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Astronomy

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The sky lit up in parts of Australia’s east coast overnight.

Green fireball explodes in city sky as annual meteor shower hits Australia’s east coast

Dramatic dashcam footage captured this week showed something that wouldn’t be out of place in a sci-fi film – space coming to Earth. Here’s how to watch the magic in real life.

  • Bronte Gossling

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The bright flash of a meteor falling to earth above the Brisbane city skyline on the evening of April 21, 2025.

Forty kilometres a second: Fireball lights up the sky over Brisbane

It lit up the night sky all across south-east Queensland and northern NSW overnight, yet the meteor that caused Monday night’s fireball was probably just the size of your fist.

  • Cameron Atfield

Scientists find strongest evidence yet of life on an alien planet

In a potential landmark discovery, scientists have detected the chemical fingerprints of gases that on Earth are produced only by biological processes.

  • Will Dunham
Hubble Space Telescope images of Saturn in various phases.

Why Saturn’s rings have disappeared, and when they’ll be back

Amateur astronomers have lost one of the jewels of the night sky – the rings of Saturn.

  • Cameron Atfield
The smaller or the farther away an object is, the more it twinkles.

Mystery behind ‘alien’ space signals appears solved

Scientists have pinpointed the origins of a radio wave from space and found it to be suspiciously close to a neutron star.

  • Sarah Knapton
A rare full moon, seen only once in almost 19 years,  rises over Melbourne on December 15.

A cold moon on a hot night: the cosmos abides beyond worldly horrors

As Christmas approaches, a rare full moon illuminates the sky, reminding us of our restless, insignificant place within an orderly cycle of the universe. 

  • Tony Wright
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From dust to dust, WA to the moon, space exploration history is being made in the Wheatbelt.

One West Aussie’s journey from oil and gas to cosmic superstar

In a pinch-himself moment, Peter Teale has made WA centre stage – again – in man’s second mission to the moon.

  • Claire Ottaviano
The sun’s solar maximum period is here.

The sun has just hit peak solar energy. Things are going to get chaotic

Destroyed satellites, power blackouts, crippled GPS and increased radiation are all possible as the sun’s magnetic pole flips.

  • Angus Dalton
The ‘alarm centre’ of the brain, the amygdala (highlighted in red) is larger in conservative people.

Left- and right-wing brains are wired differently. Can that gap be bridged?

Research has found conservatives have more grey matter in their amygdala, which processes fear, while left-wing liberals have a higher capacity to tolerate uncertainty.

  • Angus Dalton
NASA animation of a comet.

Under a ‘second moon’, a three-act spectacular comet show is under way

As Earth recruits a rare cosmic visitor, a three-act light show is on display for the next month with a blazing comet. Here’s how to spot it.

  • Angus Dalton

Original URL: https://www.theage.com.au/topic/astronomy-6fl2