Fact that planet 13 times bigger than Earth is orbiting star nine times smaller than sun shows ‘how little we know about the universe’ Astronomers have spotted an “overweight” planet that appears to be far too massive for its petite host star. The planet, which is 13 times bigger than Earth, is orbiting a star called LHS 3154, which is nine times smaller than the sun. The planet’s heft is unremarkable in its own right, but its pairing with an ultracool dwarf star, the smallest and coldest stars in the universe, has puzzled scientists ..read more

Findings could help explain how planets in our own solar system move around the sun Six planets that orbit their star in a coordinated dance have been discovered by scientists, who say the finding could help shed light on why planets in our own solar system move to their own beat. The newly discovered planets orbit a star that sits about 100 light years away in the constellation Coma Berenices, with a mass about 20% smaller than our Sun ..read more

Natural History Museum prepares to study pristine material gathered in Nasa’s Osiris-Rex mission A teaspoon’s worth of dark dust and granules scooped from an asteroid 200m miles from Earth has arrived at the Natural History Museum in London, where scientists are preparing to unlock its secrets. Researchers at the museum received 100mg of the pristine material, which at 4.6bn years old dates back to the dawn of the solar system, after Nasa’s Osiris-Rex mission stopped at asteroid Bennu in 2020 and returned samples to Earth in September ..read more

Reflections on the pioneering astronomer find an unexpected contemporary relevance Losing Galileo I like to imagine Galileo, his heart swinging like a chandelier, watching ..read more

The European Space Agency’s plan to build a cargo vessel that can convert to a crew ship is one giant step in its ambitions to compete with rival lunar exploration programmes As space exploration announcements go, a recent speech at a European Space Agency (Esa) summit could hardly rival President John F Kennedy’s oration at Rice University in Houston, Texas, in 1962, when he emphatically announced: “We choose to go to the moon.” Those words set the US on the path to landing Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon on 20 July 1969, effectively ending the space race with the So ..read more

Amaterasu particle, one of highest-energy cosmic rays ever detected, is coming from an apparently empty region of space Astronomers have detected a rare and extremely high-energy particle falling to Earth that is causing bafflement because it is coming from an apparently empty region of space. The particle, named Amaterasu after the sun goddess in Japanese mythology, is one of the highest-energy cosmic rays ever detected ..read more

Dictator seen with daughter at celebration for scientists and technicians who finally put Malligyong-1 into space after two failed attempts The North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-un, has celebrated a “new era of a space power” with his family including daughter Ju Ae and the scientists who put the North’s first spy satellite into orbit. Pyongyang’s launch of the Malligyong-1 on Tuesday was its third attempt after failures in May and August ..read more

Madeleine Finlay sits down with science correspondent Hannah Devlin to discuss the amazing discoveries the James Webb space telescope has made in the year since it became operational. From planets that rain sand to distant galaxies, Madeleine explains how some of these discoveries could fundamentally change our understanding of the universe Clips: BBC, NASA, CBS ..read more

Galactic cosmic rays can impair function of erectile tissues, research in rats shows As if homesickness, wasting muscles, thinner bones, an elevated cancer risk, the inescapable company of overachievers and the prospect of death in the endless vacuum of space were not enough to contend with, male astronauts may return from deep space prone to erectile dysfunction, scientists say. In what is claimed to be the first study to assess the impact of galactic radiation and weightlessness on male sexual health, Nasa-funded researchers found that galactic cosmic rays, and to a lesser extent microgravit ..read more

The pathfinder craft, co-funded by £3m from the UK Space Agency, will provide data to help detect and monitor natural disasters The UK will help fund and build a new spacecraft that will help scientists monitor the climate crisis and natural disasters. The new pathfinder satellite will be funded with £3m from the UK Space Agency, joining Spain and Portugal in the €80m (£70m) Atlantic Constellation project. Co-funding will be provided by Open Cosmos, based on the Harwell campus in Oxfordshire ..read more