Astronomy
- Space
The nearest single star to Earth has four small planets
Last year, astronomers announced that a planet orbits Barnard’s star. Now, researchers have confirmed the existence of three more.
- Cosmology
New baby pictures of the universe deepen a cosmic mystery
Cosmic microwave background data support cosmology’s standard model but retain a mystery about the universe’s expansion rate.
- Astronomy
The Milky Way’s black hole is constantly bubbling
The disc of plasma surrounding the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way is constantly emitting flares both large and small.
- Astronomy
Citizen scientists make cosmic discoveries with a global telescope network
On balconies and in backyards, Wi-Fi–enabled telescopes are connecting astronomy enthusiasts across six continents.
- Astronomy
The universe’s first supernovas probably produced water
Water may have formed less than 200 million years after the Big Bang, suggesting some conditions for life existed far earlier than previously thought.
- Astronomy
Some of Earth’s meteors are probably coming all the way from a neighboring star system
The triple star system is sending comets, asteroids and meteors our way, and the number of interstellar objects entering the solar system will rise.
- Planetary Science
Ancient Mars wasn’t just wet. It was cold and wet
Mars may once have held enough water to fill oceans and form coastlines. The planet’s red dust contains water and likely formed in cold conditions.
- Astronomy
A fast radio burst from a dead galaxy puzzles astronomers
A blast of radio waves from the outskirts of an ancient galaxy challenges theories about what creates such bursts.
- Astronomy
A cosmic ‘Platypus’ might link two astronomical mysteries
A flash of light called the Platypus has hallmarks of a mid-sized black hole shredding a star and a type of burst thought to be a stellar explosion.
- Astronomy
Galactic chaos at cosmic noon may have stunted Milky Way planet formation
High radiation during a time of frenzied star formation in the Milky Way left one stellar population with few chances to form planets, a study reports.
- Planetary Science
A crumbling exoplanet spills its guts
Astronomers have determined the internal composition of a distant, disintegrating planet for the first time.
- Cosmology
How we might finally find black holes from the cosmic dawn
After decades of study, scientists sound genuinely optimistic about the possibility of detecting primordial black holes, which might explain dark matter.
