Ward: Society

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How to Watch the Ursids Winter Solstice Meteor Shower

The Ursids this weekend are a winter solstice light show.

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Engineering the First Reusable Launchpads on the Moon

Engineers need good data to build lasting things. Even the designers of the Great Pyramids knew the limestone they used to build these massive structures would be steady when stacked on top of one another, even if they didn’t have tables of the compressive strength of those stones. But when attempti…

218

There’s a new space race – will the billionaires win?

The commercialisation of the cosmos is already underway, and our current laws aren’t fit for purpose If there is one thing we can rely on in this world, it is human hubris, and space and astronomy are no exception.The ancients believed that everything revolved around Earth. In the 16th century, Cope…

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Proposed Space Station Could Be Deployed in a Single Launch

A prototype of Max Space's Thunderbird could launch as early as 2027.

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Astrophysicists map the invisible universe using warped galaxies

By studying tiny distortions in the shapes of distant galaxies, scientists mapped dark matter and dark energy across one of the largest sky surveys ever assembled. Their results back the standard picture of the universe and show that even archival telescope images can unlock cosmic mysteries.

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Solstices and equinoxes in a video from space

See how sunlight falls on Earth's surface during the solstices and equinoxes, and get a better understanding of why Earth's tilt causes the seasons.
The post Solstices and equinoxes in a video from space first appeared on EarthSky.

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Moon phase today: What the moon will look like on December 21

See the moon phase expected for December 21, 2025 as well as when the next full moon is expected.

111

Astronauts, launch teams practice Artemis 2 countdown

The run-through simulated day-of-launch activities, included suit up, ingress into the Orion spacecraft and a countdown that stopped just shy of T-0.

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First Contact With an Alien Civilization Could Be 'Loud'. Here's Why.

Shouting across the void.

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German engineer becomes first wheelchair user launched into space

A German aerospace engineer made history Saturday, becoming the first wheelchair user to go into space when she took a 10-minute trip aboard a Blue Origin rocket.

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Research Notes of the AAS Celebrates Its 2,000th Publication

Since 2017, the Research Notes of the American Astronomical Society (RNAAS) has provided a venue for brief research reports, student work, null results, and more. Editor Chris Lintott shares his reflections on a recent RNAAS milestone: 2,000 Notes.
The post Research Notes of the AAS Celebrates Its 2…

208

A Slowly Spinning Pulsar Below the Death Line

A serendipitous discovery illuminates the kinds of objects that might bridge the gap between pulsars and long-period radio transients.
The post A Slowly Spinning Pulsar Below the Death Line appeared first on AAS Nova.

130

Seeing an Active Galactic Nucleus with 20/20 X-Ray Vision with XRISM

Astrobites reports on the first observations of an active galactic nucleus by the X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission.
The post Seeing an Active Galactic Nucleus with 20/20 X-Ray Vision with XRISM appeared first on AAS Nova.

322

COSMIC-S: A Photometric Catalog of Observed Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Antonio Franco et al 2025 ApJS 277 33 Using a telescope suited to the study of crowded star fields, researchers have produced a 10,971,906-object catalog of stars toward the Small Magellanic Cloud.
The post COSMIC-S: A Photometric Catalog of Observed Stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud appeared firs…

112

Exo-Saturns and Exo-Jupiters Are Within JWST’s Reach

New research suggests that JWST is capable of directly imaging planets that resemble the gas giants in our solar system, provided they orbit nearby stars.
The post Exo-Saturns and Exo-Jupiters Are Within JWST’s Reach appeared first on AAS Nova.

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Astronomers Find the First Compelling Evidence of "Monster Stars" in the Early Universe

Using the James Webb Space Telescope, a team of international researchers has discovered chemical fingerprints of gigantic primordial stars that were among the first to form after the Big Bang.

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James Webb Telescope Spots the Most Distant Supernova Ever Seen

An international team of astronomers has, for the first time, successfully probed the early universe. An international group of astronomers has reached a new milestone in studying the early universe. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the team identified a supernova, the catastrophic explo…

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Astronomers May Have Spotted a Never-Before-Seen “Superkilonova” Hidden Inside a Supernova

A double explosion may have generated both gravitational waves and light. When the largest stars exhaust their fuel, they end their lives in powerful supernova explosions. These blasts scatter heavy elements such as carbon and iron into space, helping enrich the universe. A different and far rarer k…

109

Artemis II Crew Rehearse Launch Day Demonstration

The four astronauts set to fly around the Moon during NASA’s Artemis II test flight depart the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, during a dress rehearsal for launch day on Dec. 20, 2025. From left are CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astro…

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Astronomers spot dusty aftermath of powerful collisions

In a search of exoplanets, scientists see the first-ever impacts between large objects in a nearby star system.