Astronomical transients

Scientists from the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy (IfA) have discovered the most energetic cosmic explosions since the Big Bang. Extreme nuclear transients (ENTs) occur when massive s

New model suggests Hawking radiation is speeding cosmic decay Scientists have long predicted that the Universe’s lifetime is effectively forever – specifically, 101100 years. But now scientists from R

Spontaneous human combustion is one of those alleged fortean phenomena that despite being roundly damned by professional sceptics such as the late Joe Nickell (whose obituary will follow in a future i

The world’s biggest digital camera telescope has started ...

I’m responding to an article by Pete Lawrence in the April 2025 issue, titled ‘Flora crosses the Leo Triplet’ (Big Three, in the Sky Guide), which spurred me to have a look for this minor planet. I al

On 2 March, a spherical UFO was spotted making erratic zigzag movements over the city of Buga in Colombia. Shortly afterwards, a group of people recovered a metal sphere, roughly the size of a footbal