Earth may have grown around a rock from an alien star system

Interstellar objects like ‘Oumuamua might pass through our solar system in such high numbers that one…

Pluto's dark side revealed by moonlight in pictures from New Horizons

After NASA’s New Horizons mission flew past Pluto in 2015, it turned around and took pictures…

US astronomers plan $11 billion telescope to picture another Earth

A massive report on priorities for the next decade of US astronomy recommends building a telescope…

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover tests new way to search for alien life

The search for life on Mars requires complex chemical analysis, which the Curiosity rover has tested…

Tardigrades could survive interstellar travel in extreme hibernation

The microscopic organisms have previously survived exposure to the vacuum of space and are able to…

Jupiter's Great Red Spot extends far deeper than we realised

We only had a skin-deep look at Jupiter before the Juno spacecraft began orbiting the planet…

Can Blue Origin help replace the International Space Station?

Blue Origin is one of a number of firms hoping to build a commercial space station,…

Satellites and junk are littering space and ruining our night skies

We are sending ever more stuff into space, and now megaconstellations of satellites risk causing light…

How to use Orion to find Canis Major and Canis Minor

The dog constellations, Canis Major and Canis Minor, seem to run along faithfully behind Orion. Here’s…

Why we need to get serious about solving the space junk problem

The overcrowding of low Earth orbit with commercial satellites is a problem for astronomers and the…