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New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Space

Mystery of 'impossible' star resolved by three-body solution

A white dwarf star orbiting a sun-like star was thought to be impossibly small, but now astronomers have found another star in the system that solves the puzzle

News

the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern lights, putting on a show over Achmelvich beach, Sutherland, in the Highlands of Scotland, UK.

Space

How to see tonight's northern lights – the strongest in 20 years

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Space

Dozens of stars show signs of hosting advanced alien civilisations

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A slice through the largest 3D map of our universe to date

Space

Invisible 'dark radiation' may explain a big problem with dark energy

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An image of Mars

Space

Mars is blasting plasma out of its atmosphere into space

News

This enchanting spiral galaxy can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear). Star-studded NGC 3972 lies about 65 million light-years away from Earth, meaning that the light that we see now left it 65 million years ago, just when the dinosaurs became extinct. NGC 3972 has had its fair share of dramatic events. In 2011 astronomers observed the explosion of a Type Ia supernova in the galaxy (not visible in this image). These dazzling objects all peak at the same brightness, and are brilliant enough to be seen over large distances. NGC 3972 also contains many pulsating stars called Cepheid variables. These stars change their brightness at a rate matched closely to their intrinsic luminosity, making them ideal cosmic lighthouses for measuring accurate distances to relatively nearby galaxies. Astronomers search for Cepheid variables in nearby galaxies that also contain a Type Ia supernova so they can compare the true brightness of both types of stars. That brightness information is used to calibrate the luminosity of Type Ia supernovae in far-flung galaxies so that astronomers can calculate the galaxies' distances from Earth. Once astronomers know accurate distances to galaxies near and far, they can determine and refine the expansion rate of the universe. This image was taken in 2015 with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3, as part of a project to improve the precision of the Hubble constant ? a figure that describes the expansion rate of the universe. Text: European Space Agency

Space

Has the biggest problem in cosmology finally been solved?

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Boeing's Starliner spacecraft

Space

Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft launch delayed due to rocket fault

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Space

China is sending its Chang’e 6 spacecraft to the far side of the moon

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path of fast radio burst FRB 181112

Space

Mysterious space signals may come from a dead star with a planet

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A view of a supernova explosion with its bright light and shockwave visible; Shutterstock ID 2298465659; purchase_order: -; job: -; client: -; other: -

Space

Kill the sun! How wild thought experiments drive scientific discovery

My colleagues call me a supervillain for trying to destroy the cosmos, but this kind of imaginative thinking isn't so far from what scientists do, says space reporter Leah Crane

Features

Space

Running around a 'wall of death' could keep moon settlers fit

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Space

How could we make a solar eclipse happen every day?

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Space

How India has slowly but surely become a major player in space

Analysis

Space

Asteroid that broke up over Berlin was fastest-spinning one ever seen

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