Space news stories

New study eases concerns over possible ‘doomsday’ asteroid swarm
9th October 2024 phys.org | Ancient, Earth, Humans, Space, Tech

Using the Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) telescope to survey large expanses of sky, a team of researchers led by the University of Maryland investigated a stream of space debris known to drift near Earth called the Taurid swarm.

Our Galaxy Could Be Falling Into a Colossal ‘Basin of Attraction’ That’s as Old as Time
8th October 2024 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Space

If you want to pinpoint your place in the Universe, start with your cosmic address. You live on Earth->Solar System->Milky Way Galaxy->Local Cluster->Virgo Cluster->Virgo Supercluster->Laniakea.

The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs was not alone
4th October 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Animal Life, Earth, Space

The huge asteroid that hit Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was not alone, scientists have confirmed. A second, smaller space rock smashed into the sea off the coast of West Africa creating a large crater during the same era.

Comet last seen in stone age to make closest approach to Earth
2nd October 2024 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Humans, Space

A comet that has not been seen from Earth since Neanderthals were alive and kicking has reappeared in the sky, with astronomers saying it might be visible to the naked eye.

The asteroid hunters: how new technology will help save Earth from a catastrophic collision
1st October 2024 | theguardian.com | Humans, Space, Tech

The existential threat from a large meteor is real, but two next-generation telescopes are about to make us safer.

Study suggests moon may have been captured from space rather than formed from collision particles
30th September 2024 phys.org | Ancient, Earth, Space

New research published in The Planetary Science Journal suggests that the moon was captured during a close encounter between a young Earth and a terrestrial binary—the moon and another rocky object.

Scientists Found a Slime Mold Algorithm, And Asked It to Build a Universe
25th September 2024 | sciencealert.com | Earth, Humans, Space

Computers truly are wonderful things and powerful but only if they are programmed by a skillful mind. Check this out… there is an algorithm that mimics the growth of slime mold, but a team of researchers has adapted it to model the large-scale structure of the Universe.

Earth will briefly have a second ‘mini moon’ this autumn
20th September 2024 | theguardian.com | Humans, Space

According to a study published this week, an asteroid roughly the length of a city bus will be captured by Earth’s gravitational pull and orbit our planet for about two months, becoming a “mini moon”.

Stephen Hawking’s black hole radiation paradox could finally be solved — if black holes aren’t what they seem
20th September 2024 | livescience.com | Ancient, Space, Weird

New research suggests that black holes may actually be “frozen stars,” bizarre quantum objects that lack a singularity and an event horizon, potentially solving some of the biggest paradoxes in black hole physics.

‘People forget to look up’: September supermoon to light up Wednesday’s night sky
17th September 2024 | theguardian.com | Humans, Space

Remember to look skyward to see the moon when it will be about 27000km closer to Earth than usual

Jupiter’s moon Ganymede was struck by asteroid bigger than dinosaur-killing rock
4th September 2024 | theguardian.com | Ancient, Space

The largest moon in the solar system was struck by an ancient asteroid 20 times bigger than the rock that clattered into Earth and ended the reign of the dinosaurs 66m years ago, research suggests. See the study here.

Milky Way’s Mysterious Ripple Could Be a Scar From an Ancient Collision
2nd September 2024 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Space

Yet the scars of our past aren’t always easy to distinguish from more mundane tides that advance cosmic evolution, leaving researchers to speculate which patterns are evidence of cataclysmic events and which are typical signs of ageing. This research was submitted to Astronomy & Astrophysics and is available on the preprint server arXiv.

200 meteorites on Earth traced to 5 craters on Mars
28th August 2024 | livescience.com | Earth, Humans, Space

Astronomers have traced the origins of 200 meteorites to five impact craters in two volcanic regions on Mars, known as Tharsis and Elysium.

Ancient ocean of magma found on Moon south pole
21st August 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Ancient, Space

The Moon’s south pole was once covered in an ocean of liquid molten rock, according to scientists. The findings back up a theory that magma formed the Moon’s surface around 4.5 billion years ago.

Reservoir of liquid water found deep in Martian rocks
13th August 2024 | bbc.co.uk | Humans, Space

Scientists have discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars – deep in the rocky outer crust of the planet. The findings come from a new analysis of data from NASA’s Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018.

‘Continents’ of Venus Hint at Surprising Link to Early Earth, Scientists Discover
8th August 2024 | sciencealert.com | Ancient, Earth, Space

Venus and Earth seem like twins who, through dramatically different circumstances and choices, ended up leading dramatically different lives. The research has been published in Nature Geoscience.

News stories covering Space, from the macro to the micro, including Space exploration, quantum physics and quantum weirdness.