Astronomers detect rare flyby of object in stellar nursery
Scientists have detected a rare stellar "flyby" near the protoplanetary disk around Z Canis Majoris, or Z CMa, a star in the Canis Major...
Why Neptune and Uranus have different colors?
Uranus and Neptune are similar planets in many ways.
Both are ice giant worlds, both have atmospheres rich in methane, and both have a bluish...
How dark matter could be measured in the solar system
Pictures of the Milky Way show billions of stars arranged in a spiral pattern radiating out from the center, with illuminated gas in between.
But...
Scientists set record by preserving quantum states for more than five seconds
Quantum science holds promise for many technological applications, such as building hacker-proof communication networks or quantum computers that could help discover new drugs.
These applications...
Mini-Neptune planets are losing atmospheres and becoming super-earths
Astronomers have identified two different cases of "mini-Neptune" planets that are losing their puffy atmospheres and likely transforming into super-Earths.
Radiation from the planets' stars...
What it takes to be a scientific breakthrough
In science, advances are a daily occurrence, but true breakthroughs are rare.
What does it take to achieve world-changing scientific breakthroughs?
Some are the result of...
This exoplanet has a complex and exotic atmosphere
The atmosphere of Earth is not a uniform envelope but consists of distinct layers that each have characteristic properties.
The lowest layer that spans from...
Scientists explain mysterious finger-like features in solar flares
In January 1999, scientists observed mysterious motions within a solar flare.
Unlike typical flares that showed bright energy erupting outwards from the Sun, this solar...
Scientists find nearly 1,000 mysterious strands in Milky Way galaxy’s turbulent center
An unprecedented new telescope image of the Milky Way galaxy's turbulent center has revealed nearly 1,000 mysterious strands, inexplicably dangling in space.
Stretching up to...
MIT scientists create new language for quantum computing
Time crystals. Microwaves. Diamonds. What do these three disparate things have in common?
Quantum computing.
Unlike traditional computers that use bits, quantum computers use qubits to...