Indonesia's Mount Sinabung erupted on Wednesday, spewing a massive column of smoke and ash into the sky.

The eruption of the volcano in North Sumatra province lasted about 12 minutes, a local geological agency said.

Nearly 200 nations started online negotiations Monday to validate a U.N. science report that will anchor autumn summits charged with preventing climate catastrophe on a planetary scale. 

"The report that you are going to finalize is going to be very important worldwide," World Meteorological Organization head Petteri Taalas told some 700 delegates by Zoom.

Imagine multi-colored pinwheel fireworks, but on a galactic scale.

That is exactly what images of baby stars that European astronomers released Friday look like. 

A Chinese spacecraft carrying three astronauts successfully docked with the country's space station on Thursday afternoon, its space agency said, around seven hours after blasting off.

Astronauts blasting off on Thursday for China's first manned mission to its new space station will have a choice of 120 different types of food and "space treadmills" for exercise during their stay, China's space agency said.

A large segment of a Chinese rocket re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean on Sunday, the Chinese space agency said, following fevered speculation over where the 18-ton object would come down.

China said Friday the risk of damage on Earth from a rocket which fell out of orbit after separating from Beijing's space station was "extremely low", after the United States warned it could crash down onto an inhabited area.

A recycled SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule with four astronauts aboard was speeding on its way to the International Space Station, where the spacecraft is set to dock early Saturday.

Noise pollution poses a long-term risk to tree populations and plant diversity that may persist even after the sources of excess noise are removed, according to research published Wednesday.

Lunar exploration firm iSpace said Wednesday it will transport a United Arab Emirates unmanned rover to the Moon next year, as the Gulf state seeks to expand its space sector.