Science Space Deep Space Black Holes For the first time, astronomers witnessed the birth of a'magnetar' These fast spinning, magnetic neutron stars may power some of the brightest supernovae in the cosmos. Artist's conception of a magnetar surrounded by an accretion disk that is wobbling, or precessing, because of the effects of general relativity. Some models of magnetars suggest that high-speed jets of charged particles emanate from the magnetar along its rotation axis. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. In December 2024, astronomers watched a star around 25 times the mass of our sun die in a blaze of glory.

No one was injured at the home in Germany, but the ESA is investigating. The bright object traveled over at least five countries. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The European Space Agency (ESA) is investigating a bright fireball that lit up the early evening sky across at least five countries on March 8th. At around 5:55 p.m. local time, residents across Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands spotted a glowing object soaring across the sky for an estimated six seconds before disintegrating into multiple fragments.

An artist's impression of 3I/ATLAS is shown as it passes near the Sun, illuminating one side of the comet. On the side of the comet closer to the sun, the methanol gas is shown in blue, with icy dust grains still present in the gas. On the dark side of the comet, the hydrogen cyanide is shown in orange. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The comet 3I/ATLAS is well on its way back into deep space, but the famous cosmic visitor continues to fascinate astronomers.

The interstellar space rock shows off the illuminating effects of its brush with the sun. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. After months of unprecedented observations, astronomers are bidding goodbye to the beloved comet 3I/ATLAS . First spotted in July 2025, the frigid, dusty space rock is only the third known interstellar object to pass through the solar system, offering researchers the rare opportunity to examine a visitor from deep space. Among other discoveries, scientists have since confirmed that the interstellar comet is the fastest ever recorded as well as covered in ice volcanoes --and definitely not extraterrestrial tourists .

Astronomers Are Closing In on the Kuiper Belt's Secrets As next-generation telescopes map this outer frontier, astronomers are bracing for discoveries that could reveal hidden planets, strange structures, and clues to the solar system's chaotic youth. Out beyond the orbit of Neptune lies an expansive ring of ancient relics, dynamical enigmas, and possibly a hidden planet--or two. The Kuiper Belt, a region of frozen debris about 30 to 50 times farther from the sun than the Earth is--and perhaps farther, though nobody knows--has been shrouded in mystery since it first came into view in the 1990s. Over the past 30 years, astronomers have cataloged about 4,000 Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs), including a smattering of dwarf worlds, icy comets, and leftover planet parts. But that number is expected to increase tenfold in the coming years as observations from more advanced telescopes pour in.

Elon Musk - the boss of SpaceX as well as Tesla and X - is the world's richest person Elon Musk's SpaceX has applied to launch one million satellites into Earth's orbit to power artificial intelligence (AI). The application claims "orbital data centres" are the most cost and energy-efficient way to meet the growing demand for AI computing power. Traditionally, such centres are large warehouses full of powerful computers which process and store data. Musk's aerospace firm claims processing needs due to the expanding use of AI are already outpacing "terrestrial capabilities". It would increase the number of SpaceX satellites in orbit drastically.

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory has gathered over 1.3 million detections in 27 years. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory is considered one of the agency's greatest achievements, but it's not necessarily as recognizable as siblings like the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes . However, since 1999, the powerful spacecraft has peered deep into the cosmos to provide astronomers with never-before-seen glimpses of the Milky Way galaxy . As the observatory nears its 27th anniversary, NASA is highlighting its Chandra Source Catalog (CSC), an absolutely massive archive of visualization data collected over the years.

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Aomawa Shields '97 was equally enticed by the prospect of studying stars and the dream of becoming one herself. Today, she draws from her exploration of acting and astronomy to search for life on other planets. Few people, if any, contemplate stars--celestial or cinematic--the way Aomawa Shields does. An astronomer and astrobiologist, Shields explores the potential habitability of planets beyond our solar system. But she is also a classically trained actor--and that's helped shape her professional trajectory in unexpected ways. Today, Shields is an associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine, where she oversees a research team that uses computer models to explore conditions on exoplanets, or planets that revolve around stars other than the sun.

The failed star factory is nicknamed'Cloud-9.' This image shows the location of Cloud-9, which is 2000 light-years from Earth. The diffuse magenta is radio data from the ground-based Very Large Array (VLA) showing the presence of the cloud. The dashed circle marks the peak of radio emission, which is where researchers focused their search for stars. Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent every weekday.