Space & Future
James Webb Telescope detects rotten-egg gas on alien worlds for the first time
Astronomers have detected a smelly gas best known for the odor of rotten eggs—hydrogen sulfide—in the atmospheres of four giant planets far beyond our...
How a rare element could fuel the next generation of space missions
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are taking a fresh look at neptunium, a rare radioactive metal that...
Scientists finally solve the mystery of how the most common planets form
Astronomers have finally figured out how the most common types of planets in our galaxy are formed—by watching a set of baby planets grow...
Astronomers spot one of the earliest galaxy clusters ever discovered
Astronomers using two of NASA’s most powerful space telescopes have discovered a massive cluster of galaxies forming much earlier in the universe than scientists...
Did two moons crash to create Titan? New study uncovers dramatic origin story
Saturn’s giant moon Titan and the planet’s famous rings may share a dramatic origin story.
A new study suggests that Titan could have formed when...
Astronomers find new way to detect supermassive black hole pairs
Scientists believe that when galaxies collide and merge, the supermassive black holes at their centers should eventually pair up and orbit each other.
These enormous...
Living in space can change where your brain sits in your skull
Going to space is harsh on the human body, and as a new study from our research team finds, the brain shifts upward and...
Mars’ “young” volcanoes tell a story of long, hidden activity
Volcanoes may look like simple mountains that erupted once and then fell silent, but in reality they are often the surface expression of complex...
Astronomers watch a giant star quietly collapse into a black hole
Astronomers have captured one of the clearest views ever of a massive star dying—not in a dramatic supernova explosion, but by quietly collapsing into...
Astronomers discover “inside-out” planet system that defies cosmic rules
Astronomers have discovered a surprising planetary system that does not follow the usual rules of how planets form.
The finding, led by researchers from the...
How big can a planet get? Scientists have new answers
When it comes to planets, bigger is not always easier to understand. The largest planets in the universe are gas giants—massive worlds made mostly...
Can life begin on a moon without a sun
Free-Floating Planets, or as they are more commonly known, Rogue Planets, wander interstellar space completely alone. Saying there might be a lot of them...
Deep Space
How many planets could be in the Kuiper Belt?
A recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters investigates the potential existence of Mars-sized free-floating planets (FFPs)—also known as rogue planets, starless planets,...
Water detected in planet-forming disk, boosting habitability potential
The MINDS research collaboration, led by the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), has made a groundbreaking discovery: water in the inner region of...
Scientists unlock a safer, stronger energy source for space travel
Scientists at the University at Albany have made a breakthrough that could change how rockets are fueled in the future.
A team of chemists, led...
Chang’e-6 uncovers hidden history of the moon’s mysterious farside
For decades, scientists have wondered why the moon’s two sides are so different.
The side we see from Earth, known as the nearside, is smoother...
The most distant known galaxy already had oxygen
One of the surprising discoveries of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is that galaxies formed very early in the Universe.
JWST has discovered about...