The three layers of the atmosphere of the gas giant Tylos ESO/M. Kornmesser The atmosphere of a distant world has been mapped in detail for the first time, revealing a strange, topsy-turvy weather system, with the fastest winds ever seen inexplicably blowing around the planet’s stratosphere. Astronomers have studied WASP-121b, also known as Tylos, since…
Jonathan McDowell has been a load-bearing part of the world’s spaceflight knowledge for more than four decades. His monthly newsletter on the industry – Jonathan’s Space Report – details all upcoming launches and has become an essential resource for everyone from keen amateurs to space professionals, while his library of space industry information and ephemera, which…
An artist’s impression of the star WOH G64 ESO/L. Calçada One of the largest stars in the known universe is undergoing a strangely rapid transformation and may soon explode as a supernova. First catalogued in 1981, WOH G64 sits some 160,000 light years from Earth in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a small satellite galaxy of…
Traditional advice tells us to only move growing plants to a pot one size larger. The science shows that you don’t need to bother with this slow transition, says James Wong Source link
Astronomers have raced to observe asteroid 2024 YR4 NASA/Magdalena Ridge 2.4m telescope/New Mexico Institute of Technology/Ryan The world’s space agencies have reduced the chances of asteroid 2024 YR4 impacting Earth to below 1 per cent, which strongly suggests that a potentially devastating collision will be avoided. However, the asteroid will still probably pass extraordinarily near…
Victoria Gill Science correspondent, BBC News Global Witness The Raja Ampat archipelago in Indonesia is sometimes referred to as the ‘Amazon of the Seas’ Stark images, captured from a drone by environmental campaigners and shared with the BBC, appear to show how nickel mining has stripped forests and polluted waters in one of the most…
A 3400-kilometre-wide thunderstorm on Jupiter Shawn R. Brueshaber et al. 2025 A thunderstorm that raged in Jupiter’s atmosphere for weeks was fortuitously captured by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, giving astronomers the most detailed look ever at a storm on the gas giant. On 29 November 2021, Juno passed directly over a 3400-kilometre-wide thunderstorm that had been…
An artist’s impression of the Athena spacecraft on the moon NASA A private space mission will launch to the moon this week, aiming for the southern-most point ever visited on the lunar surface. The Athena spacecraft, made by US-based Intuitive Machines, is due to launch onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space…
Varda’s first capsule, W-1, after landing in Utah in February 2024 John Kraus/Varda Sometime this week, a 1-metre-wide capsule will fall from the sky and land in the South Australian desert carrying a cargo of drugs. Since launching on a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on 14 January, a reactor…
Astronomers using data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope have identified dozens of small galaxies that played a starring role in a cosmic makeover that transformed the early universe into the one we know today. “When it comes to producing ultraviolet light, these small galaxies punch well above their weight,” said Isak Wold, an assistant…
