The above image might not look unusual, but it poses an interesting mystery for astronomers. Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, it is an image of an ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) known as FCC

Dimethyl Sulfide (DMS) has been in the news again, this time for its discovery in the atmosphere of the hycean world K2-18b as a potential biosignature. In an interesting twist, astronomers have also detected DMS in comets and in giant molecular clouds. It shows there must be an abiotic way for this chemical to be produced. A team of researchers have studied DMS and developed different gas phase reactions that could produce this chemical and explain its presence that doesn’t require life.

Take a look at the Moon through binoculars or a telescope and its clear that its been bombarded through history by space rocks. Some of the impacts are energetic enough that debris is ejected from the surface facer than the Moon’s escape velocity. Much of this rock finds its way to Earth and now, a team of researchers announce they have been simulating these events. They simulated asteroid impacts and tracked the debris that escaped the lunar surface and were surprised at just how much of the ejecta found its way to Earth.

Looking up at the night sky, it’s reasonable to believe that our Solar System is largely empty after all the only things easily visible are the planets. In reality its a cosmic shooting gallery and it’s just a matter of time before an asteroid slams into Earth. A team of scientists propose that space agencies develop a rapid-response flyby reconnaissance mission to reach potential asteroid threats within 2.5 years of detection.

Telescopes can have more than one sensor. Those sensors can utilize some of the same infrastructure, like lenses and mirrors, and specialize in collecting different data. A good example of this is the Inouye Solar Telescope (IST). It is the largest solar telescope in the world, with a primary mirror diameter of 4 meters. It also has five separate instruments, four of which are currently in operation. The latest of these to come online is the Visible Tunable Filtergraph (VTF), which just collected its first light according to a press release by the Max Planck Institute for Solar Research, one of the project partners.

About 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the first atoms formed. The first light of what we now see as the cosmic microwave background was released, and the primordial hydrogen and helium grew cold and dark. The cosmos entered a dark age for about 100 million years until the first stars and galaxies started to form. You could say the rise of galaxies marked cosmic morning. But star formation didn't really kick into gear for another 2-3 billion years, during what astronomers call cosmic noon. This period can be difficult to observe, but a new study gives us an unprecedented view of this epoch.

The Milky Way has more than 30 known satellite galaxies. The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are the largest and most well-known; other lesser-known ones, like the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy, are also on the list. Astronomers think there are many more small satellites that are difficult to detect but essential in understanding the Milky Way. The Vera Rubin Observatory should help astronomers find many more of them.

We associate complex chemistry with planets or other bodies, where energy and matter interact in dynamic associations. But as science advances, researchers are finding prebiotic chemistry in a wider variety of places, including in space itself. New research shows that some prebiotic chemicals, part of the recipe for life itself, can form in the cold vacuum of space.

I do love the names of the European Southern Observatory installations. You are familiar I’m sure with the Very Large Telescope but have you heard of the Overwhelmingly Large Telescope? It was intended to house a 100m mirror but never got commissioned due to its complexity. There is however, an Extremely Large Telescope with a 39 metre mirror and its due to be completed in a couple of years. This image was taken on 12 April 2025 by photographer Eduardo Garcés showing its progress.

Occasionally, the Universe seems to literally smile upon us. If skies are clear Friday morning on April 25th, early rising sky watchers may witness a rare scene, as brilliant Venus and fainter Saturn form the ‘eyes’ and a thin crescent Moon nearby completes the ‘grin’ low to the east at dawn.