Astronomy
The universe may have been building rocky planets almost from the start
Simulations suggest rocky planet building blocks could have formed just 100 million years after the Big Bang.
Astronomy
More Stories in Astronomy
- Astronomy
A record-breaking star could reveal how the Milky Way’s giant black hole spins
The star passes very close to the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole and could reveal the black hole’s spin by tracking how it warps the star’s orbit.
- Space
The largest known galaxy is wider than 17 Milky Ways
Scientists have identified the edge of galaxy IC 1101 and crowned it with the title of largest known galaxy.
- Space
These tiny swirls on the sun could trigger solar flares
Scientists have finally seen a long-predicted motion on the sun, and it may help explain explosive solar activity.
- Astronomy
New images reveal Betelgeuse’s buddy star
A century of hints has suggested the famed red supergiant had a star pal but seeing it amid Betelgeuse’s brightness has been hard — until now.
- Astronomy
What kinds of black holes exist — and how are they different?
Scientists have identified four types of black holes, classified mostly by their masses. But these mysterious objects continue to challenge our understanding of the universe.
- Astronomy
A newly found world blurs the boundary between planet and moon
The object orbits a brown dwarf that orbits a star, and astronomers aren’t sure if it’s a planet, a moon — or something else entirely.
- Astronomy
This “exotic weirdo” exoplanet has a rocky surface and an atmosphere
Astronomers found a helium atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet — a good sign for the search for life outside the solar system.
- Astronomy
A quasar breaks the record for most distant supermassive black hole
The Euclid space telescope discovery could help researchers understand how black holes grew so massive so quickly in the early universe.
- Planetary Science
Meet the Milky Way’s puffiest planets
Two “superpuff” planets orbiting a sunlike star over 1,000 light-years from Earth are as big as Jupiter and as dense as cotton candy.
