Space

Space is a seemingly infinite world of wonder and discovery, filled with mysterious black holes, stunning solar flares, elusive exoplanets and countless cosmic oddities. Our team of expert science writers and editors are ready to hold a James Webb Space Telescope-size lens beyond Earth, keeping those on this planet up to date with the latest space news, articles and features. 

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Any asteroid larger than 165 feet (50 m) across is capable of breaching Earth's atmosphere and striking the ground. The sun's glare could be blinding us to thousands of them.
'Planet killer' asteroids are hiding in the sun's glare. Can we stop them in time? In the glare of the sun, an unknown number of near-Earth asteroids move on unseen orbits. A new generation of space telescopes could be our best defense against potential disaster.
Check out our best binoculars for stargazing. In this image, a man is standing behind his car using a pair of binoculars to look at the stars.
Best binoculars for stargazing 2023: Spot stars and galaxies View our top picks of for the best binoculars for stargazing and astronomy, and peer into the cosmos whilst staying grounded.
Illustration of tractor beam in space
Sci-fi inspired tractor beams are real, and could solve a major space junk problem Researchers are developing a real-life tractor beam, with the goal of pulling defunct satellites out of geostationary orbit to alleviate the space junk problem.

Latest about Space

A view of the outside of the OSIRIS-REx sample collector. Sample material from asteroid Bennu can be seen on the middle right. Scientists have found evidence of both carbon and water in initial analysis of this material. The bulk of the sample is located inside.

'What is that material?': Potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu stumps scientists with its odd makeup

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Scientists found signs of organic molecules in the first samples of potentially hazardous asteroid Bennu, as well as a 'head scratching' material that has yet to be identified.

Space Exploration
A composite image of the Bullet Cluster, a much-studied pair of galaxy clusters that have collided head on. One has passed through the other, like a bullet traveling through an apple, and is thought to show clear signs of dark matter (blue) separated from hot gases (pink).

The 1st life in the universe could have formed seconds after the Big Bang

By Paul Sutter published

The first life-forms capable of evolution could have appeared just moments after the Big Bang, a physicist explains.

Space
An artist's concept of a tidal disruption event (TDE) that happens when a star passes fatally close to a supermassive black hole, which reacts by launching a relativistic jet.

Humans could use black holes as batteries, physics paper claims. Here's how.

By Jacklin Kwan published

Black holes are some of the most powerful objects in the universe — and humans could devise ways to harness that power as an energy source, a new theoretical study claims.

Black Holes
Someone using one of the best telescopes

Best telescopes 2023: Beginner and advanced scopes for viewing the stars

By Jase Parnell-Brookes last updated

Unearth the stars at home with the best telescopes: reflectors, refractors, & cassegrains to suit every astronomer's budget.

Space
X-37B space plane encapsulated ahead of its sixth mission.

Secretive X-37B space plane  to launch aboard SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket tonight after delays

By Josh Dinner published

Liftoff of the military's elusive X-37B space plane is scheduled for 8:14 p.m. ET on Monday (Dec. 11).

Space Exploration
The greenish comet 46P/Wirtanen is responsible for the new shooting stars.

Brand-new meteor shower from 'Christmas comet' may appear over Earth for 1st time this week

By Abha Jain published

A brand-new meteor shower triggered by the 'Christmas comet' 46P/Wirtanen may appear over Earth for the first time on Dec. 12, though it will be visible from only a small sliver of the world.

Meteoroids
This artistic rendering shows ice plumes being ejected from Enceladus at major speeds.

Signs of life shooting from Saturn's moon could be collected with spacecraft, scientists say

By Rahul Rao published

Possible amino acids spewing from Enceladus' subsurface ocean can survive impact with a spacecraft, lab experiments show.

Saturn
A magical night in the Atacama Desert.

Space photo of the week: 'Magical' Milky Way cuts through the Valley of the Moon in Chile's Atacama Desert

By Jamie Carter published

Astrophotographer Petr Horálek shot this image of the Milky Way dazzling above strange geological formations in the desert close to the ALMA radio telescope array in Chile.

Astronomy
An illustration of the solar system and the planet's orbits around the sun

How many times has Earth orbited the sun?

By Harry Baker published

We worked out how many trips each of the solar system's eight planets has taken around the sun over the past 4.6 billion years.

Planets
An aerial view of a volcanic island as it forms off the coast of Iwo Jima.

Newly-formed volcanic island near Japan is still growing, satellite reveals

By Robert Lea published

The island forged in fire off the coast of Japan in Oct this year is still growing, as seen in a Copernicus Sentinel-2 image caught on Nov. 27.

Space
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