Out of this world: the LEGO bricks “space bricks” have been made using a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite. (Courtesy: LEGO) LEGO has teamed up with the European Space Agency (ESA) to create several “space bricks” made from a 4.5 billion-year-old meteorite. The particular meteorite was discovered in north-west Africa in 2000 and is a “brecciated stone”…

“Warp drives” used by super-advanced alien civilizations may create specific space-time ripples in their wake that we can spot from Earth, a new paper argues. However, the jury is still out on whether the faster-than-light technology is even possible to create in the first place.  A warp drive is a hypothetical device that enables an…

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected SpaceX to launch a small gamma-ray astronomy mission on a Falcon 9 in 2027. NASA announced July 2 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX to launch the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) spacecraft, a small Explorer-class, or SMEX, mission into low Earth orbit. The contract, valued at about $69…

Astronomers have discovered two new satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, and these findings could help us better understand dark matter — the mysterious stuff that accounts for around 85% of the matter in the universe yet remains effectively invisible to us. The discoveries also move scientists a step closer to solving a lingering problem…

It’s the best time of the year to see the Milky Way. In July and August, as seen from the Northern Hemisphere, the bright center of our galaxy becomes visible, but only to those in the right place at the right time. If the skies are clear, it’s possible to see billions of stars arching…

Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket lifts off during the NS-25 astronaut mission on May 19. Credit: Blue Origin. The U.S.-based Space Exploration and Research Agency (SERA), which describes itself as a “space agency for everyone,” will fly citizens from India, Nigeria, and the small island developing states (SIDS) to the edge of the atmosphere in partnership with…

Space and photography fans are in for a treat. The Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition has returned, with its sixteenth edition shortlist featuring a stunning array of photographs. London’s Royal Museums Greenwich received a whopping 3,500 entries from both amateur and professional photographers globally, each of whom captured a breathtaking glimpse of space. The…

LEGO’s European Space Agency collaboration created a Space Brick, made from meteorite dust and other materials. The material could one-day build infrastructure on the Moon and beyond. Credit: LEGO Scientists at the European Space Agency (ESA) collaborated with Lego to 3D-print bricks made from space dust. The material — and the interlocking way that Lego…

If you’ve always wanted to witness a stellar explosion, your time is about to come.  T Coronae Borealis, also known as T CrB (pronounced tee-core-bore) or the “Blaze Star,” is on the precipice of a massive explosion — one that should be visible from Earth. According to calculations by Brad Schaefer, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy at…

<a href="https://physicsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1-07-24-Starlink_Satellites_over_Carson_National_Forest-M-Lewinsky.jpg" data-fancybox data-src="https://physicsworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/1-07-24-Starlink_Satellites_over_Carson_National_Forest-M-Lewinsky.jpg" data-caption="Re-entry risks The rapid roll-out of satellite mega-constellations such as Starlink (photographed here over Carson National Forest, New Mexico) could pose a threat to Earth’s protective ozone layer. (Courtesy: M. Lewinsky/CC BY 4.0)”> Re-entry risks The rapid roll-out of satellite mega-constellations such as Starlink (photographed here over Carson National Forest, New…