Life on Earth uses water as a solvent. What are some other options for...
There is a vast menagerie of potentially habitable worlds in the cosmos, which means the Universe could be home to a diversity of life...
Early galaxies looked nothing like what we see today
Talk to anyone about galaxies and it often conjurs up images of spiral or elliptical galaxie.
Thanks to a survey by the James Webb Space...
Astronomers see massive stars forming together in multiple star systems
All stars form in giant molecular clouds of hydrogen.
But some stars are extraordinarily massive; the most massive one we know of is about 200...
Diamond rain on ice giants could influence their magnetic fields
Imagine Jupiter with a diamond core the size of Earth.
That’s what science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke described in his novel (and movie) 2010:...
Is this the lightest black hole or heaviest neutron star
About 40,000 light-years away, a rapidly spinning object has a companion that’s confounding astronomers.
It’s heavier than the heaviest neutron stars, yet at the same...
The JWST solves the mystery of ancient light
The very early Universe was a dark place. It was packed with light-blocking hydrogen and not much else.
Only when the first stars switched on...
Astronomers have mapped the Milky Way’s magnetic fields in 3D
Our galaxy is filled with magnetic fields.
They come not just from stars and planets, but from dusty stellar nurseries and the diffuse hydrogen gas...
Scientists solve the mystery of Titan’s floating ‘magic islands’
Saturn's largest moon, Titan, has been a source of intrigue for scientists, especially since the discovery of what are called "magic islands."
These are mysterious,...
Scientists reveal one of the largest stars in the Milky Way as it fades...
Once in a while, the universe throws a cosmic mystery our way, and recently astronomers have been captivated by a particularly intriguing one involving...
Scientists unravel the secrets of star birth at the edge of galaxies
In the vast expanse of the universe, stars form in a variety of surprising places, including the far edges of galaxies.
Understanding how and why...