Space & Future
A giant star is changing before our eyes and astronomers are watching in real...
For decades, astronomers have been watching WOH G64, an enormous heavyweight star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy visible with the naked eye...
Are there hidden dimensions to the universe
This is Part 1 of a series on large extra dimensions.
I always say that one of the things that separates real science from pseudoscience...
Astronomers discover a hidden factory of organic molecules in a dust-shrouded galaxy
rich mix of organic molecules deep inside a nearby galaxy, offering a new glimpse into how the basic ingredients of chemistry may form in...
A strange Martian dust storm offers new clues to how Mars lost its water
Mars today is a cold, dry desert, but its surface tells a very different story.
Ancient river channels, lake basins, and minerals formed in water...
This mysterious particle may be proof that black holes can explode
In 2023, physicists detected something that should not have existed: a single subatomic particle called a neutrino carrying an almost unimaginable amount of energy.
This...
Is there really a black hole at the Milky Way’s center—or something even stranger?
For decades, astronomers have believed that a supermassive black hole sits at the heart of our galaxy.
This object, known as Sagittarius A*, is thought...
Is there a link between primordial black holes, neutrinos, and dark matter
Humanity has worked itself into a position where we can detect a single high-energy particle from space and wonder where in Nature it came...
After 50 years, Jupiter’s true size is finally revealed
For more than half a century, scientists believed they had a solid grasp of Jupiter’s size and shape.
As the largest planet in the solar...
Webb Telescope spots rare five-galaxy merger just 800 million years after the big bang
Astronomers have spotted an unexpected and dramatic event in the early universe: a tightly packed collision involving at least five galaxies just 800 million...
Why planets with two suns almost never survive
Planets with two suns, like the famous desert world Tatooine from Star Wars, capture our imagination.
Yet in real life, these so-called circumbinary planets—planets that...
The universe’s first matter really was a soup—and scientists can now see it slosh
In the very first moments after the Big Bang, the universe looked nothing like it does today.
Instead of stars, atoms, or even protons, everything...
NASA rover finds 3.5-billion-year-old Martian shoreline in Jezero crater
Scientists exploring Mars have uncovered strong new evidence that the Red Planet once had wave-washed beaches and long-lasting water activity, making it an even...
Deep Space
‘Planet confusion’ could slow Earth-like exoplanet exploration
When it comes to directly imaging Earth-like exoplanets orbiting faraway stars, seeing isn’t always believing.
A new Cornell study finds that next-generation telescopes used to...
Exoplanets need special conditions to survive space weather, Says NASA study
A new study by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the European Space Agency’s XMM-Newton highlights the challenges planets face when orbiting red dwarf stars,...
Is our universe expanding as we thought? New study reveals the answer
For years, astronomers have debated how fast our universe is expanding—a key question that helps us understand the history and future of the cosmos.
This...
How do ice giants like Neptune maintain their magnetic fields?
A layer of “hot,” electrically conductive ice could be responsible for generating the magnetic fields of ice giant planets like Uranus and Neptune.
New work...
Milky Way’s bright heart might be shining with dark matter energy
Astronomers have found new evidence that mysterious dark matter may be responsible for the unusual glow of high-energy gamma rays coming from the center...