Space & Future
Do stars slow down before they die? New study reveals a surprising twist
Stars may look calm and steady in the night sky, but deep inside they are constantly moving and changing.
One of the most important changes...
Young sun-like stars are not as menacing as thought
Scientists know that the behaviour of stars can dictate planetary habitability.
Research shows that young stars emit powerful radiation that can strip planetary atmospheres away.
And...
Curiosity rover uncovers 3.5-billion-year-old organic matter on Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover has discovered a surprising variety of organic molecules on Mars, including chemicals that scientists consider important building blocks for life on...
Scientists map hidden magnetic fields on the sun’s far side
From Earth, we only ever see half of the sun.
The other half—the far side—is always hidden from view. But what happens there still matters.
Powerful...
Cosmic dances reveal the true weight of young stars in Orion
A star’s mass decides almost everything about its life, from how bright it shines to how it eventually dies.
But for young stars hidden deep...
Astronomers spot a Jupiter-like planet with possible ice clouds
Astronomers have discovered a distant planet similar to Jupiter that may be covered with thick clouds, offering new insights into how giant planets form...
Tough fungi could survive the journey to Mars, study finds
Fungi are already known for being tough, but new research suggests that some types might be strong enough to survive the long and harsh...
Mars may have had a giant ocean—Scientists spot a “bathtub ring” clue
Scientists have found new evidence that Mars may once have been home to a vast ocean covering about one-third of the planet.
The discovery comes...
Laser-powered propulsion could cut travel to Alpha Centauri to just 20 years
Traveling to the nearest star system, Alpha Centauri, is far beyond the reach of today’s rockets. With current technology, such a journey would take...
Astronomers find stunning birthplace of cosmic “buckyballs” in deep space
Astronomers have captured stunning new images of a distant cloud of gas and dust where unusual molecules called “buckyballs” are formed.
Using the powerful James...
Exploding stars, black holes, and the forbidden gap
When the first gravitational wave (GW) was detected back in 2015, scientists said they had opened a new window into the Universe.
While most of...
NASA shuts off instrument on Voyager 1 to keep spacecraft operating
On April 17, engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Southern California sent commands to shut down an instrument aboard Voyager 1 called...
Deep Space
Planets hold more water than we thought
Most of a planet’s water is generally not on its surface but hidden deep in its interior, according to a new study.
This affects the...
Why Uranus is lighter in color than Neptune
Neptune and Uranus are similar in size and atmospheric conditions but curiously, Neptune is a darker shade of blue.
Astronomers used observations from the international...
The moon is more active than we thought – new study finds signs of...
For a long time, scientists believed that the Moon had been geologically dead for billions of years, meaning that all major geological changes stopped...
Atmospheres in the TRAPPIST-1 system should be long gone
Trappist-1 is a fascinating exoplanetary system. Seven worlds orbiting a red dwarf star just 40 light-years away.
All of the worlds are similar to Earth...
A new study reveals why the moon has a very thin atmosphere
The moon’s atmosphere is so thin that we only discovered it in 1971—after astronauts had already been there.
Ever since, scientists have been puzzling about...