Mark Thompson
Does the Milky Way Have Too Many Satellite Galaxies?
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are well known satellite galaxies of the Milky Way but there are more. It…
First Light from Einstein Probe: A Supernova Remnant
On 9 January 2024, the Einstein probe was launched, its mission to study the night sky in X-rays. The first…
Galaxies Evolved Surprisingly Quickly in the Early Universe
Anyone familiar with astronomy will know that galaxies come in a fairly limited range of shapes, typically; spiral, elliptical, barred-spiral…
Measuring Exoplanetary Magnetospheres with the Square Kilometer Array
Life on Earth would not be possible without food, water, light, a breathable atmosphere and surprisingly, a magnetic field. Without…
Psyche is Still Sending Data Home at Broadband Speeds
When I heard about this I felt an amused twinge of envy. Over the last year I have been using…
Astronomers Will Get Gravitational Wave Alerts Within 30 Seconds
Any event in the cosmos generates gravitational waves, the bigger the event, the more disturbance. Events where black holes and…
Japan’s Lunar Lander Survives its Third Lunar Night
Space travel and exploration was never going to be easy. Failures are sadly all too common but it's wonderful to…
Black Holes Can Halt Star Formation in Massive Galaxies
It’s difficult to actually visualise a universe that is changing. Things tend to happen at snails pace albeit with the…
Mapping the Milky Way’s Magnetic Field in 3D
We are all very familiar with the concept of the Earth’s magnetic field. It turns out that most objects in…
NASA’s New Solar Sail Has Launched and Will Soon Deploy
Solar Sails are an enigmatic and majestic way to travel across the gulf of space. Drawing an analogy to the…