All About Space

What is dark energy? Ever since the first direct evidence for it was found during supernova observations in 1998, which showed that the universe is expanding at an accelerated rate, astronomers have wondered what this mysterious force could be. This

A Mars orbiter has taken a deep dive into an ancient Martian lake – figuratively, at least. Larger than any lake currently on Earth, the dried-up remnants of this ancient lakebed were captured in incredible detail by the European Space Agency’s (ESA)

From its vantage point in low-Earth orbit, the Hubble Space Telescope recently captured an intricate portrait of NGC 3430, a classic spiral galaxy that resides 100 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Leo Minor. The galaxy itself is

A newly released image shows a colourful haze glowing above the Paranal Observatory in the Chilean Atacama Desert at sunset. The European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope (VLT) stands beneath a star-studded sky illuminated by a pheno

Astronauts experience significant muscle loss as a result of being in microgravity, but new drugs designed to create new muscle partially counteract this effect. The results have important implications for both long-duration space missions and the tr

Getting a live play-by-play of astronauts in space during future Artemis Moon missions could eventually be possible thanks to laser technology. NASA is testing a space communication method that, instead of using radio waves, uses a laser beam to conn

SpaceX has strongly refuted a media report claiming the company violated environmental regulations by releasing pollutants related to Starship launches in South Texas. CNBC reported on 12 August that “Elon Musk’s SpaceX violated environmental regulat

Astronomers have discovered a new star that’s 30 times larger than the Sun and could force a major rethink of stellar evolution theories. The star, designated J0524-0336 and located around 30,000 light years from Earth, has a shockingly high concentr

Enough water to cover the surface of Mars has been discovered within the crust of the Red Planet by NASA’s InSight mission. However, the ocean is buried several kilometres underground. InSight touched down in the Elysium Planitia region on Mars in No

The unusual shapes of the tiny asteroids Dimorphos and Selam have perplexed astronomers for years, but a new study finally explains how they got so strange. It also suggests these bizarrely shaped ‘moonlets’ may be more common than scientists thought

Featuring high-quality Maksutov-Cassegrain optics, the NexStar 4SE is an ideal telescope for observing and photographing the wonders of space. With a total weight of 9.5 kilograms including the tripod, the ultra-portable 4SE features a precision opti

You have to feel for physicists at the end of the 19th century. After massive advances in physics in the previous 100 years, many thought they had a good handle on the laws of the universe and all that remained for them to do was make more precise me

The leading candidate for dark energy represents vacuum energy arising from ‘virtual particles’ popping in and out of existence in empty space. The main problem with this candidate is the massive difference between its theoretical value and its obser

All the matter and energy in the universe existed within a single infinitesimal point, a gravitational singularity a billionth the size of a proton. Possibly due to a quantum fluctuation, a period of rapid expansion began. The universe was still at a

Rather than rip apart, there is a theory that the universe will continue to expand and then simply stop. Dark energy will push the universe apart, with the energy inside it becoming more and more spread out, until it reaches a balancing point with da

In many ways, dark energy can be considered the ‘evil’ counterpart of gravity. Gravity’s influence draws matter in the galaxy together; dark energy works to push it apart. Astronomers calculated that the gravitational influence of visible matter wasn

Intuitive Machines, a commercial technology company, is producing the Terrestrial Return Vehicle (TRV) in cooperation with NASA, which will quickly return lab experiments and other perishable or time-critical materials from space to Earth. It will fi

A scathing report from the NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) has highlighted several critical issues related to the development of the next version of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket, which will likely delay the Artemis Moon mi

There are two of these, made up of five cylindrical segments containing the solid fuel and oxidiser. Designed to maximise thrust, the exhaust nozzle can be steered to control the direction of thrust. Located at the top of the booster stack, this burn

Did you ever apply to be a Canadian Space Agency astronaut? I applied twice. In 2009, it was the first recruitment they had done since 1992 – that’s 17 years. I was there right up to the bitter end. There were four people left for two spots: David Sa

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has examined what may have been the most powerful explosion since the Big Bang, discovering a hitherto unseen feature. The feature could be the result of matter and antimatter particles annihilating at 99.9 per

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Stars generate energy through nuclear fusion. In massive stars it’s via the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen cycle, which acts as a catalyst for fusion involving hydrogen atoms. Nuclear fusion of hydrogen creates helium. Temperatures grow so high that the he

NASA’s Perseverance rover may have found signs of ancient life in a rock on Mars. The mission team’s scientists are ecstatic, but remain cautious, as further analysis is needed to confirm the discovery. The rover has come across an intriguing, arrowh

As the spacecraft approaches the planet, things seem quite familiar. Sunlight glints off an expanse of blue ocean, and white clouds are corralled by gusts of wind. But a closer inspection is jarring – the continents are in the wrong places. That’s be

Target Time it takes to get to the target from Earth THE MOON 1.28 seconds MARS 12.5 minutes SATURN 1.1 hours PLUTO 4.6 hours PROXIMA CENTAURI 4.2 years CENTRE OF THE MILKY WAY 30,000 years EDGE OF OBSERVABLE UNIVERSE 46.5 billion years■

While the environment inside your craft would have its own oxygen, if you needed to venture outside of your spaceship then breathable air is a must. While most of the journey would be far from any bright light, a visor is important for when you are u

In the 1970s, the British Interplanetary Society conducted research into a rocket that could travel between the stars. Their aim was to send their fusion-powered spaceship to reach Barnard’s Star in 50 years. This would have used controlled nuclear e

Distance from Earth: 4.3 light years Current travel time: 30,000 years Interstellar speed travel time: 43 years This three-star system includes Proxima Centauri, which is the nearest star to Earth after the Sun. It’s confirmed there are at least two

Space, just beyond the reach of Earth’s atmosphere, is kind of like a teenager’s bedroom – even when you try to clean it, it somehow keeps getting messier. That’s one of the findings from the 2024 Space Environment Report published by the European Sp

OVER 2,000 DISCARDED ROCKET STAGES MORE THAN 2,850 DEFUNCT SATELLITES 26,000+ TRACKED OBJECTS OVER 21,000 UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS AND FRAGMENTS AROUND 34,000 FRAGMENTS LARGER THAN TEN CENTIMETRES AT LEAST 900,000 FRAGMENTS ONE TO TEN CENTIMETRES IN SIZE

Somewhere out there in the vastness of space lurks a black hole smaller than the full stop at the end of this sentence. Minuscule but mighty, it could hold the key to unlocking some of the greatest mysteries in the universe. Black holes are the ultim

Black holes form when a massive star dies, but primordial black holes are also thought to have appeared shortly after the Big Bang. According to Einstein, an infinitely small, infinitely heavy point called a singularity forms at the bottom. You’re ev

In direct contrast to general relativity, loop quantum gravity says space and time aren’t smooth, but made of a series of ’stitches’. As a black hole collapses, the pressure forces the loops together as matter approaches the point of a singularity. B

As a small black hole bounces into a white hole, it should produce radio waves approximately the size of your hand. Travelling at the speed of light, they still take billions of years to cross the universe and enter the Milky Way. They hit the large

It’s easy to imagine the Moon as an atmosphereless hunk of rock orbiting Earth. However, while lacking breathable air, our planet’s loyal natural satellite companion does have a thin and wispy atmosphere. Scientists have long puzzled over the existen

Venus is an especially interesting planet for many reasons, but there’s a particular thirst among astronomers to discover why this world is so incredibly dry. It’s a hot planet with a mean temperature of 462 degrees Celsius (863 degrees Fahrenheit),

The concentration of water vapour in Venus’ atmosphere is 0.002% Venus has 100,000 times less water than Earth It has temperatures of around 471°C A layer of Venus’ water spread across its surface would be three centimetres deep But it once had enoug

Hydrodynamic processes account for the initial huge loss of water early in the planet’s life, leaving the surface of Venus dry. But some hydrogen was left behind in the atmosphere, only to later disappear. How this could have happened became the basi

Most of Venus’ water was boiled off early in its life. Strong sunlight broke the water into hydrogen and oxygen high in the atmosphere, and as an indirect greenhouse gas, the hydrogen helped warm the planet. Eventually, the hydrogen would have escape

A prolific asteroid-hunting mission has come to an end. NASA engineers sent a final command to the Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) on 8 August, ordering the probe to turn off its transmitter after nearly 15 years of op

The Sun is a typical star, but many smaller stars exist in the universe. Red dwarfs are the smallest stars, with only 10 to 50 per cent the size of the Sun. Over the past two decades, many planets have been detected around such red dwarf stars. Surpr

Scientists have discovered a comet travelling one way out of the Solar System after a close encounter with Saturn. The comet, designated Comet A117uUD, was only discovered on 14 June 2024 by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS).

After the long, light, star-starved nights of summer, when many astronomers and skywatchers go into hibernation, autumn is finally here, and the sky is once again dark enough to see lots of amazing and beautiful things in the sky after the Sun has se

Scientists have long wondered why the hot soup of charged particles in our Sun’s atmosphere gets hotter moving away from the surface of the Sun. New research may have the answer, finding the superhot nature of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or corona, c

Aurorae were spotted by Voyager. But the distinct offset between the planet’s magnetic field and its rotational axis means these weak light displays can be found across the surface. On Uranus the solar wind excites atmospheric hydrogen to create its

In order to preserve your night vision, you should read our observing guide under

An alignment of objects at the same celestial longitude. The conjunction of the Moon and the planets is determined with reference to the Sun. A planet is in conjunction with the Sun when it and Earth are aligned on opposite sides of the Sun. How high

*The Moon does not pass the meridian on 17 September All figures are given for 00h at midnight (local times for London, UK) All rise and set times are given in BST

There are many features on the Moon that have acquired ‘celebrity’ status because they are genuinely impressive. But other features aren’t given the same credit or attention because they are overshadowed by their more impressive neighbours. One such

Constellation: Taurus Magnitude: +0.7 AM/PM: PM Our planet of the month this issue is Mars. It’s been given that honour because it’s bright, easy to find in the sky and has a lot of interesting things going on around it. Mars is famously known as the

The brightest star in Auriga, yellow-white Capella is also known as the ‘Goat Star’. Shining at magnitude +0.07, almost as bright as better known Vega, it’s the eighth-brightest star in the sky and the closest first-magnitude star to the Pole Star. T

The Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31) is one of the most famous and most frequently observed and photographed deep-sky objects in the whole of the night sky, and rightly so. Easily visible to the naked eye as a smudge of light larger than the Moon, even

Autumn provides a stunning selection of open and globular star clusters, galaxies and a smattering of nebulae. If you have a telescope of at least small to medium aperture, galaxies such as the circumpolar Fireworks Galaxy in the constellation of Cep

The original Canon EOS 6D saw the birth of a new breed of camera – one that introduced beginner, enthusiast and amateur photographers to the idea of an accessible full-frame system. For those of us who baulk at the idea of spending thousands on pro o

Cost: £89.95 /$84.95 From: Nitecore 1 The brightest light here can shine at 1,750 lumens and gives you a 165-metre (541-foot) beam. It has been designed to preserve battery life and runs for 28 hours on a single charge on its lowest setting of 50 lum

Following the success of the Mercury and Gemini programs in the 1960s, NASA set about planning a series of manned missions to the Moon that would become known as the Apollo missions, under direction of John F. Kennedy to land a man on the Moon by 197

Editor Gemma Lavender [email protected] Art Editor Jonathan Wells Production Editor Nikole Robinson Senior Art Editor Duncan Crook Contributors Stuart Atkinson, Keith Cooper, David Crookes, Gabriel De la Torre, Briony Duguid, Curtis Fermor

Vivid clouds swirl across Jupiter’s skies like colourful brush strokes across a painting in a new photo from NASA’s Juno spacecraft. The image, taken during the spacecraft’s 61st close flyby of Jupiter on 12 May 2024, hones in on activity in the plan