Mars may have once hosted life. In 2024, Perseverance found minerals that, on Earth, would be clear biosignatures. A big discovery—but not yet proof of life beyond Earth. Plus: TRAPPIST-1e, a folly of a new Moon race, and the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. #space #astronomy #science

This is really not a surprise - the details of the project always made it impracticable. Fun idea, but not a realistic way to reach the stars any time soon.

In this incredible image, the Earth eclipses the Sun. Viewed by the returning astronauts of Apollo 12, and credit goes to them and to NASA. #space #art #historyofastronomy

What is it that lies beyond the edge of the solar system? What fills the space between the stars? These are questions we are beginning to answer - and, for the first time, we have probes that are venturing out into this untouched terrain. #science #space

Two years ago I published a list of serious and free physics resources. The idea was to create a guide for those studying physics, either alone or as part of a course. I'm now working on an update - and, if you know of free and good physics resources like those here, I'd love to hear of them. 🧪

A concept from 1969 of a space station. It was to be made of old Apollo stages, and to make sure the astronauts living there did not suffer from endless weightlessness, the station was supposed to constantly spin as it orbited the Earth. Credit, of course, to NASA. #space #art #NASA

Via #TimesNowNews - Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil best known for his 2012 supersonic skydive from the stratosphere, has died in a paragliding accident in Italy. He was 56 years old. www.timesnownews.com/world/who-wa...

Dark energy is pretty cool right? Or maybe it isn't. To be honest we don't know all that much about it. But it sure seems like it is going to play a big role in deciding the fate of the universe. And that makes it interesting enough for an article on the stuff. Check it out here!

My newsletter this week: on interstellar comets, how New Horizons is reviving the ancient art of celestial navigation, the top quark and toponium, and a study of the lost rivers of Mars. Oh, and some gorgeous celestial art thanks to the brilliant James Webb telescope. 🧪🔭

It's going to be an incredible moment if or when we snap a picture of an interstellar comet from the surface of another world.

Our Ariel mission will take us from 'discovering' towards 'studying and understanding' exoplanets. The mission will survey about 1000 exoplanets, ranging from rocky planets to gas giants, to better understand the link between exoplanets and their parent stars 👉 www.esa.int/Science_Expl... 🔭 🧪

In ten years time, when Americans are asking what went wrong, the last six months will be the answer.

It certainly feels like America is on the verge of a mistake that will be felt decades into the future.

In 2012 the NRO gave NASA two 2.4m diameter mirrors. One is part of the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope. What happened to the other? Is it forgotten in some warehouse somewhere, awaiting the funds to build another Hubble? Or did something else happen to it? 🔭

Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s hilarious, but my laughter would be less nervous if one of the guys didn’t have control of the biggest military in the world and the other one didn’t have rockets, a satellite network, and thousands of tactical-ready pickup trucks just sitting around.

Our statement on the full FY2026 NASA budget proposal: www.planetary.org/press-releas...

Waxing Crescent Moon. 2048UT 30 May 2025. 🔭 🧪 🎨 #astrophotography #SciArt #photography #StormHour #ThePhotoHour

Eleven thousand years a star exploded about nine hundred light years away. It was probably spectacular, but today all that remains is a tangled cloud of gas and dust with a fast spinning ball of neutrons hidden in its midst. This image is from ESO. 🔭 #space #art #eso

However big you think a supernova to be, the reality is bigger. To put it one way, an dying star can outshine the light of every other star in a galaxy; to put it another, a supernova at the distance of Pluto would hit you with more energy than a hydrogen bomb exploding just outside your front door.

In December 1968, after 7 years of development, the Saturn V launched astronauts to fly around the Moon. Starship is now at least 7 years into development and is still to go around the Earth even once. This is no longer a case of fail fast. It is becoming just failing. #StarshipFailure

Does anyone know if NASA has published any technical details about Isaacman's proposed Hubble repair mission a few years ago?

It is really hard to see how Artemis III will take place in its current form. The chances of Starship landing on the moon by 2028 are getting smaller and smaller. But at the same time, the SLS and Orion are likely to be scrapped after A3 - what then is America's plan to land on the Moon?

Lets unpack what happened with this starship flight 9 launch. There's some interesting stuff to notice. The launch seemed to go very smoothly. No noticeable issues with booster, which is becoming a trend.

🔭 Beneath Jupiter Image Credit & Copyright: NASA, Juno, SwRI, MSSS; Processing & License: Gerald Eichstädt & Seán Doran apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap25052...

Tromholt tried desperately to photograph the aurora in 1882. But the cameras of the day couldn't capture the faint and shimmering light, so eventually he admitted defeat. Instead of photographs, then, he made wonderful sketches like this. From the University of Bergen Library. #space #art 🔭

I cannot believe they raised $20 million for this ridiculous idea. But while we're on the topic, who wants to invest in my AI-enabled quantum space laser bitcoin company?

This also holds in reverse - philosophers have a terrible grasp of physics, and this is leading them into bad philosophical arguments.

Stars like our Sun are capable of producing solar flares, ones far bigger than anything we've seen in recent history. What happens if one hits the Earth? #space #science

The Helix Nebula, captured from the Atacama Desert of Chile. Credit: ESO. #space #astrophotography

A geologic relief map of France created in 1905 from the 'Service De La Carte Geologique detaillee de la France'. #France #Geology #Art #Maps #Cartography

It is possible, if you can move fast enough, to outpace the shadow of the Moon. In 1973 someone actually did this: they took a prototype of Concorde, cut holes in the roof for cameras and telescopes, and then flew at speed across the deserts of northern Africa. #science #space #astronomy #esa

The solar eclipse of 1869, photographed by Henry Morton and published in the first ever edition of Nature. #history #historyofastronomy #photography #space

Kepler's Rudolphine Tables, showing eclipses of the Sun and Moon. #historyofastronomy #history

The so-called Pythagoreans applied themselves to mathematics, and were the first to develop this science; and through studying it they came to believe that its principles are the principles of everything. - Aristotle, the Metaphysica. #science #math #history #historyofscience

Apollo 17 remains the heaviest-ever payload, coming in at a massive 140,000kg launched by the Saturn V.

The Kosmos spacecraft probably came down over the Indian Ocean, though some models hint at either Australia or parts of Central Asia.

This is a place where stars are being born, where fantastic winds are sculpting clouds of gas, and where streams of stardust are cascading out into the vastness of space. This is what the universe looks like to Hubble. Image credit: NASA, ESA, M. Livio #space #astronomy #hubble #art

Jupiter with its moon Europa on the left. To put the sizes in context, Europa is only slightly smaller than the Earth’s Moon, while the Earth could fit in the Great Red Spot three times over. Image credit: NASA, ESA, A. Simon, and M. H. Wong, and the OPAL team. #astronomy #space #art #hubble

It was only a matter of time, really.

Our cover this week.

This week I'm focusing on exoplanets - do worlds with two suns like Tatooine really exist? What happens when a planet falls into a star? And should we take claims of life on a distant planet seriously? #space 🧪🔭

The Chart of the Heavens, from Yaggy’s Geographical Study, 1887 #art #historyofastronomy #space

The partial solar eclipse shot this morning with my small solar scope in France. This is a combination of two layers, one overexposed to bring out the flares, and another shorter one for the chromosphere details. #Astrophotography 🔭📷

Voyager I has travelled 167AU from Earth, or roughly twenty-three light hours. Getting there took almost half a century. But could we go further? Could we send a probe not to the stars, but into interstellar space itself? And what might we find there? #science #astronomy #space #future #technology

Who is John Halsey? Is he the nice man of piracy? Does he have a plan? Where did all the dragons come from? Find out in this episode! www.podbean.com/eas/pb-4m6st...

The world, as depicted by al-Idrisi in 1154. North is at the bottom. #history #maps #art #historyofmaps

Did you know the number of hours in a day comes from the number of bones in our fingers? #history #historyofastronomy #space

An Eclipse of the Sun by the Earth, imagined from the lunar surface. James Nasymth, 1874 #art #historyofastronomy #space