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4th June 2025

Prototype excavator for Moon mining revealed

A new era of lunar exploration moves closer to reality as a groundbreaking excavator prototype is set to unlock the vast potential of Helium-3, supporting progress toward limitless, clean energy on Earth.

26th May 2025

New dwarf planet candidate discovered

Astronomers have identified 2017 OF201, a distant celestial body with an extreme 25,000-year orbit, potentially expanding our understanding of the Solar System's outer frontier.

25th April 2025

Exoplanet found with comet-like tail will disintegrate in 2 million years

A newly found exoplanet is rapidly disintegrating as it orbits perilously close to its star. The small, rocky world is trailing a vast, comet-like tail of debris and is shedding a mass equivalent to Mount Everest every 30.5 hours.

23rd April 2025

Lucy spacecraft reveals peanut-shaped asteroid

NASA's Lucy mission has returned striking images of the main belt asteroid Donaldjohanson, revealing it to be larger than originally estimated and a contact binary. The spacecraft will pass by eight other asteroids between now and 2033.

7th April 2025

"Big Crunch" universe more likely than previously thought

A major survey of nearly 15 million galaxies suggests that dark energy might be weakening, potentially changing the ultimate fate of the cosmos and increasing the possibility of a "Big Crunch" in the distant future.

18th March 2025

Four small exoplanets confirmed around Sun's neighbour

Three new rocky exoplanets – all smaller than Earth – have been detected around Barnard's Star, the closest solitary star to our own Sun at just 5.96 light-years away. A fourth world, seen as a candidate last year, is also now confirmed.

19th January 2025

Galaxy mapping project concludes after 3 trillion observations

The Gaia spacecraft has ended its operation after 11 years of mapping the Milky Way galaxy, during which time it made over three trillion observations of two billion stars.

31st December 2024

Smallest asteroids ever detected in main belt

Astronomers report using the infrared capabilities of the James Webb Space Telescope to find 100 of the smallest asteroids ever detected in the main belt, some measuring just 10 metres in diameter.

18th November 2024

Betelgeuse is likely a binary system

The famous red supergiant Betelgeuse is now thought to have a companion star. The two are predicted to collide in about 10,000 years.

13th October 2024

SpaceX achieves major milestone in spaceflight

SpaceX has today achieved the first successful return and capture of a Super Heavy booster from Starship, the biggest and most powerful rocket ever to fly.

1st October 2024

Sub-Earth-mass planet found orbiting Barnard's star

Astronomers have today reported the discovery of a sub-Earth-mass planet orbiting Barnard's star, the closest single star to our Sun at less than six light-years away.

23rd September 2024

Largest black hole jets ever seen are 23 million light-years in length

The largest known pair of astrophysical jets has been discovered in a radio galaxy called Porphyrion, extending 23 million light‑years from end to end.

20th September 2024

Earth to get temporary "mini-moon"

A newly discovered object will temporarily become our second moon, as it partially orbits the Earth from 29th September until 25th November. It will return in the year 2055.

25th August 2024

Egg-shaped planet discovered by astronomers

Extreme tidal distortion from a nearby star has caused an exoplanet to resemble a giant egg. These intense forces and its decaying orbit are likely to tear the planet apart within 400 million years.

4th August 2024

Warp drive failure simulated by researchers

Scientists have published research on the simulation of gravitational waves from a failing warp drive.

9th July 2024

A new super-Earth with potential for life

The exoplanet LHS 1140 b, first discovered in 2017, is now considered a top candidate for habitability, thanks to new and improved data from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

26th June 2024

Trio of Super-Earths found, with one in habitable zone

Astronomers report the discovery of three Super-Earth candidates, located 55 light-years away. One planet lies within the habitable zone.

1st June 2024

Most distant galaxy ever observed

NASA reports that the Webb Telescope has discovered JADES-GS-z14-0, the most distant known galaxy, which existed only 290 million years after the Big Bang. Its redshift of 14.3 shatters the previous record of 13.2.

27th May 2024

Potentially habitable Earth-sized planet found 40 light-years away

Astronomers report the discovery of Gliese 12 b – the nearest transiting, temperate, Earth-sized exoplanet located to date. Its equilibrium temperature is estimated at 42 °C (107 °F).

17th April 2024

Warp drive research boosted by new modelling tool

A numerical toolkit designed for modelling warp drive spacetimes has been released by Applied Physics.

11th April 2024

Astronomers find smallest known galaxy

Ursa Major III, a dwarf satellite galaxy of the Milky Way, may challenge our understanding of galaxy formation and perhaps even the definition of a 'galaxy.'

10th March 2024

Water found on asteroid surfaces

The first detection of water molecules on the surface of asteroids has been confirmed, following spectral analysis of two large main‑belt objects.

23rd February 2024

First commercial Moon landing is achieved

American company Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander, named Odysseus, has become the first commercial vehicle to land on the Moon.

1st February 2024

SpaceX chosen to deliver new space station in 2028

Airbus and Voyager Space have announced the selection of SpaceX to launch the new "Starlab" commercial space station to low-Earth orbit (LEO).

31st January 2024

Smallest exoplanet to hold water vapour

Astronomers have determined that GJ 9827 d – at only twice the diameter of Earth – is the smallest exoplanet yet found to hold water vapour in its atmosphere.

3rd January 2024

Neutron star cores revealed by supercomputer

One of the world's most powerful supercomputers has simulated the largest and densest neutron stars. This new model shows there is a 90% chance that they contain quark-matter cores.

23rd December 2023

Smallest known brown dwarf spotted by James Webb

The smallest known brown dwarf, just three to four times the mass of Jupiter, has been discovered 1,000 light years away by astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope.

6th November 2023

NASA probe finds new asteroid during flyby

Dinkinesh, previously thought to be a single asteroid, is revealed by NASA's Lucy probe to in fact be a binary pair.

14th October 2023

NASA probe to visit large metallic asteroid in 2029

NASA has successfully launched its Psyche spacecraft, which now begins a six-year journey to 16 Psyche.

2nd October 2023

New telescope with 4x resolution of James Webb

Work has begun on the seventh and final mirror of the Giant Magellan Telescope, which is expected to provide four times the image resolution of previous observatories.

4th September 2023

Low-oxygen planets may impede advanced civilisations

Astrobiologists theorise that low-oxygen planets would be unlikely to produce advanced civilisations, as the discovery of fire requires easy access to open air combustion, which is only possible when oxygen partial pressure is above 18%.

29th July 2023

Nuclear thermal rocket engine to be tested in orbit

A collaboration involving NASA, DARPA, Lockheed Martin, and BWX Technologies will attempt the first in-orbit demonstration of a nuclear thermal rocket engine in 2027.

12th July 2023

Brightest known exoplanet is like 'giant mirror in space'

The highest albedo ever observed for an exoplanet has been confirmed using the CHEOPS space telescope. It reflects 80% of incoming light from its star, due to the high metal content of its clouds.

6th July 2023

Space junk monitoring satellite begins operations

UK company ODIN Space has demonstrated a space junk sensor, which could map and analyse debris with sub-centimetre precision.

13th June 2023

First ever beaming of orbital solar power

The California Institute of Technology reports the first successful beaming of solar energy from space down to a receiver on the ground.

3rd June 2023

The most dangerous asteroids of the next 1,000 years

Astronomers have mapped the paths of potentially hazardous asteroids between now and the year 3000 AD. At least 28 are found to have non-zero probabilities of a 'deep encounter' with Earth.

29th May 2023

63 new moons of Saturn discovered

The discovery of 63 new moons of Saturn is reported by the Minor Planet Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, bringing the gas giant's total confirmed number to 146 and overtaking Jupiter.

16th May 2023

Star consuming exoplanet offers preview of Earth's fate

Astronomers report the first direct evidence of an exoplanet being swallowed by an ancient Sun-like star, a fate that likely awaits the Earth in around five billion years.

9th May 2023

Asteroid belts imaged by James Webb Space Telescope

The first infrared image of asteroids outside our Solar System has been captured by the JWST. Three distinct rings of debris are shown to exist around Fomalhaut, a young star 25 light years away.

6th May 2023

Star "superflare" is one of largest ever seen

A giant flare in the binary star system V1355 Orionis is one of the largest ever observed in the history of astronomy.

25th April 2023

Clearest-ever picture of Mars' moon Deimos

The science team behind the Emirates Mars Mission has revealed ground-breaking imagery and data that advances our understanding of Deimos.

19th April 2023

New exoplanet seen via direct imaging

The discovery of HIP 99770 b, a new exoplanet located 133 light years away, is reported. A team of astronomers used a new detection method that combines direct imaging with astrometry.

3rd April 2023

NASA reveals astronauts for Moon mission

NASA has named the four astronauts who will take humanity back to the Moon for the first time in 50 years. Artemis 2, launching in either late 2024 or early 2025, will include the first woman and first person of colour on a lunar mission.

2nd April 2023

"Ultramassive" black hole found via gravitational lensing

Astronomers in the UK have identified an "ultramassive" black hole – one of the largest ever discovered – and the first to be confirmed through gravitational lensing, at the centre of the galaxy Abell 1201 BCG.

23rd March 2023

RNA component found in asteroid sample

Analysis of samples from the near-Earth asteroid Ryugu has revealed nitrogenous organic compounds, which are important in the development of life.

5th March 2023

Supermassive black hole in Milky Way centre will consume large object in 2036

A mysterious object called X7 has evolved dramatically in a relatively short time as it approaches the centre of our galaxy. Astronomers now say it is likely to be a large cloud of dust and gas, created when two stars collided.

13th February 2023

New ring system found in our Solar System

The minor planet Quaoar is now known to have a ring system, following observations by the CHEOPS space telescope.

7th February 2023

Earth-sized exoplanet found in habitable zone

German astronomers have discovered an Earth-sized exoplanet in the habitable zone of Wolf 1069, a red dwarf star located 31 light years away.

21st January 2023

James Webb Space Telescope confirms its first exoplanet

NASA scientists report the discovery of LHS 475 b, an exoplanet almost identical in size and mass to Earth, and the first to be confirmed by the James Webb Space Telescope.

9th January 2023

Two potentially Earth-like planets found 16 light years away

An international team led by researchers at the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Spain, has discovered two planets with Earth-like masses in the habitable zone of a red dwarf star, just 16 light years from our own Solar System.

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