Mysterious globular clusters could unlock the secrets of galaxy formation

Paul M. Sutter is an astrophysicist at SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, host of “Ask a Spaceman” and “Space Radio,” and author of “How to Die in Space.” Globular clusters are like astronomical coelacanths — mysterious living fossils. These densely packed collections of ancient stars may hold the ultimate secrets to the formation of … Read more

Researchers unlock the keys to designing an interstellar sail

How do you design a sail that can get a spacecraft to another solar system?  NASA’s Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes, which launched in the 1970s, remain the only two human-made objects ever to leave our solar system. While the pair have defied expectations and are still operational, researchers continue to devise new missions … Read more

NASA hopes James Webb Space Telescope will unlock secrets of ‘super-Earths’ and hot rocky worlds

Some of the first James Webb Space Telescope investigations will focus on a variety of planet very different from what’s found in our cosmic neighborhood. Once Webb finishes its six-month commissioning period around June, it is scheduled to start a series of studies in exoplanets. One such project will study 11 “super-Earths,” which are worlds … Read more