Space & Future
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...
The interstellar comet that’s spilling its secrets
When 3I/ATLAS swept past the Sun in late October 2025, it became only the third confirmed visitor from interstellar space ever detected.
Unlike the mysterious...
Hot Jupiters with a memory of their past
How did hot Jupiters end up orbiting so close to their stars, thus earning their moniker?
This is what a recent study published in The...
Astronomers discover giant spinning cosmic structure like a “teacup ride” in space
Astronomers have discovered one of the largest rotating structures ever seen in the universe, a vast cosmic formation that spins in a way reminiscent...
Deep Space
Hidden stars at Milky Way’s core could reveal dark matter’s secrets
Astronomers believe that strange objects known as “dark dwarfs” may be hiding at the center of our galaxy, and discovering them could help unlock...
Astrophysicist explores new way to detect gravitational waves
Astrophysicist Jeremy Darling from the University of Colorado Boulder is on a quest to find a new way of measuring the universe's gravitational wave...
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...
This bronze age arrowhead was made out of a meteorite
It’s sometimes hard to remember that meteorites have been hitting our planets for millions of years.
And some of them are made of valuable materials...
Black holes need refreshing cold gas to keep growing
The Universe is filled with supermassive black holes.
Almost every galaxy in the cosmos has one, and they are the most well-studied black holes by...