A New Net-Membrane Could Clean Up Some Tricky Space Debris

We’ve reported on all kinds of wacky ideas for capturing and deorbiting space debris safely. From electric tethers to lasers, engineers and scientists have been trying everything they can think of to deal with the ever-increasing orbital debris problem. But one simple design keeps popping up over and over again - a net. A new paper from researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China details one of the most advanced net concepts yet - but whether we can actually build one remains to be seen.

The Square Kilometre Array Will Revolutionize the Hunt for Alien Life

With new technologies come new opportunities. And that is especially true in astronomy - with every new advanced telescope we have the potential to see (or in some cases, listen) further and more clearly than we ever have before. That is certainly the case for the new Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which is currently undergoing a multi-year roll out phase. Despite that drawn out process, astronomers are already excited about its potential, and a new book chapter from Dr. Chenoa Tremblay and her co-authors details how this new technology could be used to answer one of the most fundamental questions - are we alone?

Nearby "Super Earth" Could Host Life After All

Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought.Using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at McDonald Observatory, astronomers have taken a closer look at a nearby exoplanet and discovered it may be more Earth-like than previously thought.

Astronomers Characterize "Improbable" System Shaped by Brown Dwarf

An international team involving over ten institutions, with a strong participation from ESO and INAF, has characterised TOI-201 c, the transiting brown dwarf with the longest period for which mass has been measured. The study, published today in Nature, reveals a compact, coplanar system in which the presence of a massive, eccentric object redefines the stability boundaries for the inner planets

In Anticipation of New Horizons Entering Interstellar Space, Researchers are Developing a Solar Wind Forecasting Method

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists are using a solar wind forecasting method combined with analytic and numerical heliosphere models to find out where the first plasma boundary of the outer heliosphere lies as NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft hurtles toward this mysterious region of space.

A New Study into Dark Matter in the Bullet Cluster Could Disprove its Existence

A study led by the University of Bonn presents new data that calls the existence of Dark Matter - a fundamental pillar of the current cosmological model - into question.

Bending Spacetime Reveals New Planet Hidden in Archived TESS Data

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has captured evidence of a Jupiter-like world orbiting another star, using a trick straight out of Einstein’s relativity: gravitational microlensing. The technique marks a first for TESS, and opens up the possibility of a whole new category of planets the spacecraft might uncover.