compiled by Arlene & David Kaplan

Could a Giant Parasol in Outer Space Help Solve the Climate Crisis? It’s come to this. With Earth at its hottest point in recorded history, and humans doing far from enough to stop its overheating, a small but growing number of astronomers and physicists are proposing a potential fix that could have leaped from the pages of science fiction: The equivalent of a giant beach umbrella, floating in outer space…more

What Do You Call a Galaxy Without Stars? What do you call a galaxy without stars? Earlier this month, radio astronomers announced that they had discovered the darkest galaxy ever not quite seen, a cloud of hydrogen gas resembling our own Milky Way galaxy in many respects, such as its mass and rotation, but with no stars that anyone can discern…more

Ingenuity, the NASA Helicopter Flying Over Mars, Ends Its Mission New Ingenuity, the little Mars helicopter that could, can’t anymore. At least one rotor broke during the robotic flying machine’s most recent flight last week, NASA officials announced on Thursday. Ingenuity remains in contact with its companion, the Perseverance rover…more

James Webb Space Telescope makes rare detection of 2 exoplanets orbiting dead stars The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has already proven itself adept at peering into the past by imaging objects at tremendous distances, but a new breakthrough may have seen the powerful instrument act almost like a scientific crystal ball, staring into the far future of the solar system…more

That Famous Black Hole Gets a Second Look At the center of Messier 87, a giant galaxy 55 million light-years from Earth, is a darkness 24 billion miles across and as massive as 6.5 billion suns — a trapdoor to infinity called a black hole. In 2017, a group of astronomers operating the Event Horizon Telescope, a world-spanning network of radio telescopes…more

6 Great Space Images in January Sierra Space tested the strain its orbital module can handle. This is what it looks like when an inflatable space station module explodes. Second image shows when Japan’s SLIM spacecraft landed on the moon. It had engine problems and tipped over while landing, resulting in its solar panels initially pointing the wrong way to charge its batteries….more

Nuclear power on the moon: NASA wraps up 1st phase of ambitious reactor project NASA is wrapping up the design phase of a project to develop concepts for a small, electricity-generating nuclear fission reactor for use on the moon. The Fission Surface Power Project aims to develop safe, clean and reliable energy sources on the moon, where each nighttime lasts around 14.5 Earth days. Such a system could play a big role in the agency’s Artemis program for lunar exploration…more

A monster black hole is throwing a galaxy-size tantrum Astronomers have spotted a supermassive black hole throwing a temper tantrum on a galactic scale as it feeds, figuratively “flipping the table” and cutting off its parent galaxy’s gas supply needed to birth stars. The table-flipping behavior comes in the form of an ultrafast wind emerging from the lightly snacking supermassive black hole, which sits in a…more

Which telescope will be 1st to find alien life? Scientists have some ideas A peek into the future of exoplanet science suggests the forthcoming European Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) is going to give us our best chance in the next two decades of detecting biosignatures on nearby rocky worlds orbiting other stars. Such is the conclusion of a new study that simulated what it will take to characterize worlds outside…more

Surrey scientists to help build zero gravity space fuel system Experts at the University of Surrey are helping to build a revolutionary fuel gauge that will be tested aboard the International Space Station (ISS). The gauge can accurately measure how full a tank is in zero gravity by using electrical sensors. The Smart Tank for Space…more