Scientists in Japan have developed a high-resolution X-ray telescope sharp enough to distinguish an object just 3.5 mm wide from one kilometer away, by combining precision mirror-making technology with space astronomy. To test its performance, they built a first-of-its-kind evaluation system, capable of simulating starlight on the ground to measure the telescope's sharpness before its launch on the US-Japan FOXSI sounding rocket mission. The findings, published in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, represent a landmark achievement for Japanese X-ray astronomy and pave the way for high-resolution X-ray observations on future smaller satellites.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) successfully launched three advanced experimental payloads aboard the Department of War (DoW) Space Test Program’s (STP) Satellite-7 mission at approximately 4:33 a.m. PDT on April 7 from Vandenberg U.S. Space Force (USSF) Base, Calif.

Adelaide University researchers are preparing to send living cancer cells into space aboard a suborbital rocket, in a pioneering experiment that could reveal new insights into how cancer develops and survives under extreme conditions.

Kyoto, Japan -- The two largest planets in our Solar System, Jupiter and Saturn, also have the largest satellite systems, or the most moons. At present, Jupiter's reported moon count stands at more than 100 moons, and along with its many rings Saturn has more than 280 reported moons. Not all these moons are equal, however. Jupiter's moon family has four large members, including the largest moon in the solar system, Ganymede, while Saturn's family is dominated by one large moon, Titan, the Solar System's second largest.

Since both planets are gas giants, the reasons for the differences in these satellite systems have long puzzled astronomers. Satellite formation theories have proposed some possibilities, but recent studies on stellar magnetic fields have hinted at the need to rethink these theories. There is also a long-running debate surrounding magnetic accretion and satellite formation: specifically, whether an inner cavity can be formed in Jupiter’s circumplanetary disk, the accumulation of material orbiting a planet from which satellites may form.

A physically consistent model that can explain multiple systems, like the satellite systems of Jupiter and Saturn, may be applicable to other planetary and satellite systems beyond the Solar System. This motivated a collaborative team of researchers from institutions in Japan and China, including Kyoto University, to develop such a model.

Astronomers using data from the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) have discovered tens of thousands of gigantic hydrogen gas halos, called “Lyman-alpha nebulae,” surrounding galaxies 10 billion to 12 billion years ago. Known as Cosmic Noon, this is an epoch in the early universe when galaxies were growing their fastest. To spur this growth, they would have needed access to vast reservoirs of hydrogen gas, a key building block for stars. However, until recently, astronomers had only found a handful of these essential structures. A new study published in The Astrophysical Journal has now increased the known number of hydrogen gas halos by a factor of ten: from roughly 3,000 to over 33,000.