All About Space

A new image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals a galaxy overshadowed by its larger merging companions. Located roughly 500 million light years from Earth lies a galactic pair collectively known as ArpMadore 2339-661. The two galaxies are in the

A star-studded cosmic neighbour 210,000 light years away is now available to view on our computer screens in unprecedented detail thanks to NASA’s mighty James Webb Space Telescope and the power of the modern internet. The newly released Webb photo c

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new face-on view of a spiral galaxy with loosely wound arms swirling around a bright core. The spiral galaxy IC 5332 lies approximately 30 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Sculp

Though NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was initially touted as having the power to unveil our universe’s furthest horizons – and it surely has – some of the observatory’s most gorgeous images are actually ones of our very own Solar System. With its

Some 66 million years ago, a large asteroid crashed into Earth near Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, sparking a frigid global winter that led to the mass extinction of the dinosaurs who had reigned over the planet for over 160 million years. Scientists ge

At the centre of our galaxy sits a dark enigma, a supermassive black hole named Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). Now, according to new findings from the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, a group of astronomers has determined with high accura

The newborn Earth was struck by a Marssized rock that helped create the Moon, and the impact may have left behind continentsized remnants of the rock near Earth’s core. Scientists think Earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago, and previous research

China’s Shenzhou 16 astronauts landed safely on Earth despite an apparent hole appearing in their return capsule’s parachute. China Central Television aired video of the descent of Shenzhou 16 as the crewed spacecraft returned to Earth following five

A new water-dispensing system on the International Space Station (ISS) aims to test out technology that could help future astronauts explore the Moon. The roomy ISS is described by NASA officials as being larger than a six-bedroom house. Astronauts f

Like huge playground bullies, planets like Jupiter can be agents of chaos around other stars, a pair of new studies suggests. Gas giant planets that are the size of Jupiter or larger create havoc in young planetary systems, often shoving smaller, Ear

Geoff Notkin Notkin wears many hats; the former punk rock musician is a science writer, photographer, traveller and businessman. But most of all, he is a meteorite specialist who has appeared in programmes for some of the world’s top broadcasters, s

A steroids can tell us a great deal about the formation of our Solar System and could be the stepping stones to the long-term colonisation of the Moon and interplanetary trips to Mars and beyond. They might well contain water and air that could be us

Venus has a lot of volcanoes – more than any other planet in the Solar System. What’s more, the number of volcanoes counted by scientists continues to rise. In May this year, scientists revealed that the second planet from the Sun is home to more tha

New standards in the fight against light pollution are helping bring darker skies to Chile, and not only will this protect our view of the stars, but also human health and biodiversity. Chile is an attractive location for astronomers because its skie

Astronomers have a new way to study energetic particles that constantly bombard Earth from space, called cosmic rays. The new method proposes the detailed analysis of showers of secondary particles created when cosmic rays belt Earth’s atmosphere as

COSMOLOGY The darkness of our night sky tells us more about the size, age and nature of the universe than we may expect. We are familiar with the twinkling of nearby stars in the night sky, but why does the night sky not glow with the colour and brig

Pkanetary scientists want to search for biosignatures in what they believe was once a Martian mud lake. After scientists carefully studied what they think are the desiccated remnants of an equatorial mud lake on Mars, their study of Hydraotes Chaos s

Even though you can see a lot of beautiful and amazing things in the night sky with just your naked eye or binoculars on a clear E night, for most people, astronomy equals telescopes. Do a search for ‘stargazing’ and you’ll be presented with countles

What’s in the sky? 80 Wrap up warm for those long, cold nights of winter observing 82Planetarium Where you can find the planets this month and the phases of the Moon Month’s planets 84 Most of the Solar System’s planets will be visible in the eve

Venus is widely known as the ‘evening star’, because it’s often seen shining brilliantly in the west after sunset. However, it is just as often visible in the morning sky before sunrise, and that’s the case this coming month. All through December, th

This month our Moon tour doesn’t have one specific destination. Instead we’re going on a sightseeing cruise around the most striking features visible on the Moon after it rises around midnight on 5 December. Once the Moon is clear of the horizon, you

As you set up your telescope on freezing cold December nights, it’s always tempting to look at A the same things you always do: the misty, swirling veils of the Orion Nebula, the Pleiades cluster with its stars sparkling like jewels and the Crab Nebu

One of the prettiest and brightest star clusters in the sky, Messier 45 is also known as the Pleiades, or the ‘Seven Sisters’, because seven of its 500 or so stars can be seen with the naked eye. It appears wider than four Moons in our sky and lies 4

Astrophotographers and landscape photographers looking to try and emphasise A the colours of the nebulae in their work now have a serious piece of kit available to help them achieve this in the Canon EOS Ra. Differentiating from the dedicated astroph

Noguchi was born in 1965 in Yokohama, Japan. He joined the Scouts when he was nine, an organisation he credits N with his early experience learning the importance of teamwork. In 1989 he earned a bachelor’s in aeronautical engineering at the Universi

SCAN HERE TO GET OUR DAILY NEWSLET TER This issue marks a special one: All About Space is 150 issues old! Whether you’ve been with us since issue 1, issue 50 or have only just picked us up, we hope that you’ve enjoyed every moment of exploring the u

Future PLC Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA Editorial Editor Gemma Lavender gemma.lavender@futurenet.com Art Editor Jonathan Wells Production Editor Nikole Robinson Senior Art Editor Duncan Crook Contributors William Alston, Stuart Atkinson, Chr