Scientists reveal hidden radio signals from the edges of extreme stars

Pulsars are some of the strangest objects in the universe. They are the dense, rapidly spinning remains of dead stars, and they send out beams...

New study suggests atoms can “hear” ripples in spacetime

Gravitational waves are tiny ripples in space and time, created by some of the most violent events in the universe, such as when two...

Why the Small Magellanic Cloud is behaving so strangely

Astronomers have discovered that one of our closest neighboring galaxies is going through a dramatic transformation—and they can watch it happening in real time. The...

Giant craters may reveal if Psyche is a lost planetary core

When we think of asteroids, we almost immediately think of giant rocks bouncing around like the iconic chase scene in Empire Strikes Back, and...

Earth was already moving 3.5 billion years ago, study finds

The story of our planet is written in the slow movement of its surface. Over billions of years, shifting tectonic plates have shaped continents, opened...

How will Martian gravity affect skeletal muscle

NASA and the China National Space Agency (CNSA) plan to send astronauts to Mars as early as the next decade. Naturally, this ambitious goal requires...

This pair of brown dwarfs can’t get enough of each other

Binary stars are known to transfer mass to one another. In extreme cases, mass transfer can even cause a supernova explosion. That happens when...

When two ‘failed stars’ team up to light the sky

Brown dwarfs are often called “failed stars” because they are too small to keep nuclear fusion going in their cores, the process that makes...

Scientists discover “rotten egg” planet with a massive ocean of lava

Astronomers have discovered a strange new kind of planet beyond our solar system—one that may be covered by a vast, long-lasting ocean of molten...

A giant space rock’s scars may reveal how planets were born

Asteroid 16 Psyche has puzzled scientists for more than 200 years. Now, new research suggests that its large craters could hold the key to understanding...