Space & Future
Astronomers discover violent past hidden inside a “calm” galaxy cluster
A giant galaxy cluster once thought to be one of the calmest places in the universe is now revealing signs of a violent past.
Astronomers...
Stardust trapped in Antarctic ice reveals tens of thousands of years of solar system’s...
When you think of outer space, you're likely picturing stars, planets and moons. But much of space is filled with clouds of gas, plasma...
How one tiny star change can transform an entire galaxy
A galaxy may look calm and stable from far away, but new research suggests it can actually behave in surprisingly chaotic ways.
Scientists at Leiden...
What it would have been like to experience the dinosaur‑killing asteroid Armageddon
A great Tyrannosaurus rex strides through the conifer trees of her territory, sniffing the air.
She picks up the scent from the carcass of a...
Hidden molecular patterns may reveal alien life on Mars and Europa
For decades, scientists searching for life beyond Earth have focused on one big question: what kinds of molecules should they look for on other...
Astronomers discover 27 possible “Tatooine” worlds orbiting two suns
For years, planets orbiting two stars have seemed more like science fiction than reality.
The most famous example is probably Tatooine, the desert world from...
Dante’s Inferno may have predicted asteroid impacts 500 years early
For more than 700 years, Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy has been celebrated as one of the greatest works of literature ever written.
Most readers...
Scientists reveal stunning “cosmic soccer balls” glowing in deep space
Astronomers have captured breathtaking new images of one of the strangest places in space: a glowing cloud filled with giant carbon molecules shaped like...
Saturn’s icy rings likely formed from lost moon chrysalis
You’re a long-necked Titanosaurs grazing the plains and chomping away on tree leaves about 100 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous in what...
Black holes don’t live forever, but they might live long enough to look like...
Black holes live forever, at least according to general relativity. Once material crosses a black hole's event horizon, it is trapped forever. Until the...
Volunteers help discover thousands of hidden “failed stars” near Earth
A worldwide group of volunteer sky watchers has helped scientists make one of the biggest discoveries of nearby brown dwarfs ever recorded.
Through NASA’s citizen...
How giant black holes shut down star formation
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered powerful winds blasting out of some of the universe’s earliest galaxies, offering new clues about...
Deep Space
How space exploration advances medicine
Space exploration might seem like it’s all about rockets and far-off planets, but it has quietly revolutionized healthcare here on Earth.
The technologies and research...
We may have detected dark energy, shows Cambridge study
Dark energy, the mysterious force that causes the universe to accelerate, may have been responsible for unexpected results from the XENON1T experiment, deep below...
Scientists watch a black hole shredding a star
After passing too close to a supermassive black hole, the star in this artist's conception is torn apart into a thin stream of gas,...
This quasar may have helped turn the lights on for the universe
A Yale-led team of astronomers has detected an intensely brightening and dimming quasar that may help explain how some objects in the early universe...
What is life? And will we find it on other planets
How did life get started on Earth?
And how are we using what we know to look for it throughout the galaxy?
Chemistry is helping us...