solar sail

Want the Fastest Solar Sail? Drop it Into the Sun First

A new study from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy shows how a "Sun Diver," a light sail that dives…

4 years ago

LightSail 2 is Still Solar Sailing, But it’s Getting Lower and Lower with Each Orbit

LightSail 2 deployed it solar sail five months ago, and it's still orbiting Earth. It's a successful demonstration of the…

4 years ago

The Light Sail is Working… It’s Working!

Good news from The Planetary Society: LightSail 2's solar sail is functioning as intended. After launching on June 25th, then…

5 years ago

LightSail 2 is Sending Home New Pictures of Earth

LightSail 2, the brainchild of The Planetary Society, has gifted us two new gorgeous images of Earth. The small spacecraft…

5 years ago

Exactly How We Would Send our First Laser-Powered Probe to Alpha Centauri

In a recent study, an international team of scientists present their concept for a lightsail and spacecraft that could make…

5 years ago

There Could be Hundreds of Interstellar Asteroids and Comets in the Solar System Right Now That we Could Study

According to a new study, there could be hundreds of identifiable objects in our Solar System like 'Oumuamua, some of…

5 years ago

Do Stars Move? Tracking Their Movements Across the Sky

The stars look static in the sky, but are they moving? How fast, and how do we know? What events…

7 years ago

Can We Really Get to Alpha Centauri?

It’s going to be almost impossible to travel to another star, but a new idea was announced that might get…

8 years ago

Will We Ever Reach Another Star?

We hear about discoveries of exoplanets every day. So how long will it take us to find another planet like…

9 years ago