Space & Future
A new study finds a subtle dance between dark matter and neutrinos
Time again for a tale of things dark and mysterious. A tale of dark matter. It's a well-told tale, but this time it involves...
This system reveals how super-Earths are born
One of the best things about being able to see thousands of exoplanetary systems is that we’re able to track them in different stages...
Hidden plasma rings around red dwarfs may shape the fate of their planets
When astronomers think about whether distant planets could support life, they often focus on the planets themselves.
But a growing body of research shows that...
How ancient Mars may have kept its lakes liquid
For years, scientists have puzzled over a contradiction on Mars.
The planet’s surface is covered with features that look unmistakably like ancient lake beds—shorelines, layered...
Scientists track a powerful solar region for a record 94 days
In 2024, the Sun put on one of its most dramatic shows in decades.
A single highly active region on its surface unleashed the strongest...
Young galaxies grow up fast, study finds
Astronomers have captured the most detailed look yet at faraway galaxies at the peak of their youth, an active time when the adolescent galaxies...
Astronomers see a supernova from 10 billion years ago using nature’s own telescope
Astronomers have discovered something truly remarkable: the first-ever gravitationally lensed superluminous supernova that can be seen as multiple, clearly separated images.
The distant explosion, named...
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...
Stars and planets are linked together, and dust is the key to understanding how
Stars and planets are inextricably linked. They form together and stars shape the fate of planets. Stars create the dusty protoplanetary disks that give...
The universe may be lopsided
The shape of the universe is not something we often think about.
But my colleagues and I have published a new study suggests it could...
Earth-like planets need a cosmic-ray bath
It's quite a challenge to make an Earth-like world.
You need enough mass to hold an atmosphere and generate a good magnetic field, but not...
Why astronomy needs a giant in the Canary Islands
Size matters when it comes to telescopes. The bigger they are, the farther they can see. Prioritizing constructing large ones is therefore high on...
Deep Space
Pluto has an ocean of liquid water surrounded by a 40-80 km ice shell
On July 14th, 2015, the New Horizons spacecraft conducted the first-ever flyby of Pluto, which once was (and to many, still is) the ninth...
Could Saturn’s moon Titan have life? maybe just a little
Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has long fascinated scientists.
With rivers and lakes of liquid methane, icy boulders, and dark sandy dunes, it looks like something...
Alien raindrops surprisingly like rain on Earth, shows study
Raindrops on other planets and moons are close to the size of raindrops on Earth despite having different chemical compositions and falling through vastly...
Enceladus’ hidden oceans: Why finding alien life may be harder than we thought
Scientists searching for life beyond Earth often look to ocean worlds like Enceladus, one of Saturn’s icy moons.
Enceladus has a vast ocean beneath its...
The mysterious case of the resurrected star
The star HD 65907 is not what it appears to be. It’s a star that looks young, but on closer inspection is actually much,...