Astronomers map distances to 56000 galaxies, largest-ever catalog
How old is our universe, and what is its size?
A team of researchers led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa astronomers Brent Tully...
Asteroid that formed Vredefort crater much bigger than previously thought
About two billion years ago, an impactor hurtled toward Earth, crashing into the planet in an area near present-day Johannesburg, South Africa.
The impactor—most likely...
Astronomers explain Mars’ watery reflections
There is water in many places on Mars, including most of both polar ice caps – all in the frozen form.
But recently, bright reflections...
NASA’s DART mission hits asteroid in first-ever planetary defense test
After 10 months flying in space, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) – the world’s first planetary defense technology demonstration – successfully impacted its...
Astronomers detect hot gas bubble swirling around the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole
Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have spotted signs of a ‘hot spot’ orbiting Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre...
Astronomers unveil new and puzzling features of mysterious fast radio bursts
Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are millisecond-long cosmic explosions that each produce the energy equivalent to the sun’s annual output.
More than 15 years after the...
Saturn’s magic ring is from its lost moon Chrysalis, shows study
Rings appear to be common around planets in the solar system, but the dramatic rings of Saturn have long puzzled astronomers, as has the...
Saturn might have torn a moon apart to make its rings
Saturn is a world of surprises.
The Voyager 1 and 2 flybys and later on, the Cassini mission, opened our collective eyes to intricate details...
Astronomers risk misinterpreting planetary signals in James Webb data
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is revealing the universe with spectacular, unprecedented clarity.
The observatory’s ultrasharp infrared vision has cut through the cosmic dust...
Saturn’s rings and tilt could be the product of an ancient, missing moon
Swirling around the planet’s equator, the rings of Saturn are a dead giveaway that the planet is spinning at a tilt.
The belted giant rotates...