telescopes

China's Einstein Probe satellite is drawing attention for its unusual wide-field view of the X-ray universe. The spacecraft uses 'lobster eye' optics, a design inspired by how lobsters' eyes reflect light, allowing it to monitor a large swath of the sky at once. That means any sudden, violent X-ray event, such as a supernova or a feeding black hole, is likely to be caught quickly, giving astronomers worldwide rapid alerts to follow up with telescopes.

American astronomer Henry Draper captured the first photograph of the Orion Nebula on September 30, 1880, a landmark moment in the history of astrophotography. Working with an 11-inch Alvan Clark refractor telescope and the then-new dry-plate photographic process, Draper succeeded in imaging the nebula from Earth for the first time. The anniversary is being noted in science and astronomy circles.

The Sunrise-III stratospheric observatory, a solar telescope flown on a balloon, has returned new observations revealing detailed magnetic structures on the Sun's surface. Reports from science outlets including Phys.org and EurekAlert, along with Japan's National Astronomical Observatory, describe images capturing fine-scale magnetic fields in unprecedented detail. Researchers say the findings help explain how solar magnetism drives activity such as flares and eruptions that can affect Earth.

NASA's space telescope project is moving forward, with Johns Hopkins University confirming that three of its team members are contributing to the effort. The announcement highlights the university's continued role in major space science missions, though further details about the telescope and the specific contributions have not yet been released.

A striking Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 3132, known as the Eight Burst Nebula, is circulating among space enthusiasts and astrophotography communities. The planetary nebula, captured with credits to NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team, STScI and AURA, is being praised for its vivid rings of gas and its place in the ongoing wave of popular space imagery.

The European Southern Observatory has released a new image of the spiral galaxy NGC 3981, also catalogued as Arp 289, taken with the Very Large Telescope in Chile. The picture was made under the Cosmic Gems Program, which photographs visually beautiful southern-sky objects during nights when conditions are unsuitable for scientific observations. The image is being shared and admired by astronomy enthusiasts online.

NASA has announced the Hubble Fellowship Program for 2027, inviting applications from postdoctoral scientists seeking support for independent research in astrophysics. The fellowship, named after the Hubble Space Telescope, is a prestigious early-career opportunity in space science. Attention is on eligibility details and application timelines as the astronomy community takes note.

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, NASA's upcoming wide-field infrared observatory, has reportedly extended its planned operational lifetime from five to ten years by adopting a fuel-efficient route to its observing point. Engineers achieved the doubling by conserving propellant during the journey to the Sun-Earth Lagrange point 2, giving astronomers far more observing time.

Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock has been speaking to science writer Karmela Padavic-Callaghan about a set of striking images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope. The photographs feature in her newly published book, and the interview appeared in New Scientist, drawing attention to the observatory's latest views of the cosmos.

The James Webb Space Telescope has released a new image of one of the most visually striking gravitational lenses observed to date. The photograph shows distant light warped into dramatic arcs by the gravity of a foreground galaxy, and the image is drawing attention from astronomy and photography enthusiasts alike.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has reportedly doubled its planned mission lifespan thanks to a fuel-saving engineering approach. The report highlights clever trajectory and propellant management that leaves the telescope with reserves well beyond expectations. Space and engineering enthusiasts are sharing and discussing the news, praising the design work behind the extended operational lifetime.

NASA has checked the guidance system of its Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope and recorded the first observation with its coronagraph instrument. The milestone tests the technology designed to block starlight so the telescope can directly image planets outside the solar system. Engineers will now assess how the systems perform ahead of the mission's science operations.

An amateur astronomer has published a new astrophotograph of NGC 7635, the Bubble Nebula, together with the open cluster M52 in Cassiopeia. The image was taken in HOO bicolor from 240 exposures of 60 seconds each in hydrogen-alpha and oxygen-III, using a SkyWatcher 254/1000 telescope, QHY163M camera and EQ6-R Pro mount with guiding. Astronomy communities are sharing the result as an example of what dedicated home equipment can capture.