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A year of science from the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer has brought results that are stimulating a re-examination of theoretical models of astrophysical sources.
Reports of four galaxies from when the Universe was 2% of its current age are as exciting as they are puzzling — leading scientists to question our galaxy formation and evolution models.
A change in policy that has allowed the public to use the Thiruvananthapuram Astronomical Observatory has brought about a consistent increase in visitors that is being spurred on by recent celestial events, such as the appearance of comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF).
Missions from various space agencies are going to be busy delivering material from different bodies throughout the upcoming decade, looking forward to the return of samples from Mars.
The success of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission is a giant leap for planetary defence. DART is an important milestone on the long road that still lies ahead for reducing the risk of a devastating natural object impact with Earth.
What is the link between the discovery of the relativistic expanding Universe and British imperialism? A public panel debate in the early days of relativistic cosmology shows how fundamental scientific research, whether there are obvious political stakeholders (like biosecurity and climate) or not, runs real-time risks of being repurposed for political ends.
Low Earth orbits are increasingly congested, impacting astronomical observations and dark skies. Globally coordinated regulatory policies and mitigation strategies are among urgent next steps to protect this shared environment and intangible heritage.
Light pollution affects every region on Earth, including at the poles and even above us in low-Earth orbit. That isn’t news. But the extent of the problem, laid out in our Focus on dark skies, is startling and should turn us all into activists.
