Space & Future
Scientists decode ancient magnetic signals in asteroid Ryugu samples
Scientists studying tiny samples from the asteroid Ryugu have uncovered new clues about the magnetic environment that existed when the solar system first formed.
The...
How old is the universe? The oldest stars in the Milky Way may hold...
How old is the universe?
Scientists have long tried to answer this question, but different measurement methods have produced conflicting results.
Now, researchers from the University...
The coldest ‘stars’ in the galaxy might actually be alien megastructures
Ever since physicist Freeman Dyson first proposed the concept in 1960, the "Dyson sphere" has been the holy grail of techno-signature hunters.
A highly advanced...
Scientists spot unexpected cold region inside Jupiter’s northern lights
Jupiter’s northern lights are the most powerful in the solar system, but new observations from the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have revealed surprising...
Mars Express reveals a landscape filled with ancient craters on the red planet
A new image captured by the Mars Express orbiter offers a striking view of one of the most heavily cratered regions on Mars.
The image...
Scientists discover super-tough microbe that could survive a journey from Mars to Earth
Life on Earth may not be as isolated as we once thought. New research from Johns Hopkins University suggests that tiny life forms could...
Red dwarf stars might starve alien plants of the quality light they need to...
Red dwarfs make up the vast majority of stars in the galaxy.
Such ubiquity means they host the majority of rocky exoplanets we’ve found so...
How long do civilizations last
It is one of the most famous questions in science, and it was asked, as legend has it, over lunch.
Enrico Fermi, the physicist who...
Scientists discover cost-saving way to build structures on the moon
Scientists are exploring an exciting idea for future space missions: building structures on the Moon using the Moon’s own soil.
A new study shows that...
Giant dying stars create tiny cosmic dust that could form new planets
A new study shows that some of the largest and most powerful stars in the universe are producing incredibly tiny particles of carbon dust—material...
New method may finally resolve the “Hubble tension” puzzle
Scientists have known for nearly a century that the universe is expanding, with galaxies moving away from each other over time.
The speed of this...
Can Martian soil kill Earth microbes? Water bears reveal surprising clues
Scientists are using one of Earth’s toughest microscopic creatures to explore an important question for future space travel: Could the soil on Mars naturally...
Deep Space
Why is Webb Telescope having so much trouble with the TRAPPIST-1 system
When the James Webb Space Telescope was launched it came with a fanfare expecting amazing things, much like the Hubble Space Telescope.
One of JWST’s...
This drifting super Jupiter has a surprisingly complex atmosphere
The dividing line between gas giant planets and failed stars is blurry at best.
The isolated planetary-mass object SIMP J013656.5+093347.3 could be either one.
The distinction...
Massive stars have the power to shape solar systems
Stars shape their solar systems. It’s true of ours, and it’s true of others. But for some massive stars, their power to shape still-forming...
Astronomers eagerly await rare stellar explosion visible to the naked eye
A spectacular celestial event is expected to light up the night sky soon—a stellar explosion that happens only once every 80 years.
We spoke with...
New quantum theory of gravity could unlock the mysteries of the universe
A groundbreaking new theory developed by researchers at Aalto University in Finland could bring scientists closer to a "theory of everything"—a long-sought understanding that...