Category Astronomy/Space

Since humanity’s first steps on the moon, the aspiration to extend human civilization beyond Earth has been a central objective of international space agencies, targeting long-term extraterrestrial habitation. Among the celestial bodies within reach, Mars is considered our next home.

The red planet, with its stark landscapes and tantalizing similarities to Earth, beckons as the frontier of human exploration and settlement. But establishing a permanent foothold on Mars remains one of humanity’s boldest dreams and the most formidable scientific and engineering challenge.

The red planet, once draped in a thick atmosphere, has undergone dramatic transformation over billions of years...

The discovery of strange, ultra-red objects—especially the extreme case known as The Cliff—has pushed astronomers to propose an entirely new type of cosmic structure: black hole stars. These exotic hybrids could explain rapid black hole growth in the early universe, but their existence remains unproven.

In the summer of 2022, only a few weeks after the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) began delivering its first scientific images, astronomers noticed an unexpected pattern: tiny red points scattered throughout the new observations. These extremely compact, distinctly red objects appeared with remarkable clarity thanks to JWST’s sensitivity, and there were far more of them than expected...

Scientists have captured an exceptionally rare, high-resolution view of an active region that produced two powerful X-class solar flares—an achievement rarely possible from Earth. Using the GREGOR solar telescope in Tenerife, researchers recorded the explosive activity of the sun’s most energetic sunspot group of 2025, revealing twisted magnetic structures and the early stages of flare ignition with unprecedented detail. The flares triggered fast coronal mass ejections that lit up Earth’s skies with vivid auroras in the nights that followed.

Challenges of observing solar flares
H...

Imagine biting into a crisp, garden-fresh salad and savoring juicy strawberries for dessert. But instead of your backyard, you’re gazing out at a stark lunar landscape, Earth hanging like a precious blue marble in the inky sky.

Sound like far-fetched sci-fi? Think again.

This cosmic cuisine scenario is fast becoming our reality, thanks to research led by University of Melbourne scientists belonging to the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Plants for Space (P4S, 2024-2030), in partnership with NASA and other space scientists.

A global dream team of over 40 scientists in 11 countries and seven space agencies have united to produce a roadmap for plant science breakthroughs crucial for long-term human life on the moon and Mars.

And...