Many “mini-Neptunes” once thought to be lava worlds may have solid surfaces
Astronomers have long puzzled over a strange and abundant type of planet found across the galaxy—known as “mini-Neptunes.”
These worlds are smaller than Neptune but...
Astronomers observe a black hole in another galaxy tearing a star apart
During the 1950s, the study of the cosmos was revolutionized with the introduction of radio astronomy.
In the ensuing decades, astronomers detected numerous bright radio...
Aging stars may be swallowing their closest planets, study finds
New research suggests that aging stars may be destroying the giant planets orbiting nearest to them—a dramatic process that could foreshadow the distant future...
Giant stars may have forged the universe’s oldest star clusters, study finds
Astronomers have long puzzled over how the oldest and most mysterious star clusters in the universe—known as globular clusters—came to be.
Now, an international research...
Astronomers witness brightest and most distant black hole flare ever recorded
Astronomers have captured the most powerful and farthest black hole flare ever recorded—a cosmic light show so bright it outshined 10 trillion suns.
The flare,...
Dark matter obeys gravity just like ordinary matter, scientists discover
For decades, scientists have been trying to understand dark matter—the mysterious, invisible substance that makes up about 85% of all matter in the universe.
It...
Repeated impacts could regenerate exoplanet atmospheres around red dwarfs
Exoplanet scientists are eagerly awaiting the discovery of an atmosphere around a terrestrial exoplanet.
Not a thin, tenuous, barely perceptible collection of molecules, but a...
A stormy brown dwarf reveals secrets of how stars and planets are born
Astronomers have discovered a fascinating new object orbiting a small red star not far from Earth — a brown dwarf with powerful storms and...
Tiny galaxies prove dark matter is real, defying modified gravity theories
A new international study has provided one of the clearest signs yet that dark matter—not a change in gravity—is responsible for the mysterious way...
Ancient dead star still feasting on the remains of its planets
In about 5 billion years, our Sun will run out of hydrogen fuel and collapse into a dense, Earth-sized remnant called a white dwarf.
Though...