News
6 things learned about Earth from meteorites and comets
Comets and meteorites aren’t just space rocks; they’re a window into the history of Earth and have plenty to teach about the planet’s formation.
Tag: space
News
Avoiding asteroids: What do we do without a planetary defence mission?
NASA just shut down a planetary defence mission that tracks asteroids. So, what happens now?
Science & Environment
Astronomers liken gamma-ray bursts to lighthouse beams
What would happen if time suddenly began running backwards? Of course, it can’t do that, but the question is one that recently crossed the minds of a team of astronomers in the USA.
News
Look up: A once-in-a-lifetime explosion is about to create a ‘new’ star in the sky
Any night now, a “new star” or nova will appear in the night sky. While it won’t set the sky ablaze, it’s a special opportunity to see a rare event that’s usually difficult to predict in advance.
Science & Environment
Australia’s space race: From red dirt to the stars
Despite the lack of a strong, overarching national strategy, engineers, scientists, academics and entrepreneurs across the continent have been busy developing Australia into a spacefaring nation, building our modern space industry from the ground up.
Science & Environment
Stargazing in broad daylight
Astronomers at Macquarie University have pioneered a new technique for observing celestial objects during the day, potentially allowing around-the-clock visual monitoring of satellites and greatly improving safety on Earth and in space.
News
What your school textbook didn’t tell you about the Earth’s orbit
Earth, the Sun and a bike wheel: why your high-school textbook was wrong about the shape of Earth’s orbit.
Science & Environment
‘The most hellish place in the universe’: this black hole eats a star a day
Thanks to a huge astronomical survey of the entire sky, we have now found what may be the most hellish place in the universe.
Science & Environment
Running rings around galaxies
When someone mentions a galaxy, odds are you’ll imagine a disc-like whirlpool of stars rotating majestically in space. If you grew up in Britain, you’d probably imagine a chocolate bar, but that’s a different story.
Science & Environment
Exploring the Solar System’s beauty spots
Spots are probably best known as the bane of a teenage face, but you might be surprised to know that a propensity for spots is also a characteristic of other worlds.