Space & Future
New laser-treated metal could help keep satellites cool in space
Keeping satellites cool in space is a major challenge. Unlike on Earth, where heat can escape into the surrounding air, space is a vacuum.
This...
Why lunar regolith could be the key to living on the Moon
The moon may look peaceful from Earth, but its surface is one of the harshest environments imaginable.
It is covered by a layer of fine...
Astronomers solve mystery of strange cosmic signals with rare two-star system
Astronomers have solved one of the biggest mysteries in radio astronomy by identifying the source of a strange type of cosmic signal that has...
How heavy can a neutron star get
The physics of neutron stars are almost too fantastic to believe. Something the weight of two Suns compacted to a sphere the size of...
Scientists get their best-ever look at distant planet’s surface
Astronomers have found thousands of worlds in faraway star systems, but one of the questions that’s been hardest to answer is the one that...
Is extracting oxygen from lunar soil the future of space exploration
A new race to the moon is emerging between the United States and China.
Unlike fifty years ago, the goal is no longer just about...
Everything we thought we knew about dark energy could be wrong
For nearly 30 years, scientists have believed that a mysterious force called dark energy is causing the universe to expand faster and faster.
But a...
The Sun is changing and we don’t know why
Put your ear to the ground in the right place and you can hear a train coming from miles away.
Long before it appears on...
How Giant Galaxies Burned Bright and Died Young In the Early Universe
One of the biggest mysteries in astronomy is why some of the largest galaxies in the early universe stopped making stars surprisingly early in...
Red Dwarf Stars Caught Devouring Earth-Like Planets
Astronomers have discovered some of the clearest evidence yet that stars can consume their own planets.
In a new study published in the journal Monthly...
Something just passed between us and a distant star
On the night of 18 December 2019, a star in our satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, briefly got brighter.
Not dramatically nor explosively, just...
Ancient “Cosmic Cities” Were Already Shaping Galaxies Soon After the Big Bang
Astronomers have discovered that galaxies were already being shaped by their surroundings just 1.2 billion years after the Big Bang, much earlier than scientists...
Deep Space
Scientists discover a black hole’s death spiral
In a new study from University of Turku, researchers found that the axis of rotation of a black hole in a binary system is...
Shadows on the moon could be hiding water, even in the daytime
Shadows have been known throughout history to be excellent hiding places.
They may even be hiding unexpected things off the Earth as well.
According to a...
If Planet 9 is out there, here’s where to look
There are eight known planets in the solar system (ever since Pluto was booted from the club), but for a while, there has been...
Stinky exoplanet smells like rotten eggs
An exoplanet known for its deadly weather has another surprising feature—it smells like rotten eggs!
Scientists using data from the James Webb Space Telescope discovered...
Fluffy molecular clouds formed stars in the early universe
Stars form in Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), vast clouds of mostly hydrogen that can span tens of light years.
These stellar nurseries can form thousands...