CATEGORIES

From possible planets to STRANGE NEW WORLDS

With 5,000 exoplanets now confirmed and another 5,000 waiting to follow suit, Ezzy Pearson takes a look at how a deluge of tantalising data is revealing intriguing new worlds every day

A parade of PLANETARY NEBULAE

Stuart Atkinson seeks out six of the loveliest examples of these deep-sky objects for you to track down in the late-summer skies.

A MULTITUDE OF MULTIVERSES

The word ‘universe’ once described everything that exists. But as our horizons have expanded, many scientists have begun to consider what’s beyond our own cosmos, and whether there may be many other universes lurking tantalisingly out of sight by

WORKING FROM HOME VS THE WORKPLACE: A SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS

More than two years ago, many of us started working from home at least some of the time. So now the novelty has worn off, are hybrid workers more productive and happier than those working full-time in an office?

Ideas we like...

Our pick of the month's smartest tech

HOW DOES ECHOLOCATION WORK?

With its built-in sonar, honed through millions of years of evolution, the bat is the undisputed poster child of echolocation. This furry, flying critter shouts into the void, and then listens to the echoes that bounce back from objects in the darkness.

JAMES WEBB SPACE TELESCOPE SHOWS US THE UNIVERSE IN A NEW LIGHT

These images will kick-start a new era in space exploration

DYSLEXIA ISN'T A DISORDER, IT'S ESSENTIAL TO HOW OUR SPECIES ADAPTS, SAY RESEARCHERS

People with dyslexia have brains that are geared towards exploring the unknown, a trait that's been crucial to the survival and success of humans

WHY WE LOVE SOME ROBOTS AND HATE OTHERS

Not all artificial intelligence is equal: just ask Clippy, Microsoft's much reviled virtual assistant

SUNCREAM: HOW DO I CHOOSE THE BEST ONE?

A report from Which? found that several 'mineral' suncreams don't provide adequate protection

MARS: COULD MARTIAN ROL SAMPLES CONTAMINATE OUR PLANET WITH MICROBES?

NASA and ESA plan to bring back samples from the Red Planet within the next two decades

CRIME: NEW ALGORITHM PREDICTS WHEN AND WHERE A CRIME WILL HAPPEN BEFORE IT TAKES PLACE

The Al model was tested across eight cities in the US and predicts future crimes with 80 to 90 per cent accuracy, without falling foul of bias

FOR THOSE WHO LIKE TO ROCK

Think of a rock. It’s angular, grey and on the ground, right? Wrong. Rocks come in a staggering variety of shapes and colours, which help us decipher the stories of their geological lives. Here are just a few of the fantastic rock formations found on this planet…

DARK THE FORCE TEARING SPACE APART ENERGY

It's the most mystifying phenomenon in the universe, but we're hot on its trail

WOBBLY SPACE JETS MAY AFFECT ALIEN LIFE

Binary star protoplanets could form differently due to infalling material

MARS ROVER PICKS ITS OWN ROCK SAMPLES

Perseverance is analysing each sample's elemental composition in the ongoing search for ancient life

Chris Carberry 'We've never landed something like this on Mars'

All About Space catches up with Chris Carberry, cofounder of Explore Mars Inc, about plans to land humans on Mars' moon Phobos

EARTH TO THE MOON

Jump on board the Orion as we follow the route planned for the Artemis astronauts

LAUNCH FOR THE MOON

NASA's biggest mission in over 50 years will put boots back on the Moon and bring us one step closer to Mars

NASA's Europa Clipper spacecraft takes a big step towards its 2024 launch

NASA's Europa Clipper mission is one step closer to starting its journey to Jupiter's icy moon.

Asteroid Ryugu contains material older than the planets

Ryugu contains some of the most primitive material ever studied on Earth, dating back to just 5 million years after the formation of the Solar System according to analyses of samples retrieved by Japan's Hayabusa2 mission. Because it's so old, it's made of the same material that formed the planets. "Ryugu is one of the building blocks of Earth," Hisayoshi Yurimoto, a professor at Hokkaido University in Japan, said.

Decoding the Colors

The Webb Space Telescope is giving scientists a close look at the atmospheres of planets beyond our solar system

THE EYES HAVE IT

TWO FRONT-FACING EYES WORKS WELL FOR US BUT NOT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE. THESE ANIMALS HAVE SOME BIZARRE AND BEAUTIFUL EYES THAT LET THEM SEE THE WORLD IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS

PATHOLOGICAL LIARS WHAT DRIVES THEM TO LIE AND WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT IT?

From high-profile court cases to recent political scandals, lying is all over the news. A psychologist explains how to spot and deal with a habitual liar

MONKEYPOX OUTBREAK: HOW WORRYING IS IT?

This rare disease, mainly found in Africa, is unlikely to become a new pandemic in UK, but cases are going to rise over the coming weeks

Q&A: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

DOES MY DOG ACTUALLY ENJOY THEIR FOOD WHEN THEY EAT IT SO FAST? ... HOW FAR DOES MY COMPUTER MOUSE MOVE? ... IS THERE SUCH A THING AS LEFT BRAIN VS RIGHT BRAIN? ... HOW DO YOU THICKEN A SAUCE? ... WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN OCTOPUS AND A SQUID? ... WHY DO ANIMALS MIGRATE? ... DO WE GET MORE BITTER AND CYNICAL AS WE GET OLDER? ... IS IT TRUE THAT YOU CAN BITE THROUGH A HUMAN FINGER AS EASILY AS A CARROT? ... WHAT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A BLACK HOLE? ... WHY DIDN'T DINOSAURS EVOLVE SENTIENCE?

FUTURE CITIES

GREEN, FRIENDLY AND CLEAN: HOW WE COULD REIMAGINE URBAN LIFE AFTER THE PANDEMIC

DISCOVERIES

A WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN' GOING ON | BUGS IN OLD GUTS | SALAMADERS IN FREEFALL | A CURE FOR CANCER? | LUNAR ALLOTMENT | RATS TO THE RESCUE

CLIMATE: COULD 50°C BECOME THE NEW NORMAL?

A recent heatwave in Jacobabad, Pakistan saw temperatures hit a record 51°C - dangerously close to the limit of human survivability

AT THE EDGE OF EVERYTHING

Puzzling over the answers to a centuries-old cosmic paradox can teach us profound things about the Universe