Venus may have Earth-like lithospheric thickness and heat flow

Poor old Venera 9, the Soviet Union's Venus lander, separated from its orbiter and made a hot, violent descent through the dense Venusian atmosphere on October 22, 1975, landing hard on a circular shield designed to crumple and absorb the impact. It only survived the intense surface conditions for 53 minutes, transmitting data regarding clouds, light irradiance, temperature and atmospheric chemistry, as well as the first image ever taken of the surface of another planet. And then it died. But its findings were significant because Venus and Earth are similar terrestrial planets believed to have formed through similar processes.

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Watch the latest water satellite unfold itself in space

The Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite launched into Earth orbit on Friday, Dec. 16, from Vandenberg Space Force Base in central California, and engineers are working to prepare the mission to begin measuring the height of water on over 90% of Earth's surface, providing a high-definition survey of our planet's water for the first time.

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Indian astronomers detect dozens of variable stars in the NGC 381 region

Astronomers from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of observational sciencES (ARIES) and from the Physical Research Laboratory in India report the detection of 57 variable stars in the field of the open cluster NGC 381. The discovery was detailed in a paper published December 19 on the arXiv preprint server.

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Is the Milky Way normal?

Studying the large-scale structure of our galaxy isn't easy. We don't have a clear view of the Milky Way's shape and features like we do of other galaxies, largely because we live within it. But we do have some advantages. From within, we're able to carry out close-up surveys of the Milky Way's stellar population and its chemical compositions. That gives researchers the tools they need to compare our own galaxy to the many millions of others in the universe.

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Research investigates the latest outburst of pulsar SAX J1808.4−3658

Using the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer (NICER) onboard the International Space Station (ISS), an international team of astronomers has inspected the recent outburst of an accreting millisecond X-ray pulsar known as SAX J1808.4−3658. Results of the study, published December 19 on the preprint server arXiv, shed more light on the nature of this source.

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Planet spiralling into star may offer glimpse into Earth's end

For the first time astronomers have identified a planet that is spiralling towards a cataclysmic collision with its ageing sun, potentially offering a glimpse into how Earth could end one day.

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Video: Flight control, space weather and debris: What an astronaut needs to know

Recently, Andreas Mogensen, now getting ready for his "Huginn" mission to the ISS in 2023, stopped by ESA's ESOC mission control center in Darmstadt, Germany, to meet with some of the experts who keep our satellites flying.

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Experimentalists: Sorry, no oxygen required to make these minerals on Mars

When NASA's Mars rovers found manganese oxides in rocks in the Gale and Endeavor craters on Mars in 2014, the discovery sparked some scientists to suggest that the red planet might have once had more oxygen in its atmosphere billions of years ago.

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Trio of smaller satellites to continue NASA/USGS's Landsat legacy

With a trio of smaller satellites that can each detect 26 wavelengths of light and thermal energy, the Landsat Next mission is expected to look very different from its predecessors that have been observing Earth for 50 years. This new plan for Landsat Next, a joint mission of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), is designed to provide more frequent, and finer resolution, data of the changing surface of Earth.

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Three quarters of major observatories affected by light pollution

Researchers from Italy, Chile and Galicia have studied and compared the light pollution levels at major astronomical observatories across the world. The study shows that light is polluting the sky above most observatories and that immediate action is needed to decrease the amount of contamination coming from artificial light. The work was published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

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Single-pulse behavior of rotating radio transient PSR J0628+0909 explored with FAST

Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), Chinese astronomers have inspected single-pulse behavior of a rotating radio transient (RRAT) known as PSR J0628+0909. Results of the study, published November 22 in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, could help us better understand the mysterious nature of RRATs.

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How magnetic waves interact with Earth's bubble

Shock waves occur in air when a plane travels faster than the speed of sound and also occur in plasma (a fourth state of matter that makes up 99% of the visible universe) in space. Shock waves are believed to accelerate particles in supernovae (the explosions of stars) and in the jets released far into space by black holes.

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Study inspects population of variable stars in the cluster NGC 7006

Using the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Hanle, India, astronomers have observed a globular cluster known as NGC 7006. Results of the study, presented December 9 on the arXiv pre-print server, yield important insights into the properties of variable star population of this cluster.

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Alien planet found spiraling to its doom around an aging star

For the first time, astronomers have spotted an exoplanet whose orbit is decaying around an evolved, or older, host star. The stricken world appears destined to spiral closer and closer to its maturing star until collision and ultimate obliteration.

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Space crew using robotic arm to inspect damaged capsule

The crew of the International Space Station on Sunday was inspecting an attached Russian space capsule that may have been damaged by a micrometeorite, while ground controllers considered whether to send up a replacement spaceship to ferry some of them home.

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Sound of a dust devil on Mars recorded for first time

The sound of a dust devil on Mars was recorded for the first time as the eye of the whirlwind swept over the top of NASA's Perseverance rover, a new study said Tuesday.

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Comet Interceptor construction moves forward

ESA and OHB have signed a contract to move forward with the design and construction of ESA's ambitious Comet Interceptor spacecraft, planned for launch in 2029.

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Astronomers find that two exoplanets may be mostly water

A team led by UdeM astronomers has found evidence that two exoplanets orbiting a red dwarf star are "water worlds," planets where water makes up a large fraction of the volume. These worlds, located in a planetary system 218 light-years away in the constellation Lyra, are unlike any planets found in our solar system.

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Astronomers investigate chemical composition of multiple stellar populations in NGC 2808

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), astronomers have inspected the globular cluster NGC 2808. Results of the study, published December 2 on the arXiv pre-print repository, shed more light on the chemical composition of multiple stellar populations in this cluster.

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Data from regolith collected by Chang'e-5 suggests there is more hydrogen at higher latitudes on the moon

A team of researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, working with a colleague from Université de Paris, has found that hydrogen concentrations in regolith on the moon are higher in the higher latitudes. They have published their study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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FAST telescope reveals unprecedented details of the Milky Way

The Milky Way is our home galaxy in the vast universe, but the structure and composition of the Milky Way remain mysterious. The vast interstellar space between the billions of stars is not empty, but filled with tenuous interstellar medium. The diffuse hydrogen gas radiates a spectral line with a frequency of around 1420 MHz. Some dense hydrogen atoms gather to form clouds of molecular hydrogen, and newly born stars are formed in the dense cores; young and bright stars can ionize the surrounding gas.

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Square-km scope shows African astronomers bright future

African astronomers point to a golden age of astronomy on the continent as work starts in South Africa on the world's biggest telescope.

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Webb telescope spies hidden stars in stellar graveyard

It was one of the first famous images revealed by the James Webb Space Telescope earlier this year: a stunning shroud of gas and dust illuminated by a dying star at its heart.

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Japanese company's lander rockets toward moon with UAE rover

A Tokyo company aimed for the moon with its own private lander Sunday, blasting off atop a SpaceX rocket with the United Arab Emirates' first lunar rover and a toylike robot from Japan that's designed to roll around up there in the gray dust.

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SpaceX gives rival's internet satellites ride to orbit

SpaceX launched internet satellites for a competitor Thursday, stepping in to help after the London-based OneWeb company halted its flights with Russia over the invasion of Ukraine.

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The messy death of a star, as observed by Webb

Around 2,500 years ago, a star ejected most of its gas, forming the beautiful Southern Ring Nebula, NGC 3132, chosen as one of the first five image packages from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

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Gamma-ray burst is 'Rosetta Stone' for finding neutron star collisions

A highly unusual blast of high-energy light from a nearby galaxy has been linked by scientists to a neutron star merger.

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Methods for building lunar landing pads may involve microwaving moon soil

Establishing a moon base will be critical for the U.S. in the new space race and building safe and cost-effective landing pads for spacecraft to touch down there will be key.

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Giant mantle plume reveals Mars is more active than previously thought

On Earth, shifting tectonic plates reshuffle the planet's surface and make for a dynamic interior, so the absence of such processes on Mars led many to think of it as a dead planet, where not much happened in the past 3 billion years.

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Australia starts building 'momentous' radio telescope

Australia on Monday started building a vast network of antennas in the Outback, its section of what planners say will eventually become one of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world.

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New analysis approach could help boost sensitivity of large telescopes

Some of the largest and most sophisticated telescopes ever made are under construction at the Simons Observatory in Northern Chile. They are designed to measure cosmic microwave background—electromagnetic radiation left over from the formation of the universe—with unprecedented sensitivity. In a new study, researchers detail an analysis method that could improve these telescopes by evaluating their performance before installation.

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SpaceX again postpones Japanese moon lander launch

SpaceX on Wednesday postponed the launch of the world's first private lander to the Moon, a mission undertaken by Japanese firm ispace.

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SpaceX postpones mission to put Japanese lander on Moon

SpaceX on Wednesday postponed by one day a mission to launch the first private—and Japanese—lander to the Moon.

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