382 results
- Astronomy
A star nicknamed ‘Earendel’ may be the most distant yet seen
Analyzing Hubble Space Telescope images revealed a star whose light originates from about 12.9 billion light-years away, researchers say.
- Astronomy
When James Webb launches, it will have a bigger to-do list than 1980s researchers suspected
The James Webb Space Telescope has been in development for so long that space science has changed in the meantime.
- Astronomy
New ideas on what makes a planet habitable could reshape the search for life
New definitions of “habitable worlds” could include planets with global oceans under a steamy hydrogen atmosphere or exclude ones that started out habitable but lost all their water.
- Chemistry
How rare earth elements’ hidden properties make modern technology possible
Because of their unique chemistry, the rare earth elements can fine-tune light for many different purposes and generate powerful magnetic fields.
- Astronomy
An otherwise quiet galaxy in the early universe is spewing star stuff
Seen as it was 700 million years after the Big Bang, the galaxy churns out a relatively paltry number of stars. And yet it’s heaving gas into space.
- Astronomy
The James Webb Space Telescope has reached its new home at last
The most powerful telescope ever launched still has a long to-do list before it can start doing science.
- Space
These discoveries from 2021, if true, could shake up science
Discoveries in 2021, from hidden subatomic particles to the oldest animal fossils, could shake up science. But more evidence is needed to confirm them.
- Tech
How ChatGPT and similar AI will disrupt education
The new chatbot ChatGPT and other generative AI encourage cheating and offer up incorrect info, but they could also be used for good.
- Space
‘Oumuamua may be a chip knocked off an icy, Pluto-like exoplanet
If the first interstellar visitor were a shard of nitrogen ice, it would explain some of its unusual behavior when it passed through our solar system.
- Astronomy
How ‘hot Jupiters’ may get their weirdly tight orbits
Gravitational kicks from other planets and stars can send giant worlds into orbits that bring them close to their suns.
- Space
A rush to watch a supernova exposed its last gasp before exploding
By studying the final years of stars, scientists hope to find clues to help them recognize when other stars are about to blow.
- Space
Here’s what the next 10 years of space science could look like
In the latest Astronomy and Astrophysics Decadal Survey, astronomers have their sights set on a whole fleet of next-generation space telescopes.
