While surveying the positions of over a billion stars, ESA’s Gaia mission is also measuring their colour, a key diagnostic to study the physical properties of stars. A new image (above) provides a preview of Gaia’s first full-colour all-sky map, which will be unleashed in its highest resolution with the next data release in 2018.
Stars come in a variety … Read the rest of this article
NASA’s Cassini mission will come to a spectacular close on September 15, 2017 at 5:07 a.m. PDT after almost two decades in space since its launch in 1997. The spacecraft has been orbiting Saturn and studying that system for 13 years. It’s now checking off items from a daring bucket list as it makes the most of its final months.… Read the rest of this article
Saturn’s giant, hazy moon Titan has been essential to NASA’s Cassini mission during its 13 thrilling years of exploration there.
Cassini and the European Huygens probe have revealed a fascinating world of lakes and seas, great swaths of dunes, and a complex atmosphere with weather – with intriguing similarities to Earth.
Titan has also been an engine for the mission, … Read the rest of this article
Thanks to a quirk of our cosmos, the Moon’s average distance from Earth is just right for it to appear as the same size in the sky as the significantly larger Sun. Once in a while the Moon slides directly between Earth and the Sun such that it appears to cover our star completely, temporarily blocking out its light and … Read the rest of this article
Hold out your hand for 10 seconds. A dozen electrons and muons just zipped unfelt through your palm. The ghostly particles are what scientists call “secondary cosmic rays” — subatomic debris from collisions between molecules high in Earth’s atmosphere and high-energy cosmic rays from outer space.
This daily shower, which never stops, is a sign of violent events in deep … Read the rest of this article
A small asteroid flying past Earth on 12 October will provide scientists with a valuable opportunity to learn more about its orbit and composition. The campaign will exercise the international network of observatories and research organisations working on planetary defence.
Astronomers recently spotted asteroid 2012 TC4 under a collaboration between ESA and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) to locate faint … Read the rest of this article
An ancient mountain range on Mars preserves a complex volcanic and tectonic past imprinted with signs of water and ice interactions.
The images, taken on 9 April by the high-resolution stereo camera on ESA’s Mars Express, show the Thaumasia mountains and Coracis Fossae, which fringe the huge Solis Planum volcanic plateau from the south.
The region lies to the south … Read the rest of this article
The Curiosity rover has taught us a lot about the history of Mars and its potential to support life. Take a tour of its landing site, Gale Crater.… Read the rest of this article
There’s a partial Lunar Eclipse happening today but it will be very difficult to see as it happens during daylight hours in Western Europe. Only a very small part of the Moon’s disk will pass through the Umbra (the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow).
The best places to see, at least some parts of the partial eclipse: Much … Read the rest of this article
What is our universe made of, and has its composition changed over time? Scientists have new insights about these fundamental questions, thanks to an international collaboration of more than 400 scientists called the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Three scientists from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, are part of this group that is helping to further our understanding of … Read the rest of this article
Recommended Astronomy DVDs, Blu-Rays and 4K UHD Blu-Rays
4-Billion-Year-Old Relic From the Early Solar System Is Headed This Way
Hubble Space Telescope Finds the Most Distant Star Ever Seen
The Lessons Learned From a Simulated Asteroid Strike Over Europe
Teachers: Apply Now to the ESA Teach With Space Online Conference
First Panoramic View of Mars at Perseverance Rover Landing Site
NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Show Us More Stars at Higher Resolution
Animations of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Landing
NASA Is Providing Spanish-Language Coverage for the Livestream of the December 14 Solar Eclipse
NASA Names Artemis Team of Astronauts Eligible for Early Moon Missions
The Sun Now (Visible light)
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The Sun Now (H-Alpha light)
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Aurora Oval
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Aurora Oval
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