Space & Future
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...
Scientists map 47 million galaxies in largest 3D universe map ever
Scientists have created the largest and most detailed 3D map of the universe ever made, offering a fresh way to understand how the cosmos...
Astronomers discover rare alien solar system changing in real time
Astronomers have discovered a remarkable planetary system where three very different objects orbit a distant star—and their paths are constantly changing.
The system, known as...
Invisible clumps of dark matter may explain three strange cosmic mysteries
Scientists have long known that most of the matter in the universe is invisible. This hidden material, called dark matter, makes up about 85%...
Black hole ‘dancing jets’ pack the power of 10,000 suns, new study finds
Astronomers have captured striking new details of powerful jets shooting out from a black hole, revealing just how much energy these cosmic systems can...
How dark matter could have built massive black holes after the big bang
Astronomers have long been puzzled by the discovery of extremely large black holes in the early universe.
Some of these black holes, found less than...
How a black hole and a shredded star could light up a galaxy
In 2014, a strange cloudy object called G2 made a close approach to Sagittarius A*, (Sag A*) the supermassive black hole at the heart...
Two monsters, one galaxy, and a collision 100 years away!
Space is full of objects that push the boundaries of imagination, but few do it quite as effectively as a black hole.
At its simplest,...
Scientists reveal where water is hiding on the moon after billions of years
Scientists have long suspected that water exists on the moon, but exactly how it got there—and where it is most concentrated—has remained a mystery.
Now,...
Moon dust tells a hidden story: How space delivered and transformed life’s building blocks
A new study based on samples from China’s Chang'e-5 and Chang'e-6 missions is helping scientists understand how the basic ingredients of life arrived and...
Deep Space
Astronomers find an ultra-hot galaxy cluster from the universe’s infancy
Astronomers have discovered something that challenges long-standing ideas about how the universe evolved: a galaxy cluster filled with extremely hot gas that formed far...
There are mysteries at Venus. It’s time for an astrobiology mission
When scientists detected phosphine in Venus’ atmosphere in 2020, it triggered renewed, animated discussions about Venus and its potential habitability.
It would be weird if...
What’s the great conjunction or Christmas star?
As the world continues to turn during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are settling in for a holiday season unlike any other in...
Scientists get the lowdown on sun’s super-hot atmosphere
A phenomenon first detected in the solar wind may help solve a long-standing mystery about the sun: why the solar atmosphere is millions of...
Where’s the most promising place to find Martian life
New research suggests that our best hopes for finding existing life on Mars isn’t on the surface, but buried deep within the crust.
Several years...