Time moves differently in space – and a revolutionary European timepiece launched this week will prove it with unprecedented precision. The Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space (ACES) successfully reached orbit on April 21, launching aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The mission puts the most accurate timekeeping system ever sent … Read more
The James Webb Space Telescope has detected telltale signatures of a supermassive black hole lurking in the heart of galaxy M83, a discovery that challenges decades of assumptions about our galactic neighbor. Using Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), astronomers identified highly ionized neon gas in M83’s nucleus – specifically the emission lines of [Ne V] and … Read more
Scientists have discovered that Mars’ iconic rust-red appearance likely developed in a wetter environment than previously thought, challenging a longstanding theory about the planet’s geological history. For decades, researchers believed the Red Planet got its distinctive hue from anhydrous hematite, an iron oxide that forms in dry conditions. But a new study published in Nature … Read more
In a vast warehouse in Cologne, Germany, astronauts are walking on the Moon without ever leaving Earth. The European Space Agency’s LUNA facility, a 700-square-metre terrain filled with 900 tonnes of artificial lunar dust, is now combining physical simulation with virtual reality to prepare humans for returning to the lunar surface. The stark contrast between … Read more