubble identified eight visible rings, more than previously detected by any telescope in any galaxy, and confirmed a ninth using data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii. Previous observations of other galaxies show a maximum of two or three rings. Tue, 04 Feb 2025 13:20:23 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250204132023.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250117171319.htm In the years following the launch of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have tallied over 1 trillion galaxies in the universe. But only one galaxy stands out as the most important nearby stellar island to our Milky Way -- the magnificent Andromeda galaxy (Messier 31). It can be seen with the naked eye on a very clear autumn night as a faint cigar-shaped object roughly the apparent angular diameter of our Moon. A century ago, Edwin Hubble first established that this so-called 'spiral nebula' was actually very far outside our own Milky Way galaxy -- at a distance of approximately 2.5 million light-years or roughly 25 Milky Way diameters. Fri, 17 Jan 2025 17:13:19 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250117171319.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250117161235.htm The Universe really seems to be expanding fast. Too fast, even. A new measurement confirms what previous -- and highly debated -- results had shown: The Universe is expanding faster than predicted by theoretical models, and faster than can be explained by our current understanding of physics. This discrepancy between model and data became known as the Hubble tension. Now, results provide even stronger support to the faster rate of expansion. Fri, 17 Jan 2025 16:12:35 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250117161235.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250116134125.htm Pandora, a small satellite mission poised to provide in-depth study of at least 20 known planets orbiting distant stars to determine the composition of their atmospheres cleared an important milestone by completing the spacecraft bus, which acts as the spacecraft's 'brains.' Thu, 16 Jan 2025 13:41:25 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250116134125.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250115165531.htm For humans, the most important star in the universe is our Sun. The second-most important star is nestled inside the Andromeda galaxy. Don't go looking for it -- the flickering star is 2.2 million light-years away, and is 1/100,000th the brightness of the faintest star visible to the human eye. Yet, a century ago, its discovery by Edwin Hubble opened humanity's eyes as to how large the universe really is, and revealed that our Milky Way galaxy is just one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the universe ushered in the coming-of-age for humans as a curious species that could scientifically ponder our own creation through the message of starlight. Wed, 15 Jan 2025 16:55:31 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250115165531.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250109125512.htm An international team of scientists has called for the creation of an 18th addition to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, which would aim to mitigate against the accumulation of space junk in Earth's orbit. They believe a new SDG18 could draw direct inspiration from one of the existing goals -- SDG14: Life Below Water -- with lessons learned in marine debris management being used to prevent another planetary crisis before it is too late. Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:55:12 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/01/250109125512.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241217131227.htm After taking the first images of black holes, the groundbreaking Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) is poised to reveal how black holes launch powerful jets into space. Now, a research team has shown that the EHT will be able to make exciting images of a supermassive black hole and its jets in the galaxy NGC 1052. The measurements, made with interconnected radio telescopes, also confirm strong magnetic fields close to the black hole's edge. Tue, 17 Dec 2024 13:12:27 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241217131227.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241216130034.htm Recent measurements with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) cast doubt on the current understanding of the exoplanet Trappist-1 b's nature. Until now, it was assumed to be a dark rocky planet without an atmosphere, shaped by a billion-year-long cosmic impact of radiation and meteorites. The opposite appears to be true. The surface shows no signs of weathering, which could indicate geological activity such as volcanism and plate tectonics. Alternatively, a planet with a hazy atmosphere composed of carbon dioxide is also viable. The results demonstrate the challenges of determining the properties of exoplanets with thin atmospheres. Mon, 16 Dec 2024 13:00:34 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241216130034.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209163211.htm A NASA Hubble Space Telescope observation program called OPAL (Outer Planet Atmospheres Legacy) obtains long-term baseline observations of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune in order to understand their atmospheric dynamics and evolution. Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:32:11 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209163211.htm https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209122620.htm New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope suggest that a new feature in the universe -- not a flaw in telescope measurements -- may be behind the decade-long mystery of why the universe is expanding faster today than it did in its infancy billions of years ago. Mon, 09 Dec 2024 12:26:20 EST https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/12/241209122620.htm