New images reveal an early-stage stellar eruption (nova) in stunning detail
A classical nova may look simple at first. A faint star brightens, sometimes enough for you to spot…
New gravitational lens measurements reveal a faster expansion rate for the universe
For much of the twentieth century, scientists expected the expanding universe to slow over time. The opposite turned…
White rocks on Mars point to ancient rainfall and a wetter planet
Light-colored rocks scattered across Mars have become a quiet clue to a louder story about the planet’s past.…
Space is filled with junk, and scientists say it is time to start cleaning
Low Earth orbit no longer feels distant or empty. On a clear November night, a Falcon 9 rose…
Astronomers reveal how passing stars and exploding giants shaped our early solar system
Nearly 4.5 million years ago, two enormous, blazing stars swung close to the solar system. They did not…
Will Countries Respond Before Major Disaster?
China routinely sends astronauts to and from its space station Tiangong. A crew capsule is about to undock…
At 50 million-light-years long, scientists discover one of the universe’s largest structures
Look up on a dark night and the stars seem scattered at random. Step back in scale, though,…
Scientists discover 16 giant river networks on ancient Mars where life could have thrived
Long before Mars turned into the frozen desert you see today, water shaped its surface in dramatic ways.…
After nearly a century of looking, researchers may have finally detected dark matter
For nearly a century, something unseen has tugged at the cosmos. In the 1930s, Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky…
For the first time ever, researchers made a photon travel back in time
Shattered glass does not leap back into your hand. Smoke from a match does not gather itself and…
Red giant starquakes reshape what scientists think about quiet black holes
You live in a galaxy packed with black holes that never announce themselves. They do not blaze in…
First-ever images of powerful X1.3-class solar flare captured by solar telescope
From 93 million miles away, the Sun just got a lot more personal. Astronomers have now seen some…