Space & Future
Australian Salt Lakes May Hold The Secret to Mars’ Watery Past
Could some of the best clues about ancient Mars be hiding in the remote landscapes of Western Australia?
A new study suggests that unusual salt...
Scientists solve a long-standing nuclear mystery that could explain how stars create heavy elements
Scientists have solved a decades-old mystery about the way some atomic nuclei release energy, a discovery that could improve our understanding of how stars...
Scientists develop a new way to search for hidden particles by ‘listening’ to the...
Scientists have created a new mathematical method that could help reveal hidden particles that have so far escaped detection.
Inspired by the way a skilled...
Venus May Still Be Geologically Active, New Study Suggests
For many years, scientists believed that Venus was a quiet, geologically inactive world where major surface changes stopped long ago.
New research now challenges that...
Could We Send a Spacecraft to a Black Hole?
Black holes represent some of the most extreme environments in the universe.
They’re the sources of the strongest consistent gravitational fields, which allows us to...
Rare moon rocks from the far side reveal a new chapter in the solar...
Ancient rocks collected from the far side of the moon are giving scientists a fresh look at the violent history of our solar system.
The...
We may have been searching the wrong radio channel for alien signals
For more than 60 years, scientists have searched the skies for signs of intelligent life beyond Earth.
Much of that search has focused on listening...
Did the dinosaur-killing asteroid really shape tuna evolution?
For years, many scientists believed that the asteroid impact that wiped out the non-avian dinosaurs 66 million years ago also helped shape the evolution...
Mars Has Its Own Tiny Aurora Engine—And It Works Surprisingly Like Earth’s
Mars may not have a strong global magnetic field like Earth, but scientists have discovered that it still creates glowing auroras using a surprisingly...
Europa’s Hidden Ocean May Be Harder To Reach Than We Expected
Europa, one of Jupiter's largest moons, has fascinated scientists for decades because it may hide a vast ocean of liquid water beneath its thick...
Are we missing alien lighthouses
Searching for extraterrestrial intelligence has so far meant primarily focusing on one particular type of signal - and that signal has normally been based...
Spin-reversing comet may face self-destruction
Comets are known for providing breathtaking observations of their long and shiny tails when they travel too close to the Sun.
This happens because comets...
Deep Space
How the universe’s earliest galaxies struggled to form order
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has given astronomers their clearest look yet at what galaxies looked like when the universe was very young—and...
NASA’s new flagship telescope just released its beautiful first images of the universe
The first images of the universe captured by NASA’s new flagship telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope, are worth more than a thousand words.
The...
Supermassive black holes devour gas just like their petite counterparts
On Sept. 9, 2018, astronomers spotted a flash from a galaxy 860 million light years away.
The source was a supermassive black hole about 50...
Astronomers capture first image of the black hole at the heart of our Milky...
Black holes are invisible by nature.
Their pull is inescapable, forever trapping any light that falls into their gravitational abyss.
But just beyond a black hole’s...
Milky way’s satellite galaxies may shed light on dark matter
Two new studies have revealed more about the galaxies that orbit around the Milky Way.
They include evidence that large satellite galaxies can bring their...