Astronomers at Australian National University have spotted a black hole so bright that were it in our home galaxy, it would outshine all the stars in the sky. This supermassive monster also happens to be the fastest-growing black hole ever seen, devouring the equivalent of the Sun every two days.
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ESA is examining three space mission concepts to fill the fifth medium class mission slot in its Cosmic Vision science program. The missions under consideration include a next-generation infrared space telescope, a surveyor craft that seeks out transient high-energy events, and a new Venus orbiter.
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ESA has taken a “galactic census” of the Milky Way, unveiling the second major data release from the Gaia mission. The data release provides the most detailed map of our home galaxy, which includes data of nearly 1.7 billion stars, plus the orbits and positions of thousands of asteroids.
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As if they don't already have enough on their plate, astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) are turning storm chasers. On April 13, a remote controlled robotic arm installed the Space Storm Hunter instrument package that will make an extensive survey of terrestrial thunderstorms.
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On Sunday, ESA uploaded a software update into the Mars Express' computers, where it will remain stored in memory until a scheduled restart on April 16. If successful, it will take the burden off the aging gyroscopes used to keep the spacecraft's vital high-gain radio antenna pointed at Earth.
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The ESA/Roscosmos Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) is mere weeks away from commencing its atmospheric search for evidence of recent geological activity, and possibly life on everyone’s favorite Red Planet.
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The launch of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has been delayed once again, with a new window set for May 2020. The next-generation space telescope had previously been set to launch into orbit atop an Ariane 5 rocket from ESA’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in the Spring of 2019.
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To really understand exoplanets, how they formed and how they evolved, we need to know more about their chemistry. With its newly announced Ariel mission, the first dedicated to studying exoplanet atmospheres, the European Space Agency (ESA) is looking to fill in some of the gaps.
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ESA's Integral space observatory has seen a red giant star revive its dead neighbor. An X-ray flare detected on August 13, 2017 prompted observations that revealed a once dead, slow-spinning neutron star becoming active again as it feeds on material ejected from its ancient giant companion.
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The working life of ion thrusters is limited by the amount of propellant they can carry. Now, scientists at ESA and Italian space company SITAEL have test-fired a new type of “air-breathing” electric thruster that could keep satellites aloft for longer, by making them literally run on thin air.
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