Space & Future
Scientists recreate a black hole energy trick in the lab without anything spinning
More than 50 years ago, Nobel Prize-winning physicist Sir Roger Penrose proposed an extraordinary idea.
He suggested that it might be possible to extract energy...
Scientists capture the tiny ‘drift’ that signals the birth of a star
How does a new star begin?
It is a question astronomers have been trying to answer for decades.
Now, scientists have observed an important process that...
Most of moon’s water likely remains chemically bound in its deep interior
After decades of analyzing reams of lunar rocks back here on Earth, the canonical view of the Moon was that it was anhydrous; that...
Scientists discover how an exoplanet with endless day and night could still support life
An unusual planet located about 48.5 light-years from Earth may seem far too extreme for life.
One side is permanently exposed to intense heat, while...
A rapidly growing black hole in a nearby galaxy could provide a window into...
An international team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (MPIfR) recently made a first-ever discovery when observing SDSS J110546.07+145202.4,...
Astronomers Find Clouds Can Heat Alien Planets by More Than 1,000°C
Scientists have discovered that clouds on distant planets may be doing much more than blocking our view.
New research suggests these clouds can trap heat...
Astronomers uncover a hidden history inside the Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula is one of the brightest and most famous objects in the night sky.
It can even be seen without a telescope, and...
Scientists discover rare super-Jupiter with an incredible 180-day orbit
Astronomers have discovered a rare giant planet outside our solar system that could help scientists better understand how large planets form and evolve.
The newly...
Ancient supernova hides baby stars rich in life’s building blocks, study finds
Astronomers have made a surprising discovery inside the remains of a giant star that exploded about 1,600 years ago.
They found newborn stars surrounded by...
Mystery deepens as giant exoplanet refuses to reveal where it was born
Astronomers have taken a closer look at a giant planet called Beta Pictoris b, hoping to solve one of the biggest mysteries in planetary...
Scientists heard the fireball no camera could see
What do you do when a fireball lights up the sky and every camera meant to capture it comes up empty?
Last spring, a bright...
Ancient interstellar comet gives us a rare look at the universe’s youth
An unusual visitor from deep space is helping scientists learn more about what the universe was like billions of years before our solar system...
Deep Space
Can we survive in space? It might depend on how our gut microbiome adapts
For over a century, people have dreamed of the day when humanity (as a species) would venture into space.
In recent decades, that dream has...
How extraterrestrial civilizations could become “stellarvores”
One of the most challenging aspects of astrobiology and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) is anticipating what life and extraterrestrial civilizations will look...
Scientists reveal hidden radio signals from the edges of extreme stars
Pulsars are some of the strangest objects in the universe.
They are the dense, rapidly spinning remains of dead stars, and they send out beams...
NASA is one step closer to deploying fission reactors on the Moon
What’s the most important thing you need to live and work on the Moon?
Power. For NASA’s upcoming Artemis program, getting power to lunar bases...
Fragile orbits limit late arrival of water on this seven exoplanets system
Seven Earth-sized planets orbit the star TRAPPIST-1 in near-perfect harmony.
Scientists have used that harmony to determine how much physical abuse the planets could have...