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…
Massive underground structure discovered beneath the Moon’s South Pole-Aitken basin
The Moon’s biggest scar may be hiding something even stranger than the impact that made it. Deep beneath…
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…
A supernova remnant may have been discovered in the Milky Way
ⓘ NASA – Unsplash An image showing the supernova SN 1993J. Thanks to the Chandra X-ray Observatory, astronomers…
Astronomers detect winds from a black hole reaching 30% of the speed of light
ⓘ NASA – Unsplash An illustration showing two black holes. Recently, astronomers have detected powerful winds in a…
Physicists propose that our universe may contain three dimensions of time
Space and time looked settled, at least in broad outline. Einstein’s special relativity gave physics a durable framework…
New analysis reveals why Ganymede has a magnetic field when other moons do not
Ganymede has long looked like a contradiction in orbit. Jupiter’s largest moon is the only moon known to…
Sending short messages back in time may not break the laws of physics
A message from the future sounds like science fiction, until someone starts asking how many bits it could…
Mars’ atmosphere is changing how scientists see unmagnetized planets
Mars does not have Earth’s kind of magnetic shield, so it has often been treated as the solar…
Physicists believe that warp drive could exist in the next 100 years
Warp drive has long lived in science fiction, but physicists now treat it as a real, if deeply…