Subscribe now
A dead planet in a dead star system

A dead planet is orbiting a dead sun in a distant dead solar system

4 April 2019

A piece of a planet that survived the death of its star has been spotted orbiting the stellar corpse. Planets in our solar system may look similar when the sun dies


Osuga Valles

Mars used to have massive flowing rivers twice as wide as Earth’s

27 March 2019

Mars is now a freezing desert, but its surface once had flowing water and it turns out its rivers were wider than those on Earth


Astronomers have seen dying stars slowly crystallise and turn solid

Astronomers have seen dying stars slowly crystallise and turn solid

9 January 2019

Data from the Gaia satellite has revealed that the oldest stars in the Milky Way are crystallising as they cool down, a process that will take billions of years


Breathing in moon dust could release toxins in astronauts' lungs

Breathing in moon dust could release toxins in astronauts' lungs

14 December 2018

We already knew that lunar dust is highly abrasive, but now it seems minerals in the dust can easily react with human cells and release large amount of toxins


China is about to launch a mission to explore the far side of the moon

China is about to launch a mission to explore the far side of the moon

7 December 2018

The Chang’e 4 mission, launching on 7 December, will place both a lander and a rover on the far side of the moon, where no spacecraft has ever landed before


China's Tiangong-2 space station is set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere

China's Tiangong-2 space station is set to re-enter Earth's atmosphere

28 September 2018

Last year Chinas’ space agency lost control of the Tiangong-1 space station during de-orbiting – they will be hoping history doesn’t repeat with Tiangong-2


Old rock

Asteroid strike may have forged the oldest rocks ever found on Earth

13 August 2018

The oldest rocks ever found are over four billion years old and we don’t know how they formed – but a massive asteroid bombardment may be responsible


The launch of the Parker Solar Probe

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe is on its way to the sun, via Venus

13 August 2018

After a false start on Saturday, NASA’s Parker Solar Probe blasted off on Sunday to begin a mission to enter the sun’s scorching atmosphere


Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop