Earth-based telescopes peer into the universe’s first light
For the first time, scientists have used ground-based telescopes to look back more than 13 billion years and observe how the universe’s first stars...
These special galaxies lit up the cosmic noon
Star formation peaked during the Cosmic Noon, which spanned from 10 to 12 billion years ago. During Cosmic Noon, star formation was 10 to...
Distant black hole spotted firing out matter after a feeding frenzy
A supermassive black hole far out in space has revealed what happens when it "overeats"—by blasting out huge amounts of excess material at nearly...
Do hycean worlds have smaller habitable zones
Hycean worlds are also called ocean worlds.
They're planets covered in oceans that also have thick hydrogen atmospheres. There are no confirmed Hycean worlds—also called...
Lunar dust is bad. But not as bad as living in the city
As NASA prepares for a return to the Moon through the Artemis program, one of the biggest health concerns for astronauts has been lunar...
Who’s in charge when an asteroid heads for Earth?
An asteroid crashing into Earth may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but experts warn it’s a real threat—and we may not be...
Thick clay layers on Mars may hold clues to ancient life
Mars may seem like a dry and lifeless planet today, but billions of years ago, it was much wetter—and possibly more welcoming to life.
A...
Have stellar flybys altered Earth’s climate in the past
If our Solar System seems stable, it's because our short lifespans make it seem that way.
Earth revolves, night follows day, the Moon moves through...
Scientists create Milky Way twins to unravel dark matter secrets
Scientists have created digital “twins” of our Milky Way galaxy to investigate one of the biggest puzzles in the universe: dark matter.
This invisible substance...
Cosmic clues reveal where the universe’s missing matter was hiding
For decades, scientists have been searching for something strange: a huge portion of the universe’s ordinary matter seemed to be missing.
Not dark matter, but...