OpinionMay 11, 2023
JWST’s Exoplanet Images Are Just the Beginning of Astrobiology’s Future
Hints of life on distant worlds will come from signals pioneered by NASA’s jumbo space telescope
Optics
AstronomyApril 13, 2023
JWST’s Newfound Galaxies Are the Oldest Ever Seen
We now know that the first galaxies in our universe formed shockingly fast, thanks to the latest results from the James Webb Space Telescope
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AstrophysicsApril 10, 2023
Astronomers Spy a Giant Runaway Black Hole’s Starry Wake
A candidate “rogue” supermassive black hole may weigh as much as 20 million suns and has sparked a trail of star formation that is 200,000 light-years long
OpinionApril 4, 2023
JWST’s Smashing Success Shifts Focus to Astronomy’s Blind Spots
Looming gaps in astronomers’ views of the heavens could undercut the revolutionary potential of NASA’s latest, greatest space telescope
AstronomyMarch 9, 2023
Are Telescopes on the Moon Doomed?
Booming exploration and commercial activity could ruin the quiet, astronomy-friendly environment of the lunar far side
OpinionDecember 5, 2022
NASA’s Plan to Make JWST Data Immediately Available Will Hurt Astronomy
By releasing astronomers’ data before they’ve had a chance to analyze the information, NASA will make research less fair and equitable
AstronomyNovember 24, 2022
Satellite Constellations Could Harm the Environment, New Watchdog Report Says
Elon Musk’s Starlink and other satellite sources of light pollution and orbital debris should face an environmental review, the U.S. Government Accountability Office finds
AstronomyNovember 21, 2022
NASA Really, Really Won’t Rename JWST despite Community Pushback
An investigation by agency historian finds no evidence explicitly linking former director James Webb with anti-LGBT+ actions
OpinionNovember 16, 2022
Invisible Numbers Are the Most Beautiful Part of Every ‘Space’ Image
We are drawn to breathtaking images of the heavens, but there is beauty in the numbers those images hold
AstronomyNovember 3, 2022
NASA Is Studying a Private Mission to Boost Hubble’s Orbit. Is It Worth the Risk?
SpaceX and the entrepreneur Jared Isaacman are pursuing a plan to rescue the iconic Hubble Space Telescope from a fiery plunge into Earth’s atmosphere
AstronomyOctober 20, 2022
Hopes Fade for Resurrecting Puerto Rico’s Famous Arecibo Telescope
Nearly two years after the collapse of its 305-meter radio telescope, the Arecibo Observatory’s fate has been decided. The iconic giant dish will not be rebuilt, but research and public outreach at the site may continue
AstronomyOctober 11, 2022
‘Bit of Panic’: Astronomers Forced to Rethink Early JWST Findings
Revised calibrations for the James Webb Space Telescope’s instruments are bedeviling researchers studying the distant universe