Astronomers

Four environmental organizations filed a petition Thursday asking the Federal Communications Commission to reverse its approval of a startup's plan to beam on-demand sunlight from space to Earth. The groups argue the agency ignored the project's potential impacts on wildlife and astronomy. The petition escalates scrutiny of commercial space ventures and how regulators weigh their environmental consequences.

Astronomers have detected a fast radio burst, a millisecond-long flash of energy, and traced it to a galaxy roughly 10 billion light years away, making it one of the oldest signals of its kind ever recorded. Reports from The Guardian and The Conversation describe how researchers pinpointed the burst's origin, offering clues about the early universe and the still-unexplained events that produce these powerful cosmic signals.

Astronomers have found a planet that formed from the debris of a dying star and is now evaporating like a comet, leaving a trailing tail that circles the star roughly every four days. Researchers pieced the story together from chemical clues in the star's light, and observers say nothing like it has ever been seen before.

New research reported by Phys.org suggests the Sun, as it ages and loses mass toward the end of its life, could destabilize planetary orbits and break apart the solar system earlier than previous estimates indicated. The findings refine models of stellar evolution and the long-term fate of Earth and neighboring planets, prompting discussion among astronomers and space enthusiasts about the timescales involved.

Astronomers are highlighting TOI-1710 b, a Neptune-like giant planet located 265 light-years from Earth. Discovered in 2022 by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), the planet has a radius about 5.34 times that of Earth and a mass of roughly 28 Earths, orbiting its star once every 24.28 days. Details of its size, mass, and orbit are being circulated among space enthusiasts discussing recent exoplanet finds.

Astronomers have detected a fast radio burst that travelled from a galaxy dating to when the universe was only about 3 billion years old. The source galaxy's characteristics surprised researchers, offering new clues about what produces these powerful, millisecond-long radio flashes. The finding is drawing wide attention as scientists continue debating the origins of fast radio bursts.

The annual Draconid meteor shower is in the spotlight, with coverage from outlets such as Euronews explaining where and when skywatchers can catch it in 2026. The shower, which radiates from the constellation Draco, is being discussed as one of the astronomical events to watch this month, with guides on viewing conditions and the best times to look up.

Discussion is under way about the timing of the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August around the same date as the Catholic feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary on August 15. One observer notes the overlap while looking at a painting of the Virgin with Christ, asking astronomers whether the annual shower's timing and the feast day's date are historically connected.

Astronomers say a star is on course to pass through our solar system in the distant future, and that such an event has happened before in Earth's history. The claim has drawn wide attention, with readers discussing how close the star might come and what effects a past stellar flyby could have had on the planets and comets.

A New York Times science report argues that planets more habitable than Earth may exist beyond our solar system. It examines how astronomers identify so-called superhabitable worlds, considering factors like stable climates, longer stellar lifespans and larger land-to-ocean ratios. Readers on Hacker News are debating the findings and what they mean for the search for extraterrestrial life.

An amateur astronomer has accumulated roughly eight hours of exposure data on HMSTG 314-23, a faint swirling nebula-like object in the southern constellation Apus, and combined the frames using the free astrophotography software Siril. They shared the resulting image, admitting the star processing could be improved, and plan to gather more data next week to refine the picture further.

Astronomy publications are reporting on new research that dramatically revises how long the Solar System will last, cutting earlier estimates by roughly a factor of a billion. The finding changes projections for the Sun's evolution and the fate of the planets, and is drawing wide attention for how much sooner the system's end may arrive than previously believed.

Astronomers led by HyeongHan et al. have published deep XMM-Newton and Chandra observations of the X-ray emission from two well-known merging pairs of galaxy clusters that also host large-scale radio emission known as radio relics. The findings, shared in a paper on arXiv, offer new detail on how hot gas behaves during cluster collisions.

Physicists are still debating the fundamental nature of dark matter, the invisible substance thought to make up most of the universe's mass. A New Scientist feature asks whether future experiments will detect it as an individual particle, like the long-sought WIMP, or as an ultra-light wave-like field. The question matters because it determines the kinds of detectors and astronomical observations scientists should pursue next.

Carl Sagan's 1995 warning about America is circulating again: the astronomer argued that a public unable to distinguish what is true would slide, 'without noticing, back into superstition and darkness.' Written nearly three decades ago in an era before social media, his prediction about science illiteracy and credulity is being read by many as strikingly prescient about today's debates over misinformation, distrust of expertise and the erosion of shared facts.

UAE astronomers have released early forecasts for the start of Ramadan 2027, prompting discussion across the Gulf and among Muslim communities elsewhere about when the holy month and Eid celebrations will fall next year. The projections are based on moon sighting calculations, with exact dates to be confirmed closer to the time by official sighting committees.

Astronomers have identified an exoplanet located about 63 light-years from Earth, a discovery being discussed in Japan and beyond. Observers say the find could expand the search range for life beyond our solar system, adding to the growing catalogue of worlds detected around distant stars.

Researchers report the discovery of a second-generation planet candidate accreting onto a white dwarf, according to a Nature publication. If confirmed, the object would be a rare example of a planet forming anew from debris left after the star's original planetary system was destroyed. Astronomers say the finding could reshape understanding of planetary survival and formation around dead stars.

Posts marking this day in 1601 retell the death of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe, who reportedly refused to leave his seat at a formal banquet despite urgent need to urinate. According to the anecdote, he died eleven days later of kidney failure. The story remains one of science history's most famous — and most debated — cautionary tales about politeness taken too far.

Astronomers report the unexpected discovery of what appears to be a second-generation planet forming around a white dwarf, the dead remnant of a star. These worlds arise from material the dying star casts off, making them extraordinarily rare, and finding evidence of one around a white dwarf caught researchers off guard.

Interest is growing around ranking the most expensive objects in the solar system, typically calculated by the estimated value of asteroids and other bodies based on the rare metals they contain. Metallic asteroids rich in iron, nickel, platinum and gold are often cited as worth astronomical sums, fueling ongoing debate about asteroid mining and whether such values are meaningful.

The Global Museum account shared images of a painting of the Virgin Mary with Christ, showing the Madonna's sleeve unrestored, after cleaning, and restored. Readers quickly drew a connection between the radiant details in the artwork and the Perseid meteor shower, which peaks around August 15, the same date the Feast of the Assumption is celebrated. Commenters are debating whether the coincidence is meaningful, with some asking astronomers to weigh in.

Astronomy enthusiasts are sharing an image of Arp 284, the galaxy pair NGC 7714 and NGC 7715, from Halton Arp's 1966 Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies. The entry, filed under double and multiple galaxies with infall and attraction, shows the aftermath of a close encounter between the two galaxies, which are visibly distorted by their gravitational interaction.

The 1601 death of astronomer Tycho Brahe is being recalled: according to the well-known account, he stayed at a formal banquet without relieving himself despite urgent need, and died 11 days later, reportedly of kidney failure. The story is circulating as an on-this-day anniversary note, and remains a popular, if debated, piece of scientific history lore.

Stargazers are checking the night sky highlights for the week of October 11 to 18, 2026, with a weekly sky guide outlining what planets, constellations and celestial events are visible. The guide, published under the Sky at a Glance series, is drawing attention from amateur astronomers planning their evening observations this week.

NASA has published a new astronomy image described as a cosmic house of mirrors, showcasing a deep-space scene in which light from distant galaxies is warped and duplicated into multiple mirror-like images. The effect, typical of gravitational lensing by massive galaxy clusters, lets astronomers study objects far too faint or distant to see directly.