Astronomy's 10-year wish list: Big money, bigger telescopes and the biggest questions in science

The astronomy and astrophysics decadal survey for the 2020s lays out plans to search for life on distant planets, understand the formation of galaxies and solve deep mysteries of physics.

Chris Impey, University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona • conversation
March 28, 2022 ~9 min

Star may offer clues to 300-year-old sunspot mystery

A nearby sun-like star may help solve a 300-year-old mystery of the "Maunder Minimum," a 70-year period when sunspots were incredibly rare.

Gail McCormick-Penn State • futurity
March 24, 2022 ~8 min


Scientists develop the largest, most detailed model of the early universe to date

Named after a goddess of the dawn, the Thesan simulation of the first billion years helps explain how radiation shaped the early universe.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
March 24, 2022 ~7 min

Lettuce in space could protect astronauts’ bones

Bone density loss is a problem for astronauts on long space flights. A new kind of lettuce astronauts could grow in space might solve the problem.

Andy Fell-UC Davis • futurity
March 23, 2022 ~4 min

Supermassive black holes put a brake on stellar births

Black holes with masses equivalent to millions of suns do put a brake on the birth of new stars, say astronomers. Using machine learning and three

Cambridge University News • cambridge
March 21, 2022 ~3 min

US Astronaut to Ride Russian Spacecraft Back to Earth

VOA Learning English • voa
March 19, 2022 ~4 min

Black hole probably caused Milky Way’s gigantic bubble duo

Scientists have debated the origin of two enormous bubbles above and below the Milky Way since 2020. A new study points at a supermassive black hole.

Morgan Sherburne-Michigan • futurity
March 17, 2022 ~8 min

A solar power station in space? Here’s how it would work – and the benefits it could bring

The UK government is reportedly considering a costly proposal to build a solar farm in space.

Jovana Radulovic, Head of School of Mechanical and Design Engineering, University of Portsmouth • conversation
March 17, 2022 ~7 min


Look! Up in the sky! Is it a planet? Nope, just a star

Among thousands of known exoplanets, MIT astronomers flag three that are actually stars.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
March 15, 2022 ~6 min

Black hole ‘billiards’ may explain mystery mergers

The answer to a complex mystery may involve a chaotic triple drama inside a giant disk of gas around a super massive black hole in a galaxy far, far away.

U. Copenhagen • futurity
March 14, 2022 ~9 min

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