Highlights of the autumn skies

From returning favourites to unmissable one-off events, Katrin Raynor picks out the best night-sky sights coming up in the months ahead

COSMIC 'SANDWICH' THEORY COULD EXPLAIN HOW SMALLER PLANETS ARE FORMED

Sandwiched planet formation may arise as the result of gas and dust being squeezed between large planets

MOON TOUR - COPERNICUS

Get up close to the ‘Monarch of the Moon’

How does the fitness app on my phone know how many steps I've taken, especially if it's in my bag?

Your phone uses GPS to track distance travelled. But try disabling it and you'll notice that fitness apps will still give you step counts.

Blood and bone

The human body is a wealth of parts and connections the skeleton, 86 billion 206 bones in neurons in the brain, roughly 25 quadrillion potential neural pathway routes... and yet there are just 20 arteries carrying your entire blood supply.

Who needs wings?

This little critter with the cheeky grin is a Mizoram parachute gecko, Gekko mizoramensis, a previously unknown species of gliding gecko from the tropical forests of northern India.

SPACE: A RADIATION 'ECHO' FROM A SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLE IS SPREADING ACROSS THE GALAXY

The sleeping cosmological giant woke up around 200 years ago and devoured everything in the vicinity, releasing intense amounts of radiation in the process

ENERGY: THE COSTS OF SWITCHING TO RENEWABLE ENERGY WILL HIT THE SUPER-WEALTHY HARDEST

A new study says a future fuelled by sustainable energy is possible, if the top 10 per cent are prepared to accept some losses

COSMOLOGY: GRAVITATIONAL RIPPLES COULD HELP CRACK THE UNIVERSE'S SECRETS

New findings provide evidence of a background hum’ produced by low-frequency gravitational waves rippling across spacetime

BIOLOGY: WORMS CAUGHT HITCHING RIDES ON BEES BY USING ELECTRIC FIELDS

As well as hitchhiking, the nematode worms also form conga lines

MEDICINE: SCIENTISTS TO TEST 'POO TRANSPLANT' PILLS IN GROUND-BREAKING GUT HEALTH TRIAL

Your number twos could be the number-one defence against liver disease

MEDICINE: SCIENTISTS DISCOVER WHY SPACE TRAVEL WEAKENS ASTRONAUTS' IMMUNE SYSTEMS

Astronauts routinely break out in rashes or get ill while aboard the International Space Station. Now we know why

NEUROSCIENCE: AI USES BRAINWAVES TO PERFECT YOUR PERSONALISED PLAYLIST

Your mood and energy levels may reveal your preferred musical genres to streaming services

YOU'RE HARDWIRED TO TRUST CONFIDENT VOICES... EVEN WHEN THEY'RE WRONG

Human evolution has led to us naturally believing statements that are delivered in a more assured manner

MEWING: CAN THE TIKTOK TREND GIVE YOU THE JAWLINE OF A MODEL?

Its supporters claim a simple tongue exercise can not only reshape your jaw and help you sleep, but can even improve your teeth. Here's what the experts say...

OLDER DADS: ARE YOU EVER TOO OLD TO BECOME A FATHER?

What are the risks and rewards, to you and your children, of becoming a father late in life?

SIGNS OF LIFE: COULD A SUPERNOVA BE A SIGNAL?

Astronomers think aliens could use supernova explosions to inform us of their presence

AI art's hidden echo chamber is about to implode

Artificial intelligence creates millions of images a day, flooding the internet. But what happens when it starts to train on its own data?

SHOULD I EAT DESSERT WITH BREAKFAST TO HELP ME DIET?

It's hard to say whether devouring a dessert at breakfast actually helps with weight loss. The most reported research comes from a team led by endocrinologist Prof Daniela Jakubowicz at Tel Aviv University in Israel. In 2012, her team published a study of 193 people on a calorie-controlled diet who consumed either a low-carbohydrate breakfast or one with high protein and high carbohydrate, including a sweet treat such as a piece of cake or a doughnut.

WHY DOES MY DOG GIVE ME SIDE EYE?

Dog side eye, aka 'the shady gaze', is the subject of many seemingly humorous memes. But this canine characteristic is often more loaded than the videos suggest.

DEAR DOCTOR: HOW DO I STOP HICCUPING? WHAT WILL ACTUALLY WORK?

Hiccups, those sudden and sometimes annoying contractions of the diaphragm, can be a perplexing phenomenon. During a hiccup your diaphragm contracts and, immediately after this, the top of your windpipe (your glottis) closes, making the typical 'hic' sound.

WHY DO I GO RED WHEN I'M EMBARRASSED OR HAVE BEEN DRINKING?

Blushing, or turning red in the face, is a fascinating physiological response that occurs in certain situations, such as embarrassment or alcohol consumption.

BEFORE WE HAD LONG COVID, WAS THERE LONG SARS?

The SARS epidemic of 2002-2004, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), affected over 8,000 people globally.

ANEMOIA: WHY AM I NOSTALGIC FOR A TIME I DIDN'T KNOW OR A PLACE I'VE NEVER BEEN?

The term nostalgia’ was coined by a Swiss doctor in the 17th century to describe the homesickness experienced by mercenaries fighting far from home from the Greek nostos’ the desire to return home and algos’, meaning pain).

THE VAGINA'S HUGE MEDICAL POTENTIAL IS GOING UNTAPPED.BUT NOT FOR MUCH LONGER

Scientists are beginning to investigate the organ’s potential healthcare applications... and there’s a lot of them

THE HUNT FOR INVISIBLE PARTICLES IS OPENING A NEW SCIENTIFIC FRONTIER

The link between theory and experiment is opening a window on to the next iteration of physics

FEELING SUPERSONIC

IT'S 20 YEARS SINCE THE PUBLIC COULD BUY A TICKET TO FLY ON A PLANE CAPABLE OF BREAKING THE SOUND BARRIER. BUT THERE'S A BAND OF ENGINEERS AND PILOTS WHO THINK COMMERCIAL AIRLINE PASSENGERS ARE ONCE AGAIN FEELING THE NEED... THE NEED FOR SUPERSONIC SPEED

OUR BEST FRIENDS

Many of us share our homes and lives with a canine companion. But how much do we really know about what's going on inside their heads? Cognitive scientists Dr Zazie Todd and Prof Alexandra Horowitz explain what we're learning about how our four-legged friends think, and share a few tips on how you can make their lives better...

Could adolescent reptiles learn martial arts?

Do you need more than pizza, surf slang and bright bandanas to bring out the heroes in four juvenile turtles?

ALBIE HEWITT, RIPON HOW RADIOACTIVE IS MY HOUSE? (DO I NEED TO WORRY?)

Pedantically, we could say that your house is literally bathed in radiation day and night, since visible light is radiation, and so are the infrared wavelengths coming from your radiators and the 2.4GHz frequency radio waves from your home Wi-Fi and mobile phone. But what you're probably referring to is ionising radiation - the kind powerful enough to knock electrons out of atoms and thereby cause cancer and, at very high doses, radiation poisoning and burns.