Astronomy

Astronomy

Wandering planets, the smell of rain and more reader feedback

Readers consider how hard it would be to fashion Paleolithic tools, discuss what to call free-floating worlds and more.

Planetary Science

How did Earth get its water?

Earth is a wet planet that formed in a dry part of the solar system. How our planet’s water arrived may be a story of big, bullying planets and ice-filled asteroids.

Astronomy

Tiny explosions add up to heat corona

Millions of mini-explosions every second on the sun could solve the riddle of why the sun’s atmosphere is so much warmer than its surface.

Planetary Science

The Martian Diaries

Curiosity has explored Mars for over two and a half years. What if NASA's rover kept a scrapbook?

Astronomy

Lit-up gas clouds hint at galaxies’ violent pasts

Voorwerpjes, tendrils of gas that orbit galaxies, continue to glow tens of thousands of years after being blasted with ultraviolet radiation.

Astronomy

Astronomers celebrating Hubble’s past focus on its future

Astronomers celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Hubble Space Telescope by reflecting on its diversity and looking ahead to the future.

Astronomy

Cosmic threesomes make some galaxies run away

Extremely rare, free-floating galaxies called compact ellipticals may have been ejected from their home clusters after a massive intergalactic meet-up.

Astronomy

Cosmic rays misbehave in space station experiment

A puzzling feature in a new cosmic ray census may force physicists to rethink which cosmic objects send these speedy particles hurtling across the galaxy.

Astronomy

Color differences could recalibrate cosmic acceleration rate

Color differences in a class of supernovas could lower estimates of how much dark energy is in the universe.

Astronomy

A look back in time reveals Milky Way’s evolution

A sample of galaxies covering 11 billion years of cosmic history helps astronomers document how the Milky Way evolved.

Astronomy

X-rays offer early warning for solar flares

X-rays shot out by the sun foretell the intensity of an upcoming solar flare, new research suggests.

Astronomy

Ringing rings reveal Saturn’s innards

Scientists propose that exotic structures are buried within Saturn, based on analyses of subtle vibrations in the planet’s rings.