Space & Future
Did two moons crash to create Titan? New study uncovers dramatic origin story
Saturn’s giant moon Titan and the planet’s famous rings may share a dramatic origin story.
A new study suggests that Titan could have formed when...
Astronomers find new way to detect supermassive black hole pairs
Scientists believe that when galaxies collide and merge, the supermassive black holes at their centers should eventually pair up and orbit each other.
These enormous...
Living in space can change where your brain sits in your skull
Going to space is harsh on the human body, and as a new study from our research team finds, the brain shifts upward and...
Mars’ “young” volcanoes tell a story of long, hidden activity
Volcanoes may look like simple mountains that erupted once and then fell silent, but in reality they are often the surface expression of complex...
Astronomers watch a giant star quietly collapse into a black hole
Astronomers have captured one of the clearest views ever of a massive star dying—not in a dramatic supernova explosion, but by quietly collapsing into...
Astronomers discover “inside-out” planet system that defies cosmic rules
Astronomers have discovered a surprising planetary system that does not follow the usual rules of how planets form.
The finding, led by researchers from the...
How big can a planet get? Scientists have new answers
When it comes to planets, bigger is not always easier to understand. The largest planets in the universe are gas giants—massive worlds made mostly...
Can life begin on a moon without a sun
Free-Floating Planets, or as they are more commonly known, Rogue Planets, wander interstellar space completely alone. Saying there might be a lot of them...
Scientists capture a stunning “cosmic egg” as a dying star
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new image of the Egg Nebula, a rare and short-lived object formed as a star nears...
How a single Martian storm triggered massive water loss
Mars’ water disappeared somewhere, but scientists have been disagreeing for years about where exactly it went.
Data from rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity, along with...
Why so few planets can support life
Life needs more than water and the right temperature to exist.
New research suggests that only a small number of planets ever get the chemical...
Dead stars may be hiding the missing mass of galaxy clusters
Galaxy clusters, the largest structures held together by gravity in the universe, may be far heavier than scientists once believed.
New research suggests that much...
Deep Space
Mars used to have salty lakes
Mars once had salt lakes similar to those on Earth and went through wet and dry periods, according to a new study.
As reported in...
We might finally know how galaxies grow so large
Astronomers have spent decades trying to understand how galaxies grow so large. One piece of the puzzle is spheroids, also known as galactic bulges.
Spiral...
Megastorms on Saturn lasted for hundreds of years, shows study
The largest storm in the solar system, a 10,000-mile-wide anticyclone called the Great Red Spot, has decorated Jupiter's surface for hundreds of years.
A new...
Scientists reveal the chemical secret of star birth
Scientists have uncovered what might be a critical step in the chemical evolution of molecules in cosmic “stellar nurseries.”
New moons found at Uranus and Neptune
Astronomers have found three new moons orbiting our Solar System’s ice giants. One is orbiting Uranus, and two are orbiting Neptune.
It took hard work...