Scientists make a game-changing find in the Bennu asteroid

In 2023, NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission delivered samples of the 4.6-billion-year-old asteroid Bennu to Earth. Upon examining them, scientists discovered that the asteroid - which existed...

James Webb Telescope detects rotten-egg gas on alien worlds for the first time

Astronomers have detected a smelly gas best known for the odor of rotten eggs—hydrogen sulfide—in the atmospheres of four giant planets far beyond our...

How a rare element could fuel the next generation of space missions

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are taking a fresh look at neptunium, a rare radioactive metal that...

Scientists finally solve the mystery of how the most common planets form

Astronomers have finally figured out how the most common types of planets in our galaxy are formed—by watching a set of baby planets grow...

Astronomers spot one of the earliest galaxy clusters ever discovered

Astronomers using two of NASA’s most powerful space telescopes have discovered a massive cluster of galaxies forming much earlier in the universe than scientists...

Did two moons crash to create Titan? New study uncovers dramatic origin story

Saturn’s giant moon Titan and the planet’s famous rings may share a dramatic origin story. A new study suggests that Titan could have formed when...

Astronomers find new way to detect supermassive black hole pairs

Scientists believe that when galaxies collide and merge, the supermassive black holes at their centers should eventually pair up and orbit each other. These enormous...

Living in space can change where your brain sits in your skull

Going to space is harsh on the human body, and as a new study from our research team finds, the brain shifts upward and...

Mars’ “young” volcanoes tell a story of long, hidden activity

Volcanoes may look like simple mountains that erupted once and then fell silent, but in reality they are often the surface expression of complex...

Astronomers watch a giant star quietly collapse into a black hole

Astronomers have captured one of the clearest views ever of a massive star dying—not in a dramatic supernova explosion, but by quietly collapsing into...