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...
This tiny Saturn moon could have an ocean inside
A Southwest Research Institute scientist set out to prove that the tiny, innermost moon of Saturn was a frozen inert satellite and instead discovered...
Scientists find the “heart” of the Milky Way galaxy
New study finds mass at the center of the Milky Way is 99.9% from a supermassive black hole.
At the center of the Milky Way...
Scientists report the second supermoon beyond our solar system
Astronomers have reported a second, super-sized moon orbiting a Jupiter-sized planet beyond our solar system.
If confirmed, the sighting could mean that exomoons are as...
How the Milky Way ‘ate’ smaller star clusters and galaxies
Astronomers are one step closer to revealing dark matter enveloping our Milky Way galaxy, thanks to a new map of twelve streams of stars...