Space & Future
Did gravitational tides cause Earth’s extinctions?
Life on Earth took a long evolutionary journey that eventually created us, the purportedly intelligent species that dominates the planet.
But there was no grand...
Scientists discover magnetic fields guiding the birth of stars
How do stars form?
Scientists know that stars are born when huge clouds of cold gas in space collapse under their own gravity.
But one mystery...
Scientists Warn Some Earth Pathogens May Survive a Journey to Mars
Could microbes from Earth survive on other worlds? New research suggests that the answer may be yes.
Ph.D. candidate Tommaso Zaccaria studied whether tiny organisms...
Iconic cosmic collision challenges long-held ideas about dark matter
The Bullet Cluster is one of the most famous objects in astronomy.
For years, many scientists have considered it one of the strongest pieces of...
Scientists find a new way to search for ancient life on Mars using ‘mirror’...
Billions of years ago, Mars looked very different from the cold, dry world we see today. Scientists believe the Red Planet once had a...
Mysterious cosmic rays are challenging what scientists thought they knew about the universe
Millions of years ago, a massive star exploded somewhere far away in our galaxy.
During this violent event, called a supernova, the dying star blasted...
The universe’s famous ‘pink planet’ has salty clouds in its sky
Astronomers have discovered an unexpected surprise on the famous “Pink Planet,” a strange world known as GJ504b.
Using the powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST),...
New Mars rock discovery could reveal secrets of the red planet’s ancient past
Scientists have discovered a completely new type of rock from Mars and, for the first time, identified the mineral garnet in a Martian sample.
The...
More than 30 giant dust devils spotted twisting through ancient Martian canyons
The European Space Agency (ESA) has captured remarkable new images of dozens of giant dust devils swirling across an ancient canyon system on Mars.
The...
Ancient black holes may be triggering exploding stars across the universe, study finds
Scientists are exploring a fascinating idea: some of the brilliant stellar explosions seen across the universe may have been triggered by tiny black holes...
Lava planet has hydrogen-rich, active atmosphere
It’s 2158, and you’re chugging away on your PhD in Planetary Volcanology from the University of Utopia Planitia on Mars. Graduate students still get...
Astronomers detect the fuel for star formation in some of the universe’s earliest galaxies
Astronomers have made a major breakthrough by directly detecting the gas that fueled star formation in some of the universe’s earliest galaxies.
The discovery offers...
Deep Space
NASA’s next solar sail is about to go to space
Everyone knows that solar energy is free and almost limitless here on Earth. The same is true for spacecraft operating in the inner Solar...
Scientists find a new way to search for life in the universe
Fluorescent glow may reveal hidden life in the cosmos.
Astronomers have uncovered a new way of searching for life in the cosmos.
Harsh ultraviolet radiation flares...
Could life exist below Mars’ ice? New study explores the possibility
A new NASA study suggests that life might be able to survive beneath the frozen ice on Mars.
While no direct evidence of life on...
Scientists create a recipe book to search for alien life
Have you ever wondered if there's life on other planets?
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are asking the same question, but they've taken an...
Astronomers witness ultra-fast winds erupt from a supermassive black hole
Astronomers have witnessed a dramatic and never-before-seen event near a supermassive black hole: an intense X-ray flare that, within hours, triggered ultra-fast winds blasting...