BBC Sky at Night

Welcome

Later this month, OSIRIS-REx will return to Earth and complete the final stage of its seven-year-long mission by sending a small circular capsule down from orbit to, features editor Ezzy Pearson looks at what will happen to these samples from another world once they're back on Earth and the secrets that planetary scientists expect the space rocks to reveal about the early Solar System.

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More from BBC Sky at Night

BBC Sky at Night1 min read
Parker's Design Features
To withstand the extreme heat and radiation found in our star’s immediate neighbourhood, Parker Solar Probe is protected by a 2.3-metre-diameter (7.5ft) hexagonal solar shield, weighing just 73kg (160lb) and mounted on its Sunfacing side. This shield
BBC Sky at Night2 min read
Comets And Asteroids
Minor planet 2 Pallas reaches opposition on 17 May when it can be found shining within the stars of Hercules at magnitude +8.9. At this brightness, it’s a tricky binocular find, but a small telescope should pick it up without any difficulty. Pallas w
BBC Sky at Night1 min read
What's On
Nazarene Theological College, West Didsbury, Manchester, 13 May, 7pm Dr Anna Bonaldi, senior scientist at the SKA Observatory, will outline some of the difficulties encountered while building the Square Kilometre Array, which will be the world’s larg

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