Shedding light on the dark galaxy

Encyclopedia Britannica defines a galaxy as “any of the systems of stars and interstellar matter that make up the universe.” This may soon need to change thanks to the discovery of J0613+52 – a galaxy without a single visible star. Astronomers were using radio telescopes to study a selection of galaxies which have very few … Continue reading Shedding light on the dark galaxy →

From space to schools – What’ll Happen to the Wattle??!

All across Australia, thousands of school students are growing space wattles. They’re doing the What’ll Happen to The Wattle??! program, run by the One Giant Leap Australia Foundation. One Giant Leap director Jackie Carpenter organised for hundreds of wattle seeds to travel to the International Space Station for six months. Now they’re back on Earth, … Continue reading From space to schools – What’ll Happen to the Wattle??! →

Orb weavers know what’s up

Which direction is ‘up’ in space? Without gravity, there’s no real answer, but some spiders have invented a solution. When golden silk orb weavers create their webs, they place the ‘hub’ (the web’s central point) towards the top, instead of in the exact middle. This is where they sit to hunt, facing downwards and ready … Continue reading Orb weavers know what’s up →

Tea leaves find space station leak

Astronauts are among the most resourceful people on (or off) the planet. Their isolation means they need to be ready to solve major problems using only the items they have around them – such as tea leaves. Over a year ago, the International Space Station sprung a leak. It’s normal for the station to lose … Continue reading Tea leaves find space station leak →

Why is the moon rusting?

Rust is the result of a chemical reaction between iron, water and oxygen. The Moon only has the first ingredient, which is why scientists were surprised to find haematite [hee-mah-tite; a type of rust] in the lunar soil. As well as having no oxygen or liquid water, hydrogen coming from the Sun makes the Moon’s … Continue reading Why is the moon rusting? →

Return to sender

Space is full of objects travelling from one place to another, but it’s very rare that they ever get sent back. That’s what makes NASA’s latest launch different, as they return a rock to the surface of Mars half a million years after it left. Sayh al Uhaymir 008 (SaU 008 for short) is part … Continue reading Return to sender →

How ‘Oumuamua got its shape

When ‘Oumuamua (oh-moo-ah-moo-ah) was discovered in 2017, it became the first known object to travel from a different solar system to our own. It’s also quite weirdly-shaped, and it’s possible that these facts are linked. Most space-rocks, such as asteroids and comets, can be roughly described as potato-shaped – somewhat round, but definitely not spherical. … Continue reading How ‘Oumuamua got its shape →

Meet the dwarf planets

What is a dwarf planet? There are three rules something has to follow to be called a planet: It must orbit the Sun.It must be round.It must have “cleared the neighbourhood around its orbit”. This means that there can’t be any other objects sharing the orbit, unless they are controlled by the planet’s gravity (for … Continue reading Meet the dwarf planets →

The unusual shapes of stars

We can’t tell from Earth, but the Sun isn’t a fixed shape. Instead, like an ocean, the flow of its plasma causes constant movement. The changeability of stars can result in some interesting shapes, including one that’s just been discovered looking like a teardrop. HD 74423 is a binary system, where two stars orbit around … Continue reading The unusual shapes of stars →

Twilight of the new moon

For the past three years, there’s been a second moon orbiting around the Earth. Don’t feel too bad for not noticing, though – scientists only detected it two weeks ago. On the 15th of February, scientists working on the Catalina Sky Survey (which tracks near-Earth objects) recorded a bright rock orbiting the Earth. This turned … Continue reading Twilight of the new moon →