Black hole collision lets scientists probe the event horizon for the first time
Black holes do their most important work in hiding. The boundary that defines them, the event horizon, seals…
NASA discovers the ‘puffiest’ two planets in our universe
A pair of giant planets circling a star more than 1,100 light-years from Earth looks almost too bloated…
Astronomers discover faint dwarf galaxy that seems to exist without dark matter
A faint dwarf galaxy drifting 45 million light-years from Earth may have joined one of astronomy’s strangest clubs.…
NASA’s Lucy spacecraft finds asteroid Donaldjohanson is tumbling through space
Asteroid Donaldjohanson does not move through space with the tidy, steady spin scientists often expect. It tumbles in…
Earth may not be swallowed by our dying sun after all, study finds
For a long time, Earth’s ending seemed settled. In about five billion years, the sun will swell into…
New analysis finds signs of life on Mars actually came from Earth
A pair of stubborn molecules, prized because they can survive deep time, just passed an important Mars test…
Scientists use Einstein’s equations to reveal what came before the Big Bang
Some of the hardest questions in cosmology begin where the usual math gives up. Push Einstein’s theory far…
Shadow Blaster points to starburst galaxies as hidden sources of cosmic neutrinos
A ghostlike particle from deep space sent astronomers chasing one of the Universe’s hardest mysteries. The trail led…
A strange glow in the heart of the Milky Way may be dark matter
A faint glow of gamma rays hangs over the center of the Milky Way, stretching across thousands of…
Astronomers detect first direct evidence of star-forming gas in early galaxies
The first galaxies were already busy by the time the universe was 700 to 800 million years old.…
Darkness can travel faster than the speed of light — without breaking Einstein’s relativity
A dark point inside a beam of light should not be much of a traveler. Yet in a…
Collapsing stars could form gravastars instead of black holes
A black hole is supposed to be the last word in stellar collapse: matter falls inward, spacetime caves…