Stars

Bluff Hut by Rachel Roberts, taken in New Zealand. Bad weather at an intended location led to a chance opportunity for a fantastic shot at Bluff Hut

Photography

Gallery: Our glorious galaxy stars in Milky Way photo competition

The 7th annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection has been released, featuring more stunning shots of our home galaxy, contrasted against our home planet. This year’s gallery is sure to inspire awe and just a touch of existential dread.

Cafayate Star Factory by Gonzalo Santile, shot in Argentina. The arch of the Milky Way appears to be steaming out of a rocky chimney in the Cafayate Desert

Photography

Starry skies and scenery steal the show in Milky Way photo competition

Our gorgeous galaxy is again the focus of an astrophotography collection. Travel photography blog Capture the Atlas has published its Milky Way Photographer of the Year gallery for 2023, including some astonishing shots of the starriest of night skies.

Space Systems

Bizarre star may have a solid surface, according to X-ray observations

Stars are hot balls of plasma, but astronomers have now spotted a super strange one that may have a solid surface. Its intense magnetic field is strong enough to overcome its blistering temperatures and “freeze” its outer layers into a solid crust.

Dragon's Lair, shot in Mungo, New South Wales, Australia. The Milky way arcs over a canyon where jagged cliffs frame a winding path, leading to a central spire. A faint golden glow emanates from the horizon.

Photography

Galactic glamor shots abound in annual Milky Way photo competition

The majesty of the Milky Way shines away from the city. Travel blog Capture the Atlas has unveiled the latest edition of its annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year collection, showcasing stunning shots of our incredibly photogenic home galaxy.

Rice University scientists have succeeded in magnetically confining ultracold plasma for the first time

Energy

"Bottled" ultracold plasma to help study the secrets of nuclear fusion

Scientists have made a breakthrough in the way we study this plasma, managing to trap an ultracold form of it in a magnetic "bottle" for the first time, an achievement that could act as a springboard for research into nuclear fusion energy.

Good Night Utah, shot in Kanab, Utah, USA. Waves of rock mimic the arch of the Milky Way overhead, forming a makeshift circle. The Sun begins to peek over the horizon, the same color as the light cast by the figure in the center.

Photography

Milky Way photography competition contrasts cosmic and Earthly beauty

The night sky is a beautiful canvas for photography, and the Milky Way is the star (pun intended) of the show. The latest edition of the annual Milky Way Photographer of the Year features absolutely stunning shots of our home galaxy and planet.

This illustration shows NICER at work from its perch on the outside of the International Space Station

Space Systems

NASA tests X-ray-based "Space-GPS" navigation system

Pulsars have been proposed as a space navigation system in the past. Now NASA has demonstrated the viability of the idea, with an experiment showing that a spacecraft can constantly and automatically calculate its position by tracking the perfectly-predictable X-ray signals from an array of pulsars.

Pacman Nebula taken with an SBIG ST-8300M (photo: David Morrow/SBIG)

Photography

New high-res CCD cameras for far-out images

New high-res CCD cameras from SBIG offer sensitivity and flexibility for astrophotography and spectography.

This is an artist's concept of a quasar (bright area with rays) embedded in the center of a galaxy. (Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/T. Pyle - SSC)

Telecommunications

GPS satellites tell us where we are, but what tells them where they are?

GPS devices have permeated society to the point where millions of us rely on them daily for directions, locations and traffic avoidance. But have you ever thought what tells the GPS satellites where they are in the first place?