Space & Future
Ancient stellar debris is still falling on Earth after 100 million years, study finds
Tiny traces of material from a giant cosmic explosion are still falling to Earth more than 100 million years after the event occurred, according...
Astronomers discover Sun-like star that likely swallowed one of its planets
A team of astronomers has found strong evidence that a star similar to our sun may have eaten one of its own planets.
The star,...
A star’s death throes involves a lot of kicking
When stars like our Sun age, they puff up into red giants.
Their bubbling outer mass gradually escapes into space, and their remaining cores contract...
The best place to look for alien megastructures might be moon dust
Our search for technosignatures - clear signs of advanced civilizations beyond Earth - takes many forms.
Many are driven by the famous Drake equation, which...
A tiny lab-made universe may help solve the mystery of time
Time seems like one of the most basic parts of everyday life. We use clocks to measure it, plan our days around it, and...
Consciousness may exist beyond humans, animals, and even Earth
Could consciousness exist in alien life forms that look nothing like us? Could it even appear in machines?
According to a new paper by philosophers...
Cosmic “galaxy-killing wind” may explain why some galaxies died so young
Astronomers have discovered a powerful “galaxy-killing wind” in the early universe that may help solve one of the biggest mysteries in modern astronomy: why...
JWST finds exoplanets choked by diesel smog
It’s 2134, and humanity has finally embraced green technologies while ridding the Earth of harmful fossil-burning technologies, most notably gasoline, wood, coal, and oil.
As...
The Universe is Still Running Away From Us
Here's one of the most unsettling facts in all of science. The universe is not just expanding, it’s expanding faster and faster.
Every galaxy is...
Scientists use light echoes to hunt dark matter around giant black holes
Dark matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in science.
Scientists cannot see it directly, yet they believe it makes up most of the matter...
Mysterious “little red dot” may be a giant black hole wrapped in gas
Astronomers using NASA's powerful James Webb Space Telescope may have solved one of the biggest mysteries of the early universe.
A strange object known as...
Astronomers discover massive star-making fuel supply in one of the universe’s earliest galaxies
Astronomers have discovered a huge reservoir of cold gas in one of the earliest known galaxies, providing new clues about how some galaxies grew...
Deep Space
A message to the stars: NASA’s creative journey to Europa
In October, NASA will embark on a captivating mission to Jupiter's moon Europa with a spacecraft named Europa Clipper.
This mission carries a unique and...
Astronomers uncover hidden dark matter in the universe’s first galaxies
An international team of astronomers has discovered that dark matter played a major role in shaping galaxies in the early universe.
They found that two...
Scientists recreate the harsh conditions inside gigantic galaxy clusters
Galaxies rarely live alone.
Instead, dozens to thousands are drawn together by gravity, forming vast clusters that are the largest objects in the universe.
“Galaxy clusters...
Unraveling the mysteries of a luminous quasar, J1144
The most luminous quasar, known as SMSS J114447.77-430859.3 or simply J1144, has been observed in X-ray emissions.
This observation provides a fresh understanding of how...
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe reveals sun’s hidden secrets
The Parker Solar Probe detected streams of high-energy particles that align with the supergranulation flows within coronal holes, revealing that these regions are the birthplace of the so-called "fast" solar wind.