Space & Future
This system reveals how super-Earths are born
One of the best things about being able to see thousands of exoplanetary systems is that we’re able to track them in different stages...
Hidden plasma rings around red dwarfs may shape the fate of their planets
When astronomers think about whether distant planets could support life, they often focus on the planets themselves.
But a growing body of research shows that...
How ancient Mars may have kept its lakes liquid
For years, scientists have puzzled over a contradiction on Mars.
The planet’s surface is covered with features that look unmistakably like ancient lake beds—shorelines, layered...
Scientists track a powerful solar region for a record 94 days
In 2024, the Sun put on one of its most dramatic shows in decades.
A single highly active region on its surface unleashed the strongest...
Young galaxies grow up fast, study finds
Astronomers have captured the most detailed look yet at faraway galaxies at the peak of their youth, an active time when the adolescent galaxies...
Astronomers see a supernova from 10 billion years ago using nature’s own telescope
Astronomers have discovered something truly remarkable: the first-ever gravitationally lensed superluminous supernova that can be seen as multiple, clearly separated images.
The distant explosion, named...
Astronomers find an ultra-hot galaxy cluster from the universe’s infancy
Astronomers have discovered something that challenges long-standing ideas about how the universe evolved: a galaxy cluster filled with extremely hot gas that formed far...
Stars and planets are linked together, and dust is the key to understanding how
Stars and planets are inextricably linked. They form together and stars shape the fate of planets. Stars create the dusty protoplanetary disks that give...
The universe may be lopsided
The shape of the universe is not something we often think about.
But my colleagues and I have published a new study suggests it could...
Earth-like planets need a cosmic-ray bath
It's quite a challenge to make an Earth-like world.
You need enough mass to hold an atmosphere and generate a good magnetic field, but not...
Why astronomy needs a giant in the Canary Islands
Size matters when it comes to telescopes. The bigger they are, the farther they can see. Prioritizing constructing large ones is therefore high on...
The interstellar comet that’s spilling its secrets
When 3I/ATLAS swept past the Sun in late October 2025, it became only the third confirmed visitor from interstellar space ever detected.
Unlike the mysterious...
Deep Space
Robots on Mars could steal a trick from Hansel and Gretel
Researchers have developed technology that would allow a flock of robots to explore subsurface environments on other worlds.
“Lava tubes and caves would make perfect...
Surprising discovery: Milky Way’s edge holds clues to less dark matter
A recent study by MIT physicists has led to an unexpected finding about our galaxy, the Milky Way.
By observing the speed of stars, they've...
Astronomers discover ultra-dense ‘super-Earth’ that’s as heavy as lead
An international team of scientists has found a fascinating new planetary system around a star similar to our sun.
The system, located about 750 light-years...
Scientists conform our first interstellar visitor is not an alien spacecraft
On October 19, 2017, astronomers discovered the first known interstellar object to visit our solar system.
First spotted by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and...
A black hole has cleared out its neighborhood
We can’t see them directly, but we know they’re there. Supermassive black holes (SMBHs) likely dwell at the center of every large galaxy.
Their overwhelming...