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Strange meteorites have been traced to their source craters on Mars

Mars rocks that were blasted off the surface of the Red Planet millions of years ago have been traced back to craters where they originated, which could transform our understanding of Mars’s volcanism and evolution




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Astronomers might finally have explanation for mysterious Wow! signal

A radio signal detected in 1977, sometimes claimed as evidence for aliens, may have been caused by a laser-like beam of microwave radiation




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Sam Howell: ‘One day we might look for life directly on Europa’

Sam Howell tells New Scientist why NASA is so keen to visit Jupiter’s fourth-largest moon, Europa, and how the mission could help us figure out the likelihood of life elsewhere in the cosmos




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Starlink tests show how to save radio astronomy from satellites

Radio astronomers teamed up with SpaceX to find a promising solution for helping expensive telescopes avoid interference from thousands of Starlink satellites




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Stranded ISS astronauts reveal the US space programme is not in crisis

The failure of Boeing's Starliner capsule has left two astronauts stuck in space for months – but also proved how private spaceflight can go right




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Falling satellite will give clues to how objects burn up on re-entry

A chance to observe the high-speed re-entry of a falling satellite will give researchers important insights on how debris burns up in our atmosphere




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Astronomers puzzled by little red galaxies that seem impossibly dense

‘Little red dot’ galaxies seen by JWST appear to be much more tightly packed with stars than other galaxies, raising big questions about how they came to be this way




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Huge asteroid impact may have knocked over Jupiter's largest moon

Ganymede, the largest moon in the solar system, has signs of an enormous ancient impact that would have redistributed its mass, changing its orientation in relation to Jupiter




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Two new books explore how UFOs captured the world’s imagination

Greg Eghigian's After the Flying Saucers Came and Luis Elizondo's Imminent both show how our fascination with UFOs goes beyond simple curiosity




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Get ready to spot comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS next month

Comet C/2023 A3, also known as Tsuchinshan–ATLAS, is expected to grace our skies from mid-October. Abigail Beall is hoping for a dazzling display




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SpaceX's Polaris Dawn mission blasts off for first civilian spacewalk

Four private astronauts are riding a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule further from Earth than any human since 1972, where they will attempt the first ever civilian spacewalk




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Astronomers worried by launch of five new super-bright satellites

Five satellites due to launch this week could be brighter than most stars, and astronomers fear the growth of such constellations could have a catastrophic impact




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Huge new volcano has burst through the surface of Jupiter’s moon Io

In between two spacecraft visiting Jupiter’s moon Io, a volcano spreading material over hundreds of kilometres has appeared




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Bubbles of gas 75 times larger than our sun spotted on another star

Gas bubbles on the surface of a star have been observed for the first time in detail outside our solar system, and they are 75 times the size of our sun




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Visible aurora spotted for the first time on Mars by NASA rover

If you were standing on Mars as it was hit by charged particles from the sun, you might be able to see an aurora just like on Earth




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Complex chemicals found on Enceladus improve prospects for life

The Cassini mission’s samples from Saturn’s moon Enceladus have signs of various organic molecules that could be among the ingredients needed for life to get started




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Polaris Dawn mission is one giant leap for private space exploration

The success of the all-civilian spacewalk on SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission shows that private space flight is starting to catch up with government space agencies




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Current laws cannot protect civilians in space if something goes wrong

As the space industry evolves, we need a new set of international regulations to decide who is responsible for safety, the number of satellites in space, and more




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Astronomy Photographer of the Year showcases world's best space images

See the world's best space images from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 award




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We’ve just doubled the number of gravitational waves we can find

Nearly imperceptible quantum flickers used to limit how precisely we could detect the way space-time ripples, but squeezing the laser light used in detectors overcomes this and doubles the number of gravitational waves we can see




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Bacteria on the space station are evolving for life in space

Genetic analysis shows that microbes growing inside the International Space Station have adaptations for radiation and low gravity, and may pose a threat to astronauts




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Astronauts may need medical evacuation from one-third of moon missions

Medically evacuating an astronaut from space is difficult and expensive, and a new model predicts that one in three long-duration moon missions may require it




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Planet in the 'forbidden zone' of dead star could reveal Earth's fate

A distant planet should have been consumed when its star expanded to become a red giant, perhaps offering insights into planetary migration




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Search for alien transmissions in promising star system draws a blank

Astronomers listened for radio signals emanating from planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system, but found no evidence of any interplanetary communications




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Signals from exotic new stars could hide in gravitational wave data

A computer simulation suggests that some collisions between exotic, hypothetical stars would make space-time ripple with detectable waves




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China's answer to SpaceX's Starlink is also threatening astronomy

The first 18 satellites of a planned Chinese mega constellation are brighter than all but 500 stars in the sky, raising fears of a huge impact on astronomy




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New Scientist recommends astronomy exhibition Borrowed Light in Berlin

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week




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Hera mission set to revisit asteroid after NASA's redirection test

The European Space Agency is sending a probe to get a closer look at the asteroid Dimorphos, which had its orbit altered by NASA’s DART mission in 2022




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Astronauts could one day end up eating asteroids

Bacteria grown from carbon compounds in asteroids could be turned into a kind of nutritionally balanced milkshake




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ESA prepares Hera mission to investigate aftermath of NASA DART impact

The European Space Agency's Hera spacecraft must be thoroughly tested before being sent to investigate the aftermath of the collision of NASA's DART probe with Dimorphos




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Earth may be about to pass through the ion tail of a comet

The ion tail of C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) could appear as a blue streak across the northern hemisphere sky during October, in a rare event thought to happen only every few decades




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New Scientist recommends HowTheLightGetsIn festival in London

The books, TV, games and more that New Scientist staff have enjoyed this week




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Understated sci-fi drama traverses themes of immigration and identity

Moin Hussain's debut feature film Sky Peals sees a man discover his father may be from outer space. Part sci-fi, part family drama, part coming-of-age tale, it is odd and otherworldly




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Complex form of carbon spotted outside solar system for first time

Complex carbon-based molecules crucial to life on Earth originated somewhere in space, but we didn't know where. Now, huge amounts of them have been spotted in a huge, cold cloud of gas




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Astronauts could hitch a ride on asteroids to get to Venus or Mars

Asteroids that regularly fly between Earth, Venus and Mars could provide radiation shielding for human missions to explore neighbouring planets




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Chinese rover finds further evidence for an ancient ocean on Mars

Data collected by the Zhurong rover and orbiting satellites suggests the existence of an ancient shoreline in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars




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We are a long way from pregnancy being safe on Mars

Dangerous radiation reaches Mars at levels we aren't exposed to on Earth, which makes the Red Planet a particularly dangerous place to be during pregnancy




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Our only visit to Uranus came at an unusual time for the planet

Voyager 2 flew by Uranus in 1986, giving us our only up-close look at the planet – but unusual space weather just before the craft arrived has given us a misleading idea about the planet’s magnetic field




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SpaceX targets Starship flight next week – just a month after last one

SpaceX is preparing for the sixth test flight of Starship, the world's most powerful rocket. Next week's launch – if successful – will be the fastest turnaround yet




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A new life on Mars? Expect toxic dust, bad vibes and insects for lunch

You might have heard about plans to establish a self‑sustaining city on Mars. Here’s what life would really be like on the Red Planet




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DeepMind AI gets silver medal at International Mathematical Olympiad

AlphaProof, an AI from Google DeepMind, came close to matching the top participants in a prestigious competition for young mathematicians




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AI can reveal what’s on your screen via signals leaking from cables

Electromagnetic radiation leaking from the cable between your computer and monitor can be intercepted and decoded by AI to reveal what you are looking at




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Period atmosphere is best part of game set on turbulent oil rig

In Still Wakes the Deep, you play as a Glaswegian electrician on a 1970s oil rig. The well-crafted setting gives way to horror, but I wish I could linger in mundanity for longer, says Jacob Aron




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AI put in charge of setting variable speed limits on US freeway

Roads with variable speed limits, designed to manage traffic flow, are normally adjusted according to simple rules, but a 27-kilometre section of the I-24 freeway near Nashville, Tennessee, is now overseen by an artificial intelligence




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Smartphone flaw allows hackers and governments to map your home

A newly identified smartphone vulnerability can reveal the floor plans of where you are and what you are doing - and it is possible that companies or intelligence agencies are already making use of it




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Don't disrespect Alan Turing by reanimating him with AI

Plans to create an interactive AI model of the legendary code breaker Alan Turing are reckless and problematic, says Matthew Sparkes




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Can AI make crime scene investigations less biased?

AI tools could help eliminate human bias in forensic investigations, say UCL scientists, who are using eye-tracking technology to study decision-making in skeletal analysis and crime scene examinations




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AI models can't learn as they go along like humans do

After their initial training phase, AI algorithms can’t update and learn from new data, meaning tech companies have to keep training new models from scratch




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A glob of jelly can play Pong thanks to a basic kind of memory

Researchers trained a polymer gel to play the computer game Pong by passing electric current through it and measuring the concentration of ions




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A simple driving trick could make a big dent in cars' carbon emissions

An AI-powered model found that approaching intersections more slowly could lower yearly US carbon emissions by up to around 123 million tonnes