By Leah Crane The Hope Mars orbiter will be able to observe the entire planet every nine Martian days Alexander McNabb/MBRSC The Hope orbiter is arriving at Mars. This uncrewed…
New ‘test-bed’ telescope joins hunt for threatening asteroids – Astronomy Now
The European Space Agency’s Test-Bed Telescope 2 at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. The 56-cm (22-inch) telescope is now working with a northern hemisphere partner to look for threatening…
Volcanoes on Mars Might Still be Active
Back in March, NASA’s InSight lander detected two large quakes from a geologically active region of Mars called the Cerberus Fossae. Now, using imagery from the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, which…
This Week’s Sky at a Glance, April 30 – May 8 – Sky & Telescope
Nova Cassiopeiae 2021 (V1405 Cas) has been gradually rebrightening! It was back up to magnitude 7.6 on April 29th, matching the luster it wore just after its March 18th discovery.…
SpaceX’s next flight for Crew Dragon Resilience is a private launch of 4 civilians
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft Resilience may have just returned to Earth, but it already has a new mission: to carry the first private astronaut flight for SpaceX. After completing a…
2020 in review: The hunt for life on Venus continues
Clara Sousa-Silva spent most of 2020 sitting on a huge secret – the apparent detection of phosphine, a potential sign of life, on Venus. She tells New Scientist what it…
Astronomers spot merging galaxies hosting dual quasars – Astronomy Now
An artist’s impression of two ancient galaxies, each hosting a supermassive black hole, in the process of merging. In a few tens of millions of years, the two quasars will…
We Could Detect Alien Civilizations Through Their Interstellar Quantum Communication
Since the mid-20th century, scientists have been looking for evidence of intelligent life beyond our Solar System. For much of that time, scientists who are engaged in the search for…
Astrophotography On The Go: When Failure Is Not An Option
Traveling to dark skies requires great packing and planning skills. Pack as light as you can.Credit for this and following images: Richard S. Wright, Jr. During the last new Moon…
Proxima Centauri shoots out humongous flare, with big implications for alien life
Scientists have spotted one of the largest stellar flares ever recorded in our galaxy. The jets of plasma shot outward from the sun’s nearest neighbor, the red dwarf star Proxima…