Space & Future
Webb spots the ‘smoke’ from crashing exocomets around a nearby star
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was involved in yet another first discovery recently available in pre-print form on arXiv from Cicero Lu at...
Scientists solve a big bang theory puzzle that could point to dark matter
For years, one of the most intriguing mysteries in physics has been dark matter—an invisible substance thought to make up most of the matter...
Astronomers discover the violent origin of mysterious blue cosmic explosions
For years, astronomers have been puzzled by rare and dramatic flashes of blue and ultraviolet light that suddenly appear in distant galaxies and then...
Astronomers find the first compelling evidence of monster stars in the early universe
One of the greatest mysteries the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was developed to investigate was the birth of supermassive black holes (SMBHs).
For more...
A year that mattered: Caltech’s scientific journey in 2025
Caltech is a place unlike any other, an Institute that is truly "small but mighty."
Its small size and the expertise of its community enable...
The Milky Way had a wild past, and Webb is finally revealing it
How did the Milky Way become the calm, spiral galaxy we see today?
New observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) suggest that our...
Gaia space telescope spots possible planets forming around baby stars
How do planets like Earth and Jupiter come into existence?
Astronomers are beginning to answer that question thanks to new observations from the European Space...
NASA’s Perseverance Rover is ready for many more miles—and new discoveries on Mars
After nearly five years on Mars, NASA’s Perseverance rover is proving it was built to last.
Since landing in February 2021, the six-wheeled robot has...
Astronomers witness a violent space collision around a nearby star
Astronomers have captured something extraordinary: the aftermath of a violent collision between large space rocks in another planetary system.
Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, scientists...
This shape-shifting wheel could help robots explore the moon’s hidden caves
Exploring the Moon’s surface is challenging enough, but reaching what lies beneath it is even harder.
Deep pits and long lava tubes on the Moon...
Why Saturn’s moon Titan might be less oceanic—and more complex—than thought
For years, scientists believed that Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, hid a vast ocean of liquid water beneath its thick, icy shell.
This idea made Titan...
Why most exoplanets are magma worlds
In astronomy, there is a concept called “degeneracy”.
It has nothing to do with delinquent people, but instead is used to describe data that could...
Deep Space
Could modified gravity be the answer to Planet 9
As students advance to higher and higher physics courses, they eventually learn that the simple Newtonian dynamics they learned about in early classes aren’t...
Dying star ashes reveal the carbon’s origin in our Milky Way galaxy
As dying stars take their final few breaths of life, they gently sprinkle their ashes into the cosmos through the magnificent planetary nebulae.
These ashes,...
Hidden stars at Milky Way’s core could reveal dark matter’s secrets
Astronomers believe that strange objects known as “dark dwarfs” may be hiding at the center of our galaxy, and discovering them could help unlock...
Neptune’s vanishing clouds linked to solar cycle, study finds
For the first time in nearly 30 years of observations, Neptune's cloud cover has dramatically decreased, and researchers think the sun's solar cycle might...
Astronomers create largest ‘history book’ image of the universe
Astronomers have assembled a mosaic of nearly 7,500 images of one part of the sky, creating the largest and most comprehensive history book of...