Space & Future
Scientists reveal stunning “cosmic soccer balls” glowing in deep space
Astronomers have captured breathtaking new images of one of the strangest places in space: a glowing cloud filled with giant carbon molecules shaped like...
Saturn’s icy rings likely formed from lost moon chrysalis
You’re a long-necked Titanosaurs grazing the plains and chomping away on tree leaves about 100 million years ago in the Early Cretaceous in what...
Black holes don’t live forever, but they might live long enough to look like...
Black holes live forever, at least according to general relativity. Once material crosses a black hole's event horizon, it is trapped forever. Until the...
Volunteers help discover thousands of hidden “failed stars” near Earth
A worldwide group of volunteer sky watchers has helped scientists make one of the biggest discoveries of nearby brown dwarfs ever recorded.
Through NASA’s citizen...
How giant black holes shut down star formation
Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered powerful winds blasting out of some of the universe’s earliest galaxies, offering new clues about...
Why we need to treat Earth like a spaceship
Four humans recently looped around the moon.
Their vessel, an Artemis capsule, was a thin metal shell whose life-support system kept them alive: it provided...
Astronomers discover how a mini-Neptune survived beside a hot Jupiter
Astronomers using NASA’s powerful James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered new clues about one of the strangest planetary systems ever discovered.
About 190 light years...
Astronomers witness the awesome power of a black hole’s “dancing jets”
Astronomers have long been fascinated by the powerful jets emanating from black holes.
These jets result from gas and dust being pulled into the black...
Scientists explore the surface of a super-Earth 48 light-years away
Astronomers have taken an exciting step forward in understanding planets beyond our solar system by studying not just their atmospheres, but their actual surfaces.
Using...
How can this tiny world have an atmosphere? Scientists are stunned
Far beyond Neptune, in one of the coldest and darkest regions of our solar system, astronomers have discovered something unexpected: a small icy object...
What happens when a star gets too close to a black hole
Supermassive black holes are among the most enigmatic objects in the universe.
They typically weigh millions or even billions of times the mass of the...
Astronomers finally crack the mass mystery of Orion’s hidden young stars
A star’s mass shapes everything about its life, from how bright it shines to how it eventually dies.
Small stars like our Sun burn slowly...
Deep Space
New tech could shield space electronics from deadly cosmic radiation
Modern life depends heavily on electronics that can survive in extreme environments.
Satellites that provide TV broadcasts, GPS signals, phone services and internet must operate...
Scientists discover ‘weird’ new exoplanet that defies expectations
A newly discovered exoplanet, nicknamed "Phoenix," has left scientists puzzled by retaining a puffy atmosphere despite being bombarded by intense radiation from its nearby...
Mysterious trenches on Uranus’ moon ariel may reveal its hidden secrets
Scientists have discovered that deep trenches on Uranus’ moon Ariel might be pathways for material from its interior to reach the surface.
These findings could...
Scientists find eight new sources of black hole echoes
Scattered across our Milky Way galaxy are tens of millions of black holes — immensely strong gravitational wells of spacetime, from which infalling matter,...
Astronomers discover rare alien solar system changing in real time
Astronomers have discovered a remarkable planetary system where three very different objects orbit a distant star—and their paths are constantly changing.
The system, known as...