With help from citizen scientists, astronomers have spotted the most powerful “odd radio circle” (ORC) yet. The discovery could give astronomers a better understanding of how these unusual objects — and the galaxies they encircle — form. “ORCs are among the most bizarre and beautiful cosmic structures we’ve ever seen — and they may hold … Read more
A weak spot in Earth’s magnetic field over the South Atlantic Ocean has ballooned in size since 2014, satellite data reveals. The region, known as the South Atlantic Anomaly, has grown by an area nearly half the size of continental Europe, sprouting a lobe in the direction of Africa where the field is weakening the … Read more
Earth may respond to the huge quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2) that humans are pumping into the atmosphere by “overcorrecting” the imbalance, which could result in the next ice age arriving on time instead of being delayed by tens of thousands of years, as had previously been predicted. This is due to a newfound “thermostat” … Read more
If you’ve ever wanted to get lost on Mars, now’s your chance: You can fly over a maze-like canyon on the Red Planet in a stunning new video from the European Space Agency (ESA). The animation, based on data from ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, brings viewers on a “mesmerising flight over curving channels carved by … Read more
A huge “wave” is rippling through our galaxy, pushing billions of stars in its wake, a new study reveals. The Milky Way’s galactic wave was spotted in mapping data from the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Gaia space telescope, which charted the positions and movement patterns of millions of stars with high accuracy before retiring earlier … Read more
The age of exoplanets began in 1992, when astronomers detected a pair of planets orbiting a pulsar. Then, in 1995, astronomers discovered the first exoplanet orbiting a main sequence star. As NASA’s Kepler and TESS missions got going, the number of confirmed exoplanets continued to rise. By 2015, NASA announced that Kepler had discovered its … Read more
Scientists are considering the possibility of launching a nuclear weapon at an asteroid that could potentially hit the moon in 2032 — but they say more research is needed before taking this forward as an option. The investigation concerns asteroid 2024 YR4, which reached notoriety shortly after its discovery in December 2024 when scientists (working … Read more
The iron-rich core at the centre of our planet has been a crucial part of Earth’s evolution. The core not only powers the magnetic field which shields our atmosphere and oceans from solar radiation, it also influences plate tectonics which have continually reshaped the continents. But despite its importance, many of the most fundamental properties of the core are … Read more
Pluto is a bit of a loner. The dwarf planet is no longer considered a regular planet; it does not orbit on the same plane as the solar system’s eight planets; and its orbit is both highly elliptical and extremely tilted. In fact, its orbit is much more similar to that of its neighbors in … Read more
New research using the powerful JWST telescope has identified a planet 41 light-years away which may have an atmosphere. The planet is within the “habitable zone”, the region around a star where temperatures make it possible for liquid water to exist on the surface of a rocky world. This is important because water is a … Read more
