Forecasts of Northern Lights displays have been standard in the past few weeks, and the reason for that is last weekend’s fall equinox. In its wake, there could be a brief and spectacular aurora season, with geomagnetic storms generally becoming more intense than usual in the weeks surrounding the equinox. Around the fall equinox, the magnetic field of Earth and the solar wind align, a phenomenon known as the “Russell-McPherron Effect.”
Astronomers have detected what may be the most massive black hole ever observed. It was found within what’s known as the Cosmic Horseshoe galaxy — one of the most massive galaxies known — which is so large it distorts spacetime into a near-ring of light.
The solar system suddenly has a new member. A new object discovered in the solar system beyond Neptune and Pluto has astronomers rethinking the history of the solar system. Called 2023 KQ14 and nicknamed “Ammonite,” the discovery of this unique so-called trans-Neptunian object is both unexpected and could reshape what we know about the solar system’s past. […]
A team of astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have detected biosignatures in the atmosphere of a possible ocean world 124 light-years from the solar system.
A near-Earth asteroid as wide as the Statue of Liberty is tall has been discovered that could strike Earth in 2032. It’s triggered a rare warning by the International Asteroid Warning Network, which NASA chairs.
Do you know which Chinese Lunar New Year animal you are? This week’s new moon, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, will signal the beginning of the Lunar New Year, which this year is called the “Year of the Snake.” It takes over from the “Year of the Dragon” in 2024 and precedes the “Year of the Horse” in […]
A new space tourism concept, unlike Blue Origin’s capsule and rocket or Virgin Galactic’s supersonic space plane, has been successfully tested off the coast of St Petersburg, Florida. Space Perspective, which calls itself the world’s first carbon-neutral spaceflight company, is already selling seats in Spaceship Neptune, which is lofted by a balloon and lands by […]