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Astronomy group finds Starlink satellites will have 'negative impact'

The International Astronomical Union has concluded a review of satellite mega constellations such as SpaceX's Starlink satellites and found they will have a major impact on large telescopes, but not naked eye astronomy




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An exoplanet is generating radio waves from its red dwarf sun

For the first time, astronomers have spotted an exoplanet by detecting radio waves generated by interactions with its parent star




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Journey to the Savage Planet review: It's wacky but not in a good way

There’s nothing like crash-landing on an alien planet. Journey to the Savage Planet doesn't always get it right, but it has echoes of classic Metroid Prime, says Jacob Aron




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A wobbling star may explain pattern of weird radio signals from space

We’ve spotted strange blasts of radio waves from space in a pattern that may be produced by a magnetised neutron star wobbling as it spins




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For All Mankind review: A superb alternative history of the space race

When the Soviet Union lands on the moon first people in the US are shocked. But For All Mankind provides an even bigger surprise when one cosmonaut's identity is revealed, says Emily Wilson




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Five things we have learned about Mars from NASA's InSight mission

NASA’s InSight lander has been on the surface of Mars for over a year now – here are five of its strangest and most fascinating discoveries from the Red Planet




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China’s rover has discovered what lies beneath the moon’s far side

China’s Yutu-2 rover has used radar to peer 40 metres under the surface of the far side of the moon and revealed how past impacts have shaped its geology




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The atmosphere gets in the way of the universe’s most amazing objects

Earth’s atmosphere thankfully provides air for us to breathe, but when trying to study interesting objects in space it causes all sorts of problems, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein




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Rocket start-up Astra tries back-to-back launches to win $12 million

A space flight start-up called Astra is about to attempt to launch two small rockets into orbit over a few weeks to win $12 million from the US military




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Astronomers have discovered the biggest explosion in the universe

A huge black hole in a distant galaxy caused the largest explosion we have ever seen, with the energy of 10 billion suns – and it isn't clear why it was so big




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Weird star was born when two white dwarfs merged instead of blowing up

White dwarf stars are common in the galaxy, but astronomers have found one that doesn't seem to obey the rules. They think it was born when two smaller white dwarfs merged together




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Have we really found an alien protein inside a meteorite?

A team of researchers say they have discovered a protein molecule inside a meteorite, the first extraterrestrial example ever found, but others are sceptical




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Neutrinos determined where galaxies formed in the early universe

In the early universe, particles called neutrinos had a starring role in determining where galaxy clusters formed and which elements were created when stars exploded




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Black hole from the early universe is blasting us with a powerful jet

A huge black hole from when the universe was less than a billion years old is shooting a powerful jet at Earth, and studying it could help us understand the young cosmos




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Oxygen in lunar rocks suggests the moon formed in huge collision

A leading theory for the formation of the moon is that a planet called Theia smashed into the early Earth, but doubts remain. Now a new analysis of lunar rock supports this idea




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Liquid iron rain spotted on super-heated exoplanet WASP-76b

Exoplanet WASP-76b, which is about 390 light years from the solar system, has a strange iron signature in its atmosphere, suggesting the metal is raining down on the planet's night side




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Comet 67P is hiding nitrogen that could solve a solar system mystery

The Rosetta spacecraft’s measurements of comet 67P have revealed a hidden source of nitrogen that may help us learn how giant planets – and even life – formed




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Mars may once have had right conditions for RNA to develop into life

When Mars was young, parts of the planet may have been able to sustain RNA, a molecule that probably played a key role in the beginnings of life on Earth




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Strange lines on Venus may be folded stacks of lava eroded by wind

Venus’s surface is covered in strange wiggling lines that may form when colossal stacks of lava are carved by gentle winds over hundreds of millions of years




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Bombing asteroid Ryugu reveals it is a spritely 9 million years old

The Hayabusa-2 spacecraft bombed the asteroid Ryugu in April. Analysing the crater it left behind suggests Ryugu is a relative youngster at 9 million years old




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Interstellar comet Borisov may be breaking up as it exits solar system

The first-ever interstellar comet is showing signs of brightening, suggesting it may have been heated up as it passed near to the sun




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Tiny meteorite found in Antarctica came from an unknown asteroid

A tiny meteorite found in Antarctica doesn’t match any asteroid or comet we know of. Instead, it must have come from a mystery parent body that’s full of water




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Pluto formed quickly with a deep ocean covering its entire surface

Pluto’s ancient oceans may have come about just after the icy world was born, melting from ice in a process that suggests the dwarf planet took just 30,000 years to form




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Venus may have an underground magma ocean spanning the whole planet

When Earth and Venus formed, they both had global magma oceans deep underground. Earth’s has turned solid by now, but Venus’s may still remain hidden




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Supermassive stars may have formed by repeatedly eating their siblings

Some black holes are way bigger than we can explain, and they may have come from supermassive stars that formed by devouring the other stars around them




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Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: The unsung discoverer of star chemistry

Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin, who discovered that hydrogen dominates our universe, finally gets the recognition she deserves in a rich biography, What Stars Are Made Of




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We may have spotted a parallel universe going backwards in time

Strange particles observed by an experiment in Antarctica could be evidence of an alternative reality where everything is upside down




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Vast worlds called brown dwarfs have extraordinarily powerful winds

Brown dwarfs, which are halfway between huge planets and small stars, have extremely powerful winds whipping around them at speeds of about 650 metres per second




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Long space flights can increase the volume of astronauts’ brains

Spending at least six months in microgravity can cause astronauts’ brain volumes to increase, causing pressure to build up in their heads and creating vision problems




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The orbit of a star near our galaxy’s black hole proves Einstein right

A star that swoops close to the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has a strange, looping orbit that proves Einstein was right about the gravity of black holes




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Asteroid Arrokoth may have broken its neck in 6400 km per hour impact

Arrokoth, a strange two-lobed space rock, was hit by another rock at some point – the collision may have snapped Arrokoth’s narrow neck before it reformed again




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Interstellar comet Borisov came from a cold and distant home star

The interstellar comet Borisov, which flew past Earth in December, is full of carbon monoxide ice that implies its home star is smaller and colder than our sun




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Mysterious ‘Planet Nine’ on the solar system’s edge may not be real

Strange orbits of distant space rocks have been used to infer that the solar system has an unseen ninth planet, but those orbits may be less strange than we thought, meaning there is no need for a new planet




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Ripples in Earth’s atmosphere make distant galaxies appear to flash

Faraway galaxies have been spotted unexpectedly flashing up to 100 times their usual brightness, and it seems to be caused by eddies in Earth’s atmosphere




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Our nearest star system may have a planet with a colossal set of rings

We know that there is at least one planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the nearest star to our solar system, and now astronomers may have taken the first picture of a second world




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Astronomical time can help us put lockdown into perspective

The coronavirus pandemic is making life feel slower than ever, but observing timescales across the universe can bring us some comfort, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein




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We may have found 19 more interstellar asteroids in our solar system

A bunch of asteroids near Jupiter and Neptune with orbits perpendicular to the plane of the solar system may have come here from a different star system




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Weird magnetic threads in sun's corona seen for the first time

New images reveal threads of ultra-hot gas woven throughout the sun's corona, in the most detailed look at previously unseen parts of the atmosphere of our closest star




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NASA has selected three lunar landers to bring humans to the moon

NASA has awarded $967 million to three space flight companies – Blue Origin, Dynetics and SpaceX – to build lunar landers that will be part of the Artemis programme to send humans to the moon by 2024




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The sun is too quiet, which may mean dangerous solar storms in future

Stars that are similar to the sun in every way we can measure are mostly more active than the sun, which hints that the sun’s activity may ramp up someday, risking solar eruptions




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Weird radio signals spotted in our galaxy could solve a space mystery

Weird blasts of radio waves from space called fast radio bursts have been baffling astronomers since they were discovered, but after finding one in our galaxy we may finally know what creates them




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SpaceX mission control to do social distancing for first crewed flight

SpaceX’s first crewed launch is planned for 27 May and will be run from a mission control with desks set six feet apart to comply with social distancing protocols




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I'm a space archaeologist studying junk strewn across the solar system

From vintage satellites to lunar rovers, space archaeologist Alice Gorman is teasing out a unique history of humanity from the objects we've dispatched from Earth




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China just tested a spacecraft that could fly to the moon and beyond

China just tested its biggest rocket yet, along with a new capsule designed to carry humans to its planned space station, the moon and beyond




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The moon is emitting carbon, raising questions about how it was formed

The leading hypothesis for how the moon formed involves a collision between a Mars-sized object and Earth that would have boiled away elements like carbon, making its discovery on the moon a mystery




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Stars in the Milky Way's centre often get dangerously close together

About 80 per cent of stars in the Milky Way’s central bulge have relatively close encounters with another star, which can fling off any planets orbiting them




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Social-Distance Policing Is Racially Skewed; How to Fix It




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Travesty of Justice Finally Ends for Michael Flynn




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'1619' Pulitzer Will Boost Socialist Teaching in Schools

The Pulitzer Prize Board this week awarded its commentary award to The New York Times' Nikole Hannah-Jones for her essay launching the "1619 Project." This will accelerate a trend already underway: subjecting schoolchildren to a curriculum that blames slavery on capitalism and whose creator believes socialism offers the best path to racial equity.




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The World Is Taking Pity on Us

In 1847, members of the Choctaw Nation sent relief money across the Atlantic to a starving Ireland - something the Irish, who lost more than a million people in a famine made worse by British indifference, have never forgotten. The Irish are now giving financial aid to Native American tribes hit with a pandemic that has been made worse by American incompetence.