Chris Impey

Articles by: Chris Impey

An illustration of Earth orbit overcrowded with space junk and orbital debris.

Space junk in Earth orbit and on the moon will increase with future missions − but nobody's in charge of cleaning it up

By Chris Impey published

There's a lot of trash on the moon right now – including nearly 100 bags of human waste. But whose responsibility is it to clean it up?

satellite dishes at the bottom of the image are pointed toward a star-studded sky with the bulge of the Milky Way stretching across the center of the image.

AI is helping astronomers make new discoveries about the universe faster than ever before

By Chris Impey published

AI has now spread into every field of astronomy and is helping astronomers learn more about the universe at an astonishing rate.

An artist's illustration of a super-Earth with liquid water and white clouds.

Super-Earths are more common and more habitable than Earth. Astronomers are finding more of the billions out there.

By Chris Impey published

Astronomers now routinely discover planets orbiting stars outside of the solar system — they're called exoplanets.

exoplanet depiction

To search for alien life, astronomers will look for clues in the atmospheres of distant planets — and the James Webb Space Telescope just proved it's possible to do so

By Chris Impey, Daniel Apai published

Scientists who study exoplanets explain how the James Webb Space Telescope will study exoplanet atmospheres.

three telescope dishes point up to the Milky Way with the black hole inset

Say hello to Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy

By Chris Impey published

Here's everything you need to know about our local supermassive black hole.

Scientists think there are 300 million habitable planets in the Milky Way, and some may be home to intelligent life

Sending out Earth's location with the hope of reaching aliens is a controversial idea. These scientists are doing it anyway.

By Chris Impey published

For over 70 years, astronomers have been scanning for radio or optical signals from other civilizations in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, called SETI.

The Hubble Space Telescope was born from a previous decadal survey. What leaps forward will come from this one?

Astronomy's 10-year wish list: Big money, bigger telescopes and the biggest questions in science

By Chris Impey published

Every 10 years, astronomers and astrophysicists outline priorities for the hardware they need in the decadal survey on astronomy and astrophysics.

Hubble took pictures of the oldest galaxies it could – seen here – but the James Webb Space Telescope can go back much farther in time.

The most powerful space telescope ever built will look back in time to the dark ages of the universe

By Chris Impey published

Some have called NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope the "telescope that ate astronomy."

The new government report describes 144 sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena.

US intelligence report on UFOs: No aliens, but government transparency and desire for better data might bring science to the UFO world

By Chris Impey last updated

On June 25, 2021, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released a much-anticipated report on UFOs to Congress.

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