Category Science

As low Earth orbit becomes crowded, very low Earth orbit satellites are emerging as a promising alternative. Operating closer to Earth, they offer faster communication, sharper imaging, and better weather data. Advances in propulsion are helping overcome atmospheric drag, opening the door to wider use of this challenging but valuable orbital region.

SpaceX has launched its first Starlink mission of 2026, sending 29 satellites into low Earth orbit aboard a new Falcon 9 rocket. The booster completed a successful landing at sea, while the mission further expanded the company’s global broadband network, which now serves remote regions with limited internet access.

Astronomers have precisely measured the mass of a rogue planet wandering through the Milky Way using a rare gravitational microlensing event. By combining observations from ground-based telescopes across three continents with data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft, researchers determined the planet’s distance and found it to be about the mass of Saturn. The discovery pro...

Gravitational waves, first directly detected in 2015, have opened a new way of observing the universe. Now, physicist Ralf Schützhold of HZDR proposes going a step further—actively interacting with these ripples in spacetime using powerful lasers. His theoretical scheme builds on LIGO-style interferometers, where intense laser pulses bounce repeatedly along kilomet...

The elliptical galaxy NGC 4388, situated in the Virgo Cluster approximately 60 million light-years from Earth, features an intriguing long tail of glowing gas, as shown in a recent image uploaded to the Hubble site in late 2025. This galaxy, viewed edge-on from Earth’s perspective, displays a bright spur of ionized gas spilling out from its core. There is significan...

For a brief moment last year, northern Italy's night sky offered a spectacle rarely seen in a lifetime. From his home in Possagno, nestled in the Alps, photographer Valter Binotto captured an image showing two of Earth's rarest lightning phenomena occurring at the same time. Elves and sprites are forms of Transient Luminous Events (TLEs), which flash high above thunde...

For decades, astronomers have studied galaxy formation, but the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has now revealed a galaxy with a dual personality, earning it the nickname “Jekyll and Hyde.” Known as Virgil, the galaxy shows a mild-mannered side, forming stars quietly, while its hidden core harbours a heavily obscured supermassive black hole that pours out immens...

The end of 2025 saw bright auroras over northern skies following a strong solar flare. In October 2024, NASA noted that the Sun had entered its solar maximum phase. Experts predicted that the most frequent and intense Northern Lights would likely occur throughout 2026. Even though solar activity has technically begun its gradual decline since the 2024 peak, the Sun re...

New research points to fragments of a comet exploding over North America approximately 13,000 years ago, sparking firestorms and rapid cooling that could have contributed to the extinction of mammoths. Scientists report finding telltale “shocked” quartz grains at classic Clovis sites dating to the Younger Dryas boundary, evidence of intense heat and pressure. Thi...

Space weather scientists are monitoring a coronal mass ejection expected to reach Earth around January 2–3, 2026. NOAA forecasts a G2-level geomagnetic storm, which is considered moderate but can still affect satellites, power grids and radio communications. While the event may bring vivid auroras to high latitudes, it also highlights the Sun’s increasing activity...