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...

For the first time, scientists detect molecule critical to life in interstellar space

The chemical is known as thiepine, or 2,5-cyclohexadiene-1-thione (C₆H₆S), a ring-shaped sulfur-bearing hydrocarbon produced in biochemical reactions. When examining the molecular cloud G+0.693–0.027, a star-forming...

A new cosmic map reveals how dark matter built the universe we live in

Scientists have created the most detailed map yet of dark matter—the mysterious substance that makes up most of the universe and quietly shapes everything...