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NASA says its 3,200-pound Swift Observatory, launched nearly 22 years ago, is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere around 3:30AM ET Wednesday, with an 11-hour margin of error. Most of the spacecraft should burn up, though some components may survive and land somewhere between 20.6 degrees north and south latitude. NASA puts the odds of anyone being harmed at roughly 1 in 2,100.
NASA is exploring commercial space industry options to keep the Hubble Space Telescope operational longer, according to statements emphasizing the observatory's continued scientific value. The agency says it wants to examine innovative, cost-effective methods for extending the life of the orbiting asset.
NASA has issued a Request for Information asking commercial companies to describe their capabilities for capturing the Hubble Space Telescope, raising it to an altitude of at least 373 miles, servicing it, or guiding it to a controlled reentry. The agency says any mission must not damage Hubble and should occur by 2032, with the telescope otherwise expected to fall out of orbit and burn up around 2033-2034.
NASA released a Request For Information on Thursday seeking commercial ideas for extending Hubble's life, including capturing the telescope to boost it above 373 miles, servicing its systems, or guiding it to a controlled reentry. Companies have until November 30 to respond, and any mission would need to happen by 2032 without damaging the observatory. NASA says it is not yet committing to purchase such a mission but wants to gauge industry interest and cost.
Two astronomy teams using the James Webb Space Telescope reported in spring 2025 that they observed a pair of 'little red dots' unlike any previously seen objects, including other little red dots found since 2023. Researchers led by Anna de Graaff at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy propose these are a new kind of object: a vast, puffed-up cloud of hydrogen gas that shines as brightly as billions of suns while concealing a supermassive black hole at its center, which they call a 'black hole star.'
A team led by University of Minnesota astrophysicist Mason Huberty used the James Webb Space Telescope's Near-Infrared Spectrograph to survey a region near roughly 10,000 galaxies in the Fornax constellation. In a spot they expected to be empty, they detected a single emission line twice, in August and November 2023, with no matching galaxy or accompanying emission lines, and no sign of it in earlier observations. The findings are published in The Astrophysical Journal.
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have identified a widespread class of compact, reddish objects dating to the universe's first billion years, dubbed 'little red dots.' Researchers say these objects have puzzled the field since their discovery, and new analysis is now offering possible explanations for what they are.
A preprint study by researchers at Harvard University and the University of Oregon reports the first clear detection of radio emissions from a planet outside our solar system. The signal, picked up by South Africa's MeerKAT radio telescope, comes from Beta Pictoris b, a young gas giant several times the mass of Jupiter orbiting a star 63 light-years away. The findings have not yet been peer-reviewed.
A new Nature study led by Max Planck Institute astrophysicist Sunmyon Chon simulated conditions in the early universe and found that rapidly forming black holes can generate light signatures matching the mysterious 'little red dots' seen by the James Webb Space Telescope. The team argues these objects quickly develop dense, thick gas disks that produce a strong hydrogen-alpha glow resembling what's observed in these ancient regions of space.
Astronomers led by Pablo Santos-Sanz used the James Webb Space Telescope to re-observe a stellar occultation by Chariklo, a small icy body about 250 kilometers wide orbiting between Saturn and Uranus. Compared to the rings first detected in 2013, one of Chariklo's two narrow rings has become denser while the other has nearly disappeared, and the cause remains unclear.
Astronomers analyzing James Webb Space Telescope data have identified an unusual celestial object that some researchers believe could be a so-called 'black hole star,' a rare hybrid where a black hole is enshrouded in thick gas that mimics stellar light. The classification remains tentative, with further observation needed to confirm whether the object fits this proposed new category.
NASA says a precise SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch and flawless early course correction have left the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope with enough propellant for at least 22 years of operations, more than double the mission's original five-year baseline plan. The $4.3 billion observatory launched August 30 from Kennedy Space Center and is now heading to its observation post to survey wide swaths of the sky with Hubble-level resolution.