Space & Future
Earth may have formed closer to home than scientists thought
For many years, scientists believed that Earth was built from a mix of materials coming from both the inner and outer parts of the...
Scientists discover why human sperm may struggle in space
Having a baby in space may sound like science fiction, but scientists are now studying whether it could actually work.
New research suggests that one...
Scientists solve Saturn rotation puzzle after decades of confusion
For decades, scientists have been puzzled by a strange observation about Saturn. Depending on how it was measured, the planet seemed to spin at...
Scientists detect mysterious signal that could confirm primordial black holes
A strange signal from space may be offering a clue to one of the biggest mysteries in science.
Researchers from the University of Miami believe...
Scientists reveal hidden radio signals from the edges of extreme stars
Pulsars are some of the strangest objects in the universe.
They are the dense, rapidly spinning remains of dead stars, and they send out beams...
New study suggests atoms can “hear” ripples in spacetime
Gravitational waves are tiny ripples in space and time, created by some of the most violent events in the universe, such as when two...
Why the Small Magellanic Cloud is behaving so strangely
Astronomers have discovered that one of our closest neighboring galaxies is going through a dramatic transformation—and they can watch it happening in real time.
The...
Giant craters may reveal if Psyche is a lost planetary core
When we think of asteroids, we almost immediately think of giant rocks bouncing around like the iconic chase scene in Empire Strikes Back, and...
Earth was already moving 3.5 billion years ago, study finds
The story of our planet is written in the slow movement of its surface.
Over billions of years, shifting tectonic plates have shaped continents, opened...
How will Martian gravity affect skeletal muscle
NASA and the China National Space Agency (CNSA) plan to send astronauts to Mars as early as the next decade.
Naturally, this ambitious goal requires...
This pair of brown dwarfs can’t get enough of each other
Binary stars are known to transfer mass to one another. In extreme cases, mass transfer can even cause a supernova explosion. That happens when...
When two ‘failed stars’ team up to light the sky
Brown dwarfs are often called “failed stars” because they are too small to keep nuclear fusion going in their cores, the process that makes...
Deep Space
SpaceX shows off its new extravehicular activity suit
In February 2022, SpaceX and entrepreneur/philanthropist Jared Isaacman (commander of the Inspiration4 mission) announced they were launching a new program to “rapidly advance human...
Tabletop particle accelerator could probe for other dimensions in the universe
Scientists at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics have discovered a method to accelerate electrons to record energies in very short distances.
With such a...
Earth’s cousins: Upcoming missions to look for ‘biosignatures’ in the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets
Scientists have discovered thousands of exoplanets, including dozens of terrestrial — or rocky — worlds in the habitable zones around their parent stars.
A promising...
What the quest to image black holes could tell us about our universe
Not long ago, the idea of photographing a black hole was as quixotic as photographing a unicorn.
Now, scientists have not one but two images...
Asteroid Bennu holds clues to how life began: Sugars, organics, and stardust
NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission brought back pristine pieces of the asteroid Bennu in 2023—and these tiny grains are turning out to be a treasure chest...