![This is a Hubble Space telescope image of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. Hubble photographed the comet on 21 July 21 2025, when the comet was 445 million kilometres from Earth. Hubble shows that the comet has a teardrop-shaped cocoon of dust coming off its solid, icy nucleus. Because Hubble was tracking the comet moving along a hyperbolic trajectory, the stationary background stars are streaked in the exposure. [Image description: At the center of the image is a comet that appears as a teardrop-shaped bluish cocoon of dust coming off the comet’s solid, icy nucleus and seen against a black background. The comet appears to be heading to the bottom left corner of the image. About a dozen short, light blue diagonal streaks are seen scattered across the image, which are from background stars that appeared to move during the exposure because the telescope was tracking the moving comet.]](https://scienceblog.com/esa/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2025/08/Hubble_sizes_up_rare_interstellar_comet_pillars-300x200.jpg)
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured the clearest images yet of a rare interstellar visitor speeding through our solar system at an unprecedented 210,000 kilometers per hour, making it the fastest object ever recorded in our cosmic neighborhood. The comet, designated 3I/ATLAS, represents only the third known interstellar interloper detected in our solar system, following … Read more
For the first time, astronomers may have caught a planet forming in real time, watching as it sculpts the swirling gas and dust around its young host star. Using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Very Large Telescope, researchers observed a bright signal nestled within a spiral arm of the star HD 135344B’s protoplanetary disc—right where … Read more
Scientists have witnessed the earliest stages of planet formation ever observed, watching hot minerals crystallize into solid particles around a baby star 1,300 light-years away. This discovery, published in Nature, marks the first time researchers have caught a planetary system at the very moment when planets begin to form—providing a cosmic time machine to study … Read more
A young planet is literally making its star angry. Astronomers have discovered that HIP 67522 b, a gas giant orbiting dangerously close to its 17-million-year-old host star, triggers magnetic eruptions that bombard the planet with six times more radiation than it would normally receive. This cosmic act of self-destruction represents the first confirmed case of … Read more
A stellar detective story hundreds of years in the making has finally reached its conclusion. Astronomers using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope have captured the first visual evidence of a star that died not once, but twice—exploding in a rare double-detonation that left behind a distinctive fingerprint in the cosmic debris. The discovery … Read more
A 60-meter asteroid discovered late last year has astronomers on edge—not because it threatens Earth, but because it might crash into the Moon. Asteroid 2024 YR4, which briefly sparked global concern when its Earth impact probability reached 3%, has been ruled out as a threat to our planet. However, new calculations show a 4% chance … Read more
Two months after launch, Europe’s Biomass satellite has returned its first images—and they’re already revealing hidden secrets beneath some of the world’s most impenetrable forests. The spacecraft’s advanced radar can peer through dense Amazon canopies to measure the carbon locked inside tree trunks and branches, offering scientists an unprecedented tool for tracking how forests store … Read more
Europe’s newest guardian against cosmic threats has begun its watch. The European Space Agency’s Flyeye telescope achieved “first light” in late May, marking a pivotal moment for planetary defense as it started scanning the heavens for potentially hazardous near-Earth asteroids and comets. Unlike traditional telescopes that peer through a narrow window, this innovative system captures … Read more
Our galaxy might not be heading for the cosmic crash course that astronomers have predicted for decades. New research suggests there’s only a 50-50 chance the Milky Way will collide with the neighboring Andromeda galaxy over the next 10 billion years—a finding that upends one of astronomy’s most widely accepted predictions. For over a century, … Read more
This Saturday, Johann Strauss II’s immortal Blue Danube Waltz will travel farther than any concert hall audience could imagine—straight into deep space via a massive 35-meter antenna in Spain. The European Space Agency is marking half a century of satellite tracking with an unprecedented musical transmission that celebrates both technological achievement and artistic heritage. The … Read more