Category: Space and Astronomy

  • Asteroid? Nope, It’s Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster Cruising Through Space

    Asteroid? Nope, It’s Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster Cruising Through Space

    Less than a day after astronomers announced the discovery of a new asteroid, they issued a correction. The space-faring object wasn’t a space rock after all, they concluded. It was a car. And not just any car speeding through our galaxy, but a red Tesla Roadster belonging to Elon Musk. Musk famously shot his personal…

  • IAU-OAD to Fund 13 Astronomy-for-Development Projects in 2025

    IAU-OAD to Fund 13 Astronomy-for-Development Projects in 2025

    January 28, 2025 Source: Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) The International Astronomical Union’s Office of Astronomy for Development (IAU-OAD) will support 13 global projects in 2025, selected to receive a total of EUR 69,500. Two ongoing multi-year projects have received EUR 21,000 for their second and third year of funding. This represents a 42.48%…

  • Astronomers discover 196-foot asteroid with 1-in-83 chance of hitting Earth in 2032

    Astronomers discover 196-foot asteroid with 1-in-83 chance of hitting Earth in 2032

    A newly discovered asteroid, designated 2024 YR4, has a 1-in-83 chance of striking Earth in December of 2032. The asteroid is estimated to be 196 feet (60 meters) wide, and it is currently 27 million miles away. The near-Earth object (NEO) discovered in 2024, which is around half as wide as a football field is…

  • Space Industry Adds Threats to Astronomy, Light Pollution Remains a Big Problem

    Space Industry Adds Threats to Astronomy, Light Pollution Remains a Big Problem

    Rocket exhaust created a multi-tailed plume after the Firefly Alpha launch from Vandenburg Space Force Base on September 14, 2023, as seen from McDonald Observatory, Texas, 1,000 miles away. Stephen Hummel (McDonald Observatory) Satellites provide so many benefits it’s hard to imagine life without them, from predicting our weather to guiding our travel to providing…

  • Astronomers call for global ban on space advertising visible from Earth

    Astronomers call for global ban on space advertising visible from Earth

    Astronomers are raising concerns about the growing threat of space advertising that could be visible from the ground, calling for an international ban to preserve the integrity of the night sky for scientific research. At a briefing during the 245th Meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) earlier this month, the organization announced a statement…

  • Young Sheldon Of India: 14-Year-Old Daksh Malik Discovers An Asteroid, Gets A Nod From NASA, Says ‘Want To Name It T-Minus’

    Young Sheldon Of India: 14-Year-Old Daksh Malik Discovers An Asteroid, Gets A Nod From NASA, Says ‘Want To Name It T-Minus’

    At just 14, Daksh Malik, has etched his name in the vast cosmos by achieving what many can only dream of. His preliminary detection of an asteroid, submitted last year, has been officially confirmed by NASA as a ‘Provisional Discovery of a Main Belt Asteroid’. Designated as 2023 OG40, Daksh’s discovery is a groundbreaking achievement…

  • Astronomers Discover Exoplanets Falling Apart in Space

    Astronomers Discover Exoplanets Falling Apart in Space

    Astronomers have found two planets around two separate stars that are succumbing to their stars’ intense heat. Both are disintegrating before our telescopic eyes, leaving trails of debris similar to a comet’s. Both are ultra-short-period planets (USPs) that orbit their stars rapidly. These planets are a rare sub-class of USPs that are not massive enough…

  • Breakthrough technology spots mysterious space signals

    Breakthrough technology spots mysterious space signals

    New space-sifting technology developed by Australian astronomers and engineers has detected more than 20 mysterious signals, with the scientists hailing the technology as a “game changer for international astronomy.” CRACO, developed by astronomers and engineers at Australia’s national science agency CSIRO and installed on CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope, is made up of a cluster of…

  • New CSIRO technology detects more than 20 mysterious signals in space

    New CSIRO technology detects more than 20 mysterious signals in space

    More than 20 mysterious signals have been detected in space after a team of Australian researchers began sifting through intergalactic signals. Their success has been likened to sorting through grains of sand at the beach. It was the first trial of new technology developed in Australia by astronomers and engineers at Australia’s national science agency…

  • Australian innovation ‘sifts’ space for mysteries

    Australian innovation ‘sifts’ space for mysteries

    28 January 2025 News Release The first trial of an Australian-developed technology has detected mysterious objects by sifting through signals from space like sand on a beach.  Astronomers and engineers at CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, developed the specialised system, CRACO, for their ASKAP radio telescope to rapidly detect mysterious fast radio bursts and other…