Space & Future
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...
How a single Martian storm triggered massive water loss
Mars’ water disappeared somewhere, but scientists have been disagreeing for years about where exactly it went.
Data from rovers like Perseverance and Curiosity, along with...
Why so few planets can support life
Life needs more than water and the right temperature to exist.
New research suggests that only a small number of planets ever get the chemical...
Dead stars may be hiding the missing mass of galaxy clusters
Galaxy clusters, the largest structures held together by gravity in the universe, may be far heavier than scientists once believed.
New research suggests that much...
A giant star is changing before our eyes and astronomers are watching in real...
For decades, astronomers have been watching WOH G64, an enormous heavyweight star in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a galaxy visible with the naked eye...
Are there hidden dimensions to the universe
This is Part 1 of a series on large extra dimensions.
I always say that one of the things that separates real science from pseudoscience...
Astronomers discover a hidden factory of organic molecules in a dust-shrouded galaxy
rich mix of organic molecules deep inside a nearby galaxy, offering a new glimpse into how the basic ingredients of chemistry may form in...
A strange Martian dust storm offers new clues to how Mars lost its water
Mars today is a cold, dry desert, but its surface tells a very different story.
Ancient river channels, lake basins, and minerals formed in water...
This mysterious particle may be proof that black holes can explode
In 2023, physicists detected something that should not have existed: a single subatomic particle called a neutrino carrying an almost unimaginable amount of energy.
This...
Is there really a black hole at the Milky Way’s center—or something even stranger?
For decades, astronomers have believed that a supermassive black hole sits at the heart of our galaxy.
This object, known as Sagittarius A*, is thought...
Is there a link between primordial black holes, neutrinos, and dark matter
Humanity has worked itself into a position where we can detect a single high-energy particle from space and wonder where in Nature it came...
After 50 years, Jupiter’s true size is finally revealed
For more than half a century, scientists believed they had a solid grasp of Jupiter’s size and shape.
As the largest planet in the solar...
Deep Space
Solar beats nuclear at many potential settlement sites on Mars
The high efficiency, light weight and flexibility of the latest solar cell technology means photovoltaics could provide all the power needed for an extended...
Scientists discover the largest organic molecules on Mars
NASA’s Curiosity rover has just made a fascinating discovery on Mars — the largest organic molecules ever found on the red planet.
These complex carbon-based...
The Large Magellanic Cloud survived its closest approach to the Milky Way
The Large Magellanic Cloud is a small galaxy, just a tenth of the Milky Way’s mass.
It is about 160,000 light years away, which is...
Scientists detect a black hole ringing like a bell for the first time
'Ringing' black hole validates Einstein's general relativity 10 years ahead of schedule.
For the first time, astrophysicists have heard a black hole ringing like a...
A Leap towards understanding quantum gravity
Scientists have made a significant breakthrough in the quest to understand the universe's most enigmatic force: gravity.
This discovery marks a pivotal moment in scientific...