Astronomy

Astronomy

star vs planet vs brown dwarf
Between the least massive star and most massive planet lies the mysterious brown dwarf: a class of objects that are neither star nor planet.
A black and white photo of Albert Einstein demonstrating gravity force.
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are locked in an eternal battle over the nature of gravity. Whose side are you on?
JuMBOs planet mass orion nebula JWST nircam
In the largest star-forming region close to Earth, JWST found hundreds of planetary-mass objects. How do these free-floating planets form?
FIRE simulation JWST starburst star-forming
With so many early galaxies of unexpectedly large brightnesses, JWST surprised us all. Here's how scientists made sense of what we see.
hydrothermal field
With such a vast Universe and raw ingredients that seem to be everywhere, could it really be possible that humanity is truly alone?
warp drive analogy
In the quest to measure how antimatter falls, the possibility that it fell "up" provided hope for warp drive. Here's how it all fell apart.
An ufo flying over a forest.
12mins
There are a few theories as to why we’ve never found other intelligent life in our Universe. Physicist Brian Cox walks us through them.
LL Orionis bow shock nebula
The laws of physics don't prefer matter over antimatter. So how can we be certain that distant stars & galaxies aren't made of antimatter?
An artist's rendering of an alien planet and a red star.
Within the next few decades, we may well have hard evidence for the existence of alien life on worlds light-years distant from Earth.
Earth-like exoplanet
Some fascinating observations of K2-18b have come along with horrendous, speculative communications. There's no evidence for oceans or life.
A diagram of the solar system with the sun, earth, and uranus.
How can you maximize the amount of love and happiness in your life? One of history's greatest scientists found the answer: with math.
Abstract digital art of concentric ripples radiating from a glowing center, featuring shades of pink, purple, and orange against a dark background.
5mins
NASA’s Michelle Thaller explains what happens when the densest stars in the galaxy collide.
mars oceans
Chemical changes inside Mars' core caused it to lose its magnetic field. This, in turn, caused it to lose its oceans. But how?
most distant gravitational lens
A more distant galaxy liked the lens so much that it went and put a ring on it. Here's the science behind this remarkable cosmic object.
An artist's rendering of the earth and a spacecraft in space.
This measurement is crucial to confirm that one of the assumptions of Einstein’s theory of gravity is valid.
cosmic inflation big bang dark ages
The hot Big Bang was an energetic, brilliantly luminous event. Today's Universe is alight with stars. But in between, the dark ages ruled.
NASA Fermi LAT pulsar gamma ray sky
An enormous amount of antimatter is coming from our galactic center. But the culprit probably isn't dark matter, but merely neutron stars.
An artist's impression of a group of planets in space detected via the doppler method.
Finding a tiny planet around bright stars dozens or hundreds of light-years from Earth is extremely difficult.
galaxy cluster PLCK G165.7+67.0 triply lensed supernova
Named "Supernova H0pe," it shows how JWST plus gravitational lensing can be used to solve the greatest puzzle facing astronomy today.
Nasa's nasa spacecraft observing annular eclipse.
An annular eclipse is coming to Earth on October 14, 2023. Six months later, a total solar eclipse is headed our way. Here's the reason why.
spiral galaxies MIRI PHANGS JWST
How does star-formation, occurring in small regions within galaxies, affect the entire host galaxy that contains it? JWST holds the answers.
Two starfish on the beach at sunset.
Scientists may have detected the somewhat smelly chemical dimethyl sulfide on a planet 120 light-years from Earth.
quantum gravity
Dark matter hasn't been directly detected, but some form of invisible matter is clearly gravitating. Could the graviton hold the answer?
An image of a snowflake on a black background, showcasing its scientific intricacies and ethereal beauty.
When science is a source of spirituality in people’s lives, they feel happy and engaged.
baryon acoustic oscillations
A spherical structure nearly one billion light-years wide has been spotted in the nearby Universe, dating all the way back to the Big Bang.
SN 1987a JWST
In 1987, the closest supernova directly observed in nearly 400 years occurred. Will a pulsar arise from those ashes? JWST offers clues.
An artist's impression of an asteroid approaching the earth.
The asteroid is expected to come within 140,000 miles of Earth — well inside the moon’s orbit.
A portrait of a man in a red coat, hinting at Copernicanism through symbolism.
Looking at our planet with post-Copernican eyes has the power to change how we relate to it and each other.
stars omega centauri globular cluster
With ~400 billion stars in the Milky Way and 6-20 trillion galaxies overall, that makes for a lot of stars. But not as many as you'd think.
field of streams milky way tidal dwarf
The biggest, brightest galaxies are the easiest to spot, but the tiniest ones teach us about how the Milky Way assembled and grew up!