For the first time, astronomers have observed the area right at the edge of a black hole where matter stops orbiting and plunges straight in at near light speed
Gravitational waves can be lensed by massive galaxies so that they repeat, like an echo. Scientists are now readying to snare their first one and explore the cosmic secrets it holds
Galaxies could do with a few more arms or some decorative designs – on this episode of Dead Planets Society, our hosts are using collisions, black holes and dark matter to reshape our galaxy
A white dwarf star orbiting a sun-like star was thought to be impossibly small, but now astronomers have found another star in the system that solves the puzzle
A rare geomagnetic storm not seen for nearly 20 years could cause a stunning aurora borealis on 10 and 11 May
Sufficiently advanced aliens would be able to capture vast quantities of energy from their star using a massive structure called a Dyson sphere. Such a device would give off an infrared heat sign...
Surprising recent measurements hint that the universe isn’t expanding in the way we had thought, and it could be explained by still-theoretical dark radiation
The Red Planet launches large bursts of plasma into space from its upper atmosphere, much like the sun’s coronal mass ejections, despite not having a global magnetic field
For decades, cosmologists have been fighting over the Hubble constant, a number that represents the expansion rate of the universe – it may have finally been pinned down
Two astronauts will have to wait to set off for the International Space Station aboard Boeing’s Starliner capsule, following a problem with the Atlas V rocket that caused the mission to be abor...
If all goes well, the Chang’e 6 probe will be the first ever to land on the far side of the moon to take samples and bring them back to Earth
Strange bursts of radio waves called FRBs have long been mysterious, and one of the most famous sources of these flashes may have an unexpected planet
My colleagues call me a supervillain for trying to destroy the cosmos, but this kind of imaginative thinking isn't so far from what scientists do, says space reporter Leah Crane
Lunar settlers could avoid health problems like muscle wasting by running on the inside of a circular wall to mimic the pull of Earth’s gravity on the body
Total solar eclipses are astonishing, but travelling to get to one is less so – this episode of Dead Planets Society is all about rearranging the solar system to create a more convenient eclips...
India’s space agency has been remarkably successful in recent years, growing the country’s prestige on the global stage – and the 2024 election is unlikely to change that
Before it shattered over Germany, the asteroid 2024 BX1 was clocked rotating once every 2.6 seconds – the fastest spin we have observed
The supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies may capture smaller black holes. Not only does this prove a place for the small black holes to grow, it also makes the supermassive ones lo...
The redness of asteroid 469219 Kamo‘oalewa marks it out as probably originating on the moon, and now we might know the exact impact crater it was launched from
Almost all moon landers break down during the extraordinary cold of lunar night, but Japan’s Smart Lander for Investigating Moon has astonishingly survived three nights
It can be difficult to figure out how to move a spacecraft from one orbit to another, but a trick from knot theory can help find spots where shifting orbits becomes easy
Measurements of sulphur isotopes in Io’s atmosphere show that the moon may have been volcanically active for its entire lifetime
Caused by debris from a comet thought to originate in the Oort Cloud, the Lyrid meteor shower peaks this year on 22 April and is best viewed from the northern hemisphere, says Abigail Beall
A black hole would be tough to destroy, but in the season two premiere of Dead Planets Society our hosts are willing to go to extremes, from faster-than-light bombs to time travel
A black hole 33 times the mass of the sun is the largest stellar black hole ever spotted, and its strange companion star could help explain how it got so huge
Mounting evidence suggests our galaxy sits at the centre of an expanse of nothingness 2 billion light years wide. If so, we may have to rethink our understanding of the universe
We don’t know what alien life might look like, but if other civilisations can colonise multiple worlds, we might see planets that look unusually similar
The expansion rate of the universe, measured by the Hubble constant, has been one of the most controversial numbers in cosmology for years, and we seem at last to be close to nailing it down
A new way of interpreting the elusive mathematics of quantum mechanics could fundamentally change our understanding of reality
On 8 April, a total solar eclipse passed over Mexico, the US and Canada – here are some of the most stunning images
The eclipse is about to begin. Totality will arrive at Mexico’s west coast around 11.07am local time, moving east until it leaves Newfoundland, Canada, around 5.16pm there
The next time a total solar eclipse will be visible from the UK is decades away, but there are other places nearby that will experience one sooner
During the total solar eclipse on 8 April, two of NASA's WB-57 jet planes, equipped with special instruments, will chase totality and give new insight into the sun's corona
From building an eclipse viewer to using the sun to pop balloons, here's a child-friendly activity guide for April's eclipse
Stephen Hawking and Jacob Bekenstein calculated the entropy of a black hole in the 1970s, but it took physicists until now to figure out the quantum effects that make the formula work
One total solar eclipse changed physics forever – and even to this day these celestial phenomena are astonishing viewers and teaching us crucial lessons about the universe
The European Space Agency’s Proba-3 mission comprises a pair of satellites that will create mini solar eclipses, giving scientists an unprecedented view of the sun’s corona
North America will have a total solar eclipse on 8 April – here is where, when and how to view it safely
The standard model of cosmology says that the strength of dark energy should be constant, but tentative hints are emerging that it may have weakened recently
I have two degrees in astronomy, so you'd think I would know what I'm doing when it comes to looking at the sky. I don't, but I'm trying to change that, says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein
How do eruptions from the Sun's surface cause disturbances on Earth?
It can be difficult to identify satellites that have lost power, increasing the risk of a dangerous collision in space, but licence plates could be a solution
A strange world is being stretched out of shape by its neighbouring planets, heating it up so intensely that it probably has a molten surface
A tiny clump of stars orbiting our galaxy should have been ripped apart by the Milky Way, but its continued existence hints it may be held together by a massive amount of dark matter
Records of total solar eclipses go back thousands of years, and in all that time they have allowed scientists to uncover key information about not just the sun but the whole universe
Solar scientists have been preparing for years for a 4-minute window, during the total solar eclipse on 8 April, in which they will study the sun's corona
The Smart Lander for Investigating Moon spacecraft has sent back images after surviving its second lunar night – generally these periods are so cold they destroy spacecraft electronics
How the Red Planet acquired its two moons, Phobos and Deimos, is unknown – they could have formed after something collided with the planet, or started out as asteroids – but now there is a hi...
The light signature from GLASS-z12, one of the most distant galaxies we have ever seen, suggests some of its stars have already exploded as supernovae
Three experiments have been selected to fly to the moon alongside NASA’s Artemis III astronauts, all designed to help with future long-term stays on the moon and eventually Mars
Douglas Vakoch of METI International explains how NASA drew on the organisation's expertise at attempting to contact extraterrestrial intelligence to help craft a message to Europa
The universe has been surprising us ever since we first looked into the cosmic darkness. We should embrace serendipity in science, says Chris Lintott
The black hole at the centre of our galaxy, known as Sagittarius A*, has been captured in polarised light to reveal its magnetic field
Some basic equipment can help you safely enjoy the eclipse on 8 April – here's how to easily make what you need
Later this year, NASA is launching its Europa Clipper spacecraft to the icy moon of Jupiter. Its mission is only to investigate whether the moon is habitable, but now researchers have found that ...
Rediscovered magnetic recordings reveal just how extreme the largest recorded solar storm in history, the Carrington event in 1859, really was, highlighting the danger such storms could present t...
The Starship rocket destroyed its launch pad during its first launch attempt in 2023, and the explosion resembled a powerful volcanic eruption, spraying sand and chunks of debris over a huge area
Photographing the eclipse isn't as easy as taking a selfie, but with a bit of preparation anyone can capture a memorable image
A recent paper packed with delightful acronyms digs into where people report having seen UFOs, but finds no evidence of alien visitors, says Annalee Newitz
Pieced together digitally from thousands of images, this shot of last October's annular eclipse, from Andrew McCarthy and Daniel Stein, is a curtain-raiser for next month's total solar eclipse in...
Twin stars that were born together should have the same composition, and the fact that many don’t suggests they have changed their chemistry by devouring planets
The sand dunes that splay across the surface of Saturn’s moon Titan may be made of the ground-up remains of ancient irregular moons, rather than atmospheric particles
A total solar eclipse is an incredible experience, explains Patricia Reiff at Rice University in Texas. Here are some of the strange phenomena visible during April's event
Saturn’s moon Titan may have hundreds of strange ridges called yardangs that could teach us how the icy moon’s geology and conditions vary across its surface
The world’s most powerful rocket, Starship, launched from Texas and reached an altitude of more than 230 kilometres, travelling further and faster than it has done before. But it seems to have ...
Elon Musk’s SpaceX is gearing up for the third launch of its massive Starship rocket, following two failed missions, with coverage beginning at about 13.25 GMT. What will the company be hoping ...
The debris from the formation of a relatively small crater on Mars created billions of additional craters, which could help us learn about Martian geology
Now is a great time to look for a pattern of stars known as the Spring Triangle, wherever you are in the world, say Abigail Beall
The seafloor of Jupiter’s icy moon Europa was thought to provide energy and nutrients to its ocean, but it turns out that may not be possible
The James Webb Space Telescope has found an unusual galaxy in the early universe with a black hole almost half the mass of the galaxy itself, raising questions about how it formed
Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks orbits the sun every 71 years and is currently making its closest approach. Here's when and how you can see it - perhaps even during a solar eclipse
An analysis of deep-sea drill cores suggests that Mars may have enough gravitational influence to shift sediment within Earth's oceans on a 2.4-million-year cycle
The origins of Mars’s moons Phobos and Deimos have long been an enigma, but they may have been formed when a icy, comet-like object slammed into the Red Planet
A total solar eclipse is a unique experience. From shadow bands to the sun’s majestic corona and pinkish prominences, here’s what you can expect to see
Some white dwarfs seem to stop ageing for billions of years, and this may be due to the behaviour of unusual ice crystals that heat up the stars
The James Webb Space Telescope has revealed that a distant galaxy stopped forming stars extraordinarily fast, making it the furthest dead galaxy ever spotted
Gilmour Space is awaiting approval from the Australian Space Agency for the first launch of its Eris Block 1 orbital rocket, with plans to deploy a satellite as soon as April
Follow these tips to have a safe viewing experience during the upcoming North American total solar eclipse
Five exomoon programmes have been picked for the James Webb Space Telescope, raising the hopes of finding moons around exoplanets for the first time
The ocean on Jupiter’s icy moon Europa is one of the best places we have found to search for alien life, but it might have less oxygen than researchers had thought
What did NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission to sample Bennu discover? Mission leader Dante Lauretta says the asteroid could hold clues about how life began
Cosmic dust grains may be small, but they are mighty – it turns out dust is crucial to just about every process that occurs in space
A fermentation experiment on the International Space Station produced miso paste with a flavour distinct from two samples that were fermented on Earth
An exoplanet called K2-18b has been suggested as a good place to look for alien life, but a new analysis shows it is probably made from gas
Ahead of the total solar eclipse in North America, here is everything you need to know about solar and lunar eclipses
These photographs show the scale of the work that goes into painting the NASA logo on spacecraft as they are readied for an epic new moon mission
The SLIM lander and the Odysseus lander both set down on the lunar surface on their sides, but they have each been able to send data back to Earth
Astronomers have spotted a white dwarf star with a patch of metal near one of its magnetic poles, which probably formed when the star devoured a small planet
Moons circling exoplanets would be some of the most promising places to look for life outside our solar system. Now, we might finally be about to find these elusive objects
Astronomers have spotted a gargantuan protocluster – the primordial beginnings of a galaxy cluster – by searching near a quasar in the early universe
Astronomers have found a new moon around Uranus and two orbiting Neptune – the first moons discovered orbiting these planets in a decade and the faintest ever spotted
A mimic of Martian soil can be turned into strong fibres. Such a material could be used to help build a base or grow plants on the Red Planet
Intuitive Machines has landed its Odysseus spacecraft on the moon, making it the first private company to achieve a feat previously only accomplished by national space agencies
Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope have revealed that a nearby supernova researchers have been watching since it exploded in 1987 left behind a hot neutron star
Astronomers have found a quasar 12 billion light years away hosting a supermassive black hole that gobbles up a sun-sized amount of mass every day
The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft must be thoroughly tested before being sent to investigate the aftermath of the collision of NASA's DART probe with Dimorphos
Earth lacks some of the ingredients that would have been key to the origins of life – they may have been delivered to glacial ponds by tiny specks of cosmic dust
Carbon dioxide gas found throughout the atmosphere of Callisto hints it has a complex carbon cycle – akin to the one which on Earth helps to sustain life
North America will see an annular solar eclipse on 14 October and a total eclipse in April 2024. Scientists are preparing to use these spectacles to study our star's mysterious corona
Strange particles observed by an experiment in Antarctica could be evidence of an alternative reality where everything is upside down