Astronomers have used an armada of telescopes on the ground and in space, including the Very Large Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile to discover and measure the distance to the most remote mature cluster of galaxies yet found. Although this cluster is seen when the Universe was less than one quarter of its current age it looks surprisingly similar to galaxy clusters in the current Universe.
Astronomers have discovered a new cosmic explosion: a gamma-ray burst and its associated supernova. Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most powerful blasts in the Universe, and are thought to be created in the deaths of the most massive stars.
The various spiral arm segments of the Sunflower galaxy, also known as Messier 63, show up vividly in a new image taken in infrared light by NASA
Richard B. Hoover, Ph.D. NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center has discovered evidence of microfossils similar to terrestrial cyanobacteria in freshly fractured
The vision of a joint US and European mission to Mars faces a radical rethink as the US admits its funding will come up $1bn short.
Space tourism is just the beginning of space exploration. This is the word from Brad Inggs, whose Durban company Orbital Horizon, in partnership with American company Xcor Aerospace, recently began offering trips into space in a new suborbital spaceship.
Spaceship Two (credit: Virgin Galactic) At a joint press conference Monday with Virgin Galactic at the Next-Generation Suborbital Researchers Conference,
Tides can render the so-called "habitable zone" around low-mass stars uninhabitable, according to new research. Until now, the two main drivers thought to determine a planet
Stars are balls of glowing gas, with a nearly spherical shape. Accordingly, one would expect that when some stars explode as supernovae at the end of their lives, the resulting colossal fireballs should share this spherical symmetry. However, recent investigations are revealing that some of these events are not round. New data gathered at Calar Alto Observatory reinforce this surprising finding.
Massive waves in giant magnetic holes on the surface of the Sun have been discovered for the first time by solar scientists, something that will bring experts a step closer to unlocking the secrets of the Sun.
What would an interstellar mission look like? Check out what an interstellar mission would look like and how a spacecraft could travel to another star.
