Search Results

We’ve only seen Uranus up close once: from Voyager 2, back in 1986. The next time we do it, its features will look entirely different.

Back in 1990, we hadn’t discovered a single planet outside of our Solar System. Here are 10 facts that would’ve surprised every astronomer.

Neutrons can be stable when bound into an atomic nucleus, but free neutrons decay away in mere minutes. So how are neutron stars stable?

The number of planets that could support life may be far greater than previously thought, a recent discovery suggests.

In our Solar System, even the two brightest planets frequently align in our skies. But only rarely is it spectacularly visible from Earth.

The giant impact theory suggests our Moon was formed from proto-Earth getting a Mars-sized strike. An exoplanet system shows it’s plausible.

Some microbes can withstand Earth’s most inhospitable corners, hinting that life may be able to survive similarly extreme conditions on other worlds.

Grab a sword, a small plate, and a young child. We’ve got a demon to summon.

Following the advent of human space flight, NASA began naming missions after children of Zeus.

All across the Universe, planets come in a wide variety of sizes, masses, compositions, and temperatures. And most have rain and snow.

The structure of our Solar System has been known for centuries. When we finally started finding exoplanets, they surprised everyone.

Newborn stars are surrounded only by a featureless disk. Debris disks persist for hundreds of millions of years. So when do planets form?

The nearby, bright star Fomalhaut had the first optically imaged planetary candidate. Using JWST’s eyes, astronomers found so much more.

Saturn’s Iapetus, discovered way back in 1671, has three bizarre features that science still can’t fully explain.

The space telescope’s findings challenge the notion of a galaxy brimming with life.

In a distant galaxy, a cosmic dance between two supermassive black holes emits periodic flashes of light.

As Uranus approaches its solstice, its polar caps, rings, and moons come into their best focus ever under JWST’s watchful eye. See it now!

For some reason, when we talk about the age of stars, galaxies, and the Universe, we use “years” to measure time. Can we do better?

Human beings are tiny creatures compared to the 92 billion light-year wide observable Universe. How can we comprehend such large scales?

There’s a limit to how large planets can be, and it’s only about double the radius of Jupiter. At least, so far.

The universe’s largest seismometer reveals clues about the Gas Giant’s interior.

If there are human-sized creatures walking around on other planets, would we be able to view them directly?

In the largest star-forming region close to Earth, JWST found hundreds of planetary-mass objects. How do these free-floating planets form?

Do you think you know the Solar System? Here’s a fact about each planet that might surprise you when you see it!

Some fascinating observations of K2-18b have come along with horrendous, speculative communications. There’s no evidence for oceans or life.

The stars, planets, and many moons are extremely round. Why don’t they take other shapes?

Some think the reason fundamental scientific revolutions are so rare is because of groupthink. It’s not; it’s hard to mess with success.

The classic picture of Jupiter’s great rocky core might be entirely wrong.

The answer may lie in the particular way sand forms on Titan.

The story of how Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune were made isn’t a universal one. Some gas giants were built different.