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
Australia-bound asteroid sample may reveal life’s origins
A Japanese space mission will deliver samples collected from asteroid Ryugu in a capsule to the outback desert of Woomera in South Australia this...
Astronauts could see auroras on Mars with their eyes
On March 15th, 2024, the Sun released a powerful solar flare that coincided with a heightened period of solar activity.
This was accompanied by a...
Pentagon unveils new website for reporting (and learning about) UFOs
The Pentagon has opened up a new portal on the internet for professionals to submit reports about UFOs — now officially known as unidentified...
Life on Earth uses water as a solvent. What are some other options for...
There is a vast menagerie of potentially habitable worlds in the cosmos, which means the Universe could be home to a diversity of life...
Did an ancient icy impactor create the Martian moons
The Martian moons Phobos and Deimos are oddballs.
While other Solar System moons are round, Mars’ moons are misshapen and lumpy like potatoes.
They’re more like...