Astronomy

Planetary Science

Passing through the Milky Way’s arms may have helped form Earth’s solid ground

Barrages of comets stirred up by the early solar system’s journey around the center of the galaxy could explain the timing of ancient rock formation.

Astronomy

Here’s the James Webb telescope’s first direct image of an exoplanet

Along with spying its first exoplanet, the James Webb telescope got its first direct spectrum of an object orbiting a star in another solar system.

Astronomy

The James Webb telescope spotted CO₂ in an exoplanet’s atmosphere

The first definitive detection of the gas on a world in another solar system paves the way for detections in planets that are more Earthlike.

Astronomy

The discovery of the Kuiper Belt revamped our view of the solar system

Thirty years ago, astronomers found the Kuiper Belt, a region of space home to Pluto and other icy worlds that helped show how the solar system evolved.

Space

Over time, Betelgeuse changed color. Now it’s also lost its rhythm

A recent upset to the star’s variability and ancient records that describe the red star as yellow tell a tale of a star that is no stranger to change.

Astronomy

Mini-Neptunes may become super-Earths as the exoplanets lose their atmospheres

Starlight is eroding the atmospheres of a handful of gassy exoplanets that are a bit smaller than Neptune, gradually exposing the rocky cores within.

Astronomy

A new James Webb telescope image reveals a galactic collision’s aftermath

Bright and dusty spokes of star formation connect the Cartwheel Galaxy’s inner and outer rings in a new image from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

Physics

Two black holes merged despite being born far apart in space

A closer look at gravitational wave data reveals 10 overlooked mergers, including one between black holes that probably found each other late in life.

Astronomy

The heaviest neutron star on record is 2.35 times the mass of the sun

The measurement helps refine the dividing line between neutron stars and black holes.

Astronomy

How James Webb Space Telescope data have already revealed surprises

A distant galaxy cluster’s violent past and the onset of star formation in the more remote universe lie buried in the observatory’s first image.

Astronomy

Clouds in the Milky Way’s plasma bubbles came from the starry disk — and far beyond

Gas clouds in the Fermi bubbles have a wide range of chemical compositions, suggesting some may have been ripped from other galaxies.

Astronomy

A fast radio burst’s rapid, steady beat offers a clue to its cosmic origin

Amped-up neutron stars, pairs of magnetically entangled neutron stars or magnetar quakes could explain a three-second-long train of radio blips.