James Webb space telescope uncovers chemical secrets of distant world – paving the way for studying Earth-like planets Since the first planet orbiting a star other than the Sun was discovered in 1995, we have realised that planets and planetary systems are more diverse than we ever imagined. Such...
Neil Armstrong took his historic “one small step” on the Moon in 1969. And just three years later, the last Apollo astronauts left our celestial neighbour. Since then, hundreds of astronauts have been launched into space but mainly to the Earth-orbiting International Space Station. None has, in fact,...
NASA today successfully launched its largest-ever rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida at 01:47 local time (06:47 GMT). Today's launch follows two previous failed launch attempts which were aborted because of technical issues. NASA’s new Artemis mission aims to take the American Space Agency back to the...
Moray based rocket company Orbex has been granted a fifty-year lease on UK´s 1st mainland vertical launch spaceport site. The company will work with Spaceport specialist Jacobs to deliver the £20m construction project that will create forty new jobs in Sutherland. Orbex is known for its unique Orbex...
Zombie worlds: five spooky planets orbiting dead stars PIA. NASA/JPL All stars, including the Sun, have a finite lifetime. Stars shine by the process of nuclear fusion in which lighter atoms, such as hydrogen, fuse together to create heavier ones. This process releases vast quantities of energy which counteracts...
Venus: the trouble with sending people there Venus, often called Earth’s “evil twin” planet, formed closer to the Sun and has since evolved quite differently from our own planet. It has a “runaway” greenhouse effect (meaning heat is completely trapped), a thick carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere, no magnetic field and a...