Space & Future
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...
Astronomers discover “inside-out” planet system that defies cosmic rules
Astronomers have discovered a surprising planetary system that does not follow the usual rules of how planets form.
The finding, led by researchers from the...
How big can a planet get? Scientists have new answers
When it comes to planets, bigger is not always easier to understand. The largest planets in the universe are gas giants—massive worlds made mostly...
Can life begin on a moon without a sun
Free-Floating Planets, or as they are more commonly known, Rogue Planets, wander interstellar space completely alone. Saying there might be a lot of them...
Scientists capture a stunning “cosmic egg” as a dying star
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new image of the Egg Nebula, a rare and short-lived object formed as a star nears...
Deep Space
Scientists discover nearby exoplanet reeking of rotten eggs
A new study from Johns Hopkins University using data from the James Webb Space Telescope has uncovered a surprising feature of a nearby exoplanet,...
NASA discover a hot, Earth-sized planet located in habitable zone
A piping hot planet discovered by NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) has pointed the way to additional worlds orbiting the same star, one...
10 trillion asteroid-sized objects may carry life, says Harvard study
Picture this: A bacteria-carrying asteroid is ejected from the center of the galaxy into the far reaches of space only to be “captured” by...
Scientists discover first binary star near Milky Way’s supermassive black hole
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery near Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy.
For the first time, researchers have...
Where are all these rogue planets coming from?
There’s a population of planets that drifts through space untethered to any stars. They’re called rogue planets or free-floating planets (FFPs.)
Some FFPs form as...