Media representatives are invited to a briefing on the second data release of ESA's Gaia mission, an astrometry mission to map more than one billion stars in our Galaxy, the Milky Way. The media briefing is being organised by ESA at the ILA Berlin Air and Space Show in Germany, on Wednesday 25 April 2018, 11:00–12:15 CEST. The show opens at 10:00 CEST.

This colourful cloud of glowing interstellar gas is just a tiny part of the Lagoon Nebula, a vast stellar nursery. This nebula is a region full of intense activity, with fierce winds from hot stars, swirling chimneys of gas, and energetic star formation all embedded within a hazy labyrinth of gas and dust. Hubble used both its optical and infrared instruments to study the nebula, which was observed to celebrate Hubble's 28th anniversary.

The first prototype dish for what will be the world's largest radio telescope array was unveiled last month at a ceremony in Shijiazhuang, China.

The possibility that some of the exoplanets in the TRAPPIST-1 system could harbour life has been boosted by new measurements.

These NASA Hubble Space Telescope images compare two diverse views of the roiling heart of a vast stellar nursery, known as the Lagoon Nebula. The images, one taken in visible and the other in infrared light, celebrate Hubble’s 28th anniversary in space.

News Article Type: Homepage ArticlesPublished: Thursday, April 19, 2018 - 13:22

Nasa's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (Tess) searches for new planets.

Astronomers using ESA's XMM-Newton space observatory have probed the gas-filled haloes around galaxies in a quest to find 'missing' matter thought to reside there, but have come up empty-handed – so where is it?

NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has launched on the first-of-its-kind mission to find worlds beyond our solar system, including some that could support life.

Portal origin URL: NASA Planet Hunter on Its Way to OrbitPortal origin nid: 422831Published: Wednesday, April 18, 2018 - 20:15Featured (stick to top of list): yesPortal text teaser: NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has launched on the first-of-its-kind mission to find worlds beyond our solar system, including some that could support life.Portal image: The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) lifts off at 6:51 p.m. EDT. Science Categories: Universe

Launch teams are standing down today to conduct additional Guidance Navigation and Control analysis, and teams are now working towards a targeted launch of the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) on Wednesday, April 18.

News Article Type: Homepage ArticlesPublished: Tuesday, April 17, 2018 - 13:01

Lost planet gave birth to space rock’s diamonds

Lost planet gave birth to space rock’s diamonds, Published online: 17 April 2018; doi:10.1038/d41586-018-04728-7

Minerals in miniature gems point to origins in the early Solar System.

The space rock that exploded in 2008 seems to have come from the early Solar System.

UK astronomer Bill Chaplin demonstrates the "sounds" that stars make and why this is useful to know.

Bounteous black holes at the Galactic Centre

Bounteous black holes at the Galactic Centre, Published online: 16 April 2018; doi:10.1038/d41586-018-04341-8

X-ray observations have revealed a dozen stellar-mass black holes at the centre of the Galaxy, implying that there are thousands more to be found. The discovery confirms a fundamental prediction of stellar dynamics.

The worlds orbiting other stars are called “exoplanets,” and they come in a wide variety of sizes, from gas giants larger than Jupiter to small, rocky planets about as big around as Earth or Mars. They can be hot enough to boil metal or locked in deep freeze. They can orbit their stars so tightly that a “year” lasts only a few days; they can orbit two suns at once. Some exoplanets are sunless rogues, wandering through the galaxy in permanent darkness.

News Article Type: Homepage ArticlesPublished: Monday, April 16, 2018 - 15:55

The purpose of this Announcement of Opportunity (AO) is to solicit proposals for Community Scientists in the PLATO mission. This AO is open to scientists affiliated with institutes located in ESA Member States. Scientists involved in the PLATO Mission Consortium management (programmatic, scientific, or technical) or who are responsible for hardware or software development and procurement activities are not eligible to apply.

New images from the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope are revealing the dusty discs surrounding nearby young stars in greater detail than previously achieved. They show a bizarre variety of shapes, sizes and structures, including the likely effects of planets still in the process of forming.

On a mission to detect planets outside of our solar system, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is targeted to launch no earlier than 6:51 p.m. EDT Wednesday, April 18.

How gravitational waves might help fundamental cosmology

How gravitational waves might help fundamental cosmology, Published online: 11 April 2018; doi:10.1038/d41586-018-04321-y

New observations could help us understand discrepancies in measurements of the expansion of the Universe.

Portal origin URL: NASA Television to Air Launch of Next Planet-Hunting MissionPortal origin nid: 422327Published: Wednesday, April 11, 2018 - 12:20Featured (stick to top of list): noPortal text teaser: On a mission to detect planets outside of our solar system, NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is scheduled to launch no earlier than 6:32 p.m. EDT Monday, April 16. Prelaunch mission coverage will begin on NASA Television and the agency’s website Sunday, April 15, with three live briefings.Portal image: NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey SatelliteScience Categories: Universe