ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. Over the past eight years, the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission has been building the largest and most detailed catalog of astronomical objects in history. Located nearly one million miles from Earth, Gaia is tracking the positions, motions, and distances of more […]
Read More
Itis only a dream to explore the Universe by sailing between galaxies, soaring through vast regions of the Cosmos in a comfortably-short period of time. But now, an international group of researchers have found a way to make this dream come true. A new virtual universe allows anyone to swoosh through the Universe in an […]
Read MoreElon Musk surprised his first all-private crew of space tourists with a welcome home gift after their trailblazing trip to orbit ended on Saturday night: a $50m donation to the children’s charity St Jude. The billionaire SpaceX founder tweeted soon after their Atlantic ocean splashdown off the Florida coast that he was gifting the money […]
Read MoreFour space tourists ended their trailblazing trip to orbit on Saturday with a splashdown in the Atlantic off the Florida coast. Their SpaceX capsule parachuted into the ocean just before sunset, not far from where their chartered flight began three days earlier. “On behalf of SpaceX, welcome back to planet Earth,” a SpaceX mission controller […]
Read More
Not far from the center of the Milky Way galaxy, astronomers have recently witnessed a mysterious flashing of radio waves. Many (in fact, most) objects give off radio waves — this is not unusual. What caught the eyes of astronomers is that this target does not seem to fit any category of known radio sources. The […]
Read More
Did you know Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021. Secure your online ticket now! A team of researchers at the University of Leeds recently made the startling discovery that many observable protoplanets are surrounded by the raw molecules […]
Read More
Did you know Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021. Secure your online ticket now! A team of researchers led by physicists at the University of Cambridge may have accidentally stumbled upon the biggest (as in, size-wise) discovery in […]
Read More
The James Webb Space Telescope is scheduled to head to space on Dec. 18, 2021. With it, astronomers hope to find the first galaxies to form in the universe, will search for Earth-like atmospheres around other planets and accomplish many other scientific goals. I am an astronomer and the principal investigator for the Near Infrared […]
Read MoreSpaceX has launched the world’s first crew of “amateur astronauts” on a private flight to circle Earth for three days. Wednesday night’s successful launch marked the most ambitious leap yet in space tourism. It’s the first chartered passenger flight for Elon Musk’s space company and the first time a rocket streaked toward orbit with a […]
Read MoreThe world’s first crew of “amateur astronauts” is preparing to blast off on a mission that will carry them into orbit before bringing them back down to Earth at the weekend. The four civilians, who have spent the past few months on an astronaut training course, are due to launch on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket […]
Read More
Houston, we have a problem! Love and sex need to happen in space if we hope to travel long distances and become an interplanetary species, but space organizations are not ready. National agencies and private space companies — such as NASA and SpaceX— aim to colonize Mars and send humans into space for long-term missions, […]
Read More
On Sept. 15, 2021, the next batch of space tourists are set to lift off aboard a SpaceX rocket. Organized and funded by entrepreneur Jared Isaacman, the Inspiration4 mission touts itself as “the first all-civilian mission to orbit” and represents a new type of space tourism. The four crew members will not be the first […]
Read More
Did you know Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021. Secure your online ticket now! Scientists from the University of Sussex recently stumbled upon a startling discovery: black holes emit quantum pressure. What’s quantum pressure? Nobody’s quite sure, but […]
Read More
Did you know SHIFT is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of mobility during TNW Conference 2021. Secure your ticket now! In the world of mobility there are two main types of insurances: motor vehicle and travel insurance. And while, I’m sure, you all know the […]
Read MoreWith such strong base-level material, you could hardly go wrong, and so it proves with this history of the International Space Station, which has been orbiting the Earth 250 miles up since 1998. This is very much the authorised version, told largely through interviews with a select multi-national group of the over 200 astronauts who […]
Read More
Did you know Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021. Secure your online ticket now! The US government and Silicon Valley don’t agree on everything, but when it comes to dominating the modern space race they’re perfectly aligned. Uncle […]
Read More
SPHERE images of Kleopatra. Image: ESO/Vernazza, Marchis et al./MISTRAL algorithm (ONERA/CNRS) ABSTRACT breaks down mind-bending scientific research, future tech, new discoveries, and major breakthroughs. Scientists have snapped the best images yet of an oddball asteroid called 216 Kleopatra, revealing new insights about the huge dumbbell-shaped rock and the tiny moons that orbit it. First discovered […]
Read MoreFire and smoke alarms went off at the Russian segment of the International Space Station in the early hours of Thursday, and the crew reported noticing smoke and the smell of burnt plastic. Russia’s space agency, Roscosmos, said the incident took place in the Russian-built Zvezda module and occurred as the station’s batteries were being […]
Read MoreNasa’s Perseverance rover has successfully collected its first rock sample from Mars. If all goes to plan, this sample, along with many others, could one day be brought back to Earth for analysis. Perseverance’s drill. Photograph: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Asu/MSSS/EPA The sample was drilled out of a briefcase-sized rock, nicknamed Rochette, on 1 September. The rock belongs to […]
Read More
Did you know Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021. Secure your ticket now! If you let NASA tell the story, some of the people walking around on this planet right now may end up taking a stroll on […]
Read More
When we talk about amazing geological features, we often limit ourselves to those on Earth. But as a geologist, I think that’s crazy – there are so many structures on other worlds that can excite and inspire, and that can put processes on our own planet into perspective. Here, in no particular order, are the […]
Read MoreThe rise of commercial space travel is here, and for the vast majority who cannot afford its millions-plus price tag, streaming platforms are here to capture it. Starting this week, Netflix will air the first two installments of Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space, its first docuseries to cover an event – SpaceX’s launch of its […]
Read MoreWhile I’m still able – “allowed” is possibly the verb I want – I would like to register my objection to adverts masquerading as legitimate streaming content on a subscription service for which I pay good money. This is not how that particular model is supposed to work. I realise, of course, that I am […]
Read MoreThe Covid pandemic has already turned life as we know it upside down – and no doubt prompted some people to want to leave the planet. Now a leading scientist has warned that viruses may not only be found on Earth, but might occur – should life exist – elsewhere in the universe. Prof Paul […]
Read MoreStarwatch This week’s constellation is a pure delight. Delphinus, the dolphin, is one of the smallest, faintest constellations in the sky, but once seen it is impossible to get the image of a celestial dolphin jumping up from the Milky Way out of your mind. The chart shows the view looking south-west from London at […]
Read More
Retiring the International Space Station in the coming years presents a big void “ what will be the future of space stations once the International Space Station meets its fiery death in the coming years? And SHOULD the ISS be decommissioned, or might the mission lifetime be extended? Construction of the International Space Station (ISS), […]
Read MoreEverything seemed normal as SpaceX’s Starship juddered into the sky over south Texas last March, tangerine flames and white smoke pluming behind it. But roughly six minutes into the test flight, the spacecraft thudded back to Earth. SpaceX, the company founded by Elon Musk in 2002, has a “test, fly, fail, fix, repeat” method for […]
Read MoreAt the furthest point from any landmass on earth, and 4km under the sea, lies the space cemetery. When their outer space journeys come to an end, old satellites, rocket parts and space stations are sent to this desolate spot in the Pacific Ocean to rest on the dark seabed forever. The technical name for […]
Read More
“What would happen if an astronaut were to lose a sock inside an air vent?” you may wonder. Well wonder no further, as an Astrobee robot named Bumble solved that very test aboard the International Space Station in April 2021. Engineers provided the small, cube-shaped robotic attendant with a (fictional) warning of a buildup of […]
Read MoreAstronomers have begun scrutinising a new class of planet that might support alien life: the hycean. This is a portmanteau coinage combining “hydrogen” and “ocean”, since the planets are hot waterworlds with hydrogen-rich atmospheres. In ancient Greek, Oceanus was the great river encompassing the disc of the Earth, personified as the son of Uranus and […]
Read More
Did you know Neural is taking the stage this fall? Together with an amazing line-up of experts, we will explore the future of AI during TNW Conference 2021. Secure your online ticket now! China’s researchers are looking into the problem of building a giant spaceship to advance the nation’s scientific, military, and economic endeavors. And by giant, […]
Read More