Research Work Begins on the Habitable Worlds Observatory

By Mark Thompson June 5, 2024

NASA are planning on building a telescope to hunt for habitable worlds. The imaginatively named ‘Habitable Worlds Observatory’ is at least a decade away but NASA have started to develop the underlying technology needed. The contracts have been awarded to three companies to

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The JWST is Re-Writing Astronomy Textbooks

By Evan Gough June 5, 2024

When the James Webb Space Telescope was launched at the end of 2021, we expected stunning images and illuminating scientific results. So far, the powerful space telescope has lived up to our expectations. The JWST has shown us things about the early Universe we never

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Astronomers Have a New Way to Bypass Earth's Atmosphere

By Nancy Atkinson June 4, 2024

Radio telescopes have an advantage over optical telescopes, in that radio telescope can be used even in cloudy conditions here on Earth. That’s because the longer wavelengths of radio waves can pass through clouds unhindered. However, some wavelengths are still partially

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Chinese Probe Collects Moon Samples and Heads for Earth

By Alan Boyle June 4, 2024

China says its Chang'e-6 spacecraft has gathered up soil and rocks from the far side of the moon and has lifted off from the surface, beginning a journey to bring the samples back to Earth. The probe's payload represents the first lunar samples ever collected from

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How Mars' Moon Phobos Captures Our Imaginations

By Evan Gough June 4, 2024

For a small, lumpy chunk of rock that barely reflects any light, Mars' Moon Phobos draws a lot of attention. Maybe because it's one of only two moons to orbit the planet, and its origins are unclear. But some of the attention is probably because we have such great

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