Not nearly well enough. And we should all be concerned. In 1859, the science of solar physics truly began with the largest eruption in recorded history: the Carrington event. Prior […]
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Black holes aren’t just the densest masses in the Universe, but they also spin the fastest of all massive objects. Here’s why it must be so.
Telescopes from the ground are bigger, but have to fight the atmosphere. Here’s how to win. In astronomy, seeing farther and fainter than ever before requires three simultaneous approaches. First light, […]
Despite all the challenges, Hubble has vindicated this discovery. Practically everywhere we look in the Universe, the large-scale objects that we see — small galaxies, large galaxies, groups and clusters of galaxies, […]
Until recently, we were only able to view Venus’s surface with radar or by landing on the planet. It was believed that Venus’s surface was entirely obscured by clouds; NASA’s Parker Solar Probe proved otherwise.
The massive craft could carry 100 humans to Mars and revolutionize space exploration.
There will always be “wolf-criers” whose claims wither under scrutiny. But aliens are certainly out there, if science dares to find them.
Betelgeuse, the tenth brightest star in the night sky, mysteriously dimmed last year. Now researchers know why.
The definitive answer requires better, unbiased data. Despite all the advances that have occurred in human history, one extraordinary puzzle still remains right in our own backyard: we aren’t sure how […]
Even with six months’ notice, we can’t stop an incoming asteroid.
We just observed the first ‘lunar formation’ in an exoplanetary system. This one image, above, is the first to show moons actively forming around a planet. This colourful image shows […]
In the 20th century, many options abounded as to our cosmic origins. Today, only the Big Bang survives, thanks to this critical evidence.
60% of all potentially dangerous asteroids remain undetected.
Determining if the universe is infinite pushes the limits of our knowledge.
Whether or not life exists elsewhere in the Universe, we can be assured of one thing: We are the only human beings in the cosmos.
For the first time, light that comes from behind a black hole has been spotted.
A unique exoplanet without clouds or haze was found by astrophysicists from Harvard and Smithsonian.
See the most detailed survey of the southern sky ever carried out using radio waves.
You’re gonna die, cloud! All stars, even our Sun, will someday eventually die. After burning on the main sequence for billions of years, the Sun will expand into a red giant, […]
From physics and alchemy to theology and eschatology, Isaac Newton’s research was rooted in a personal pursuit of the Divine.
Remembering Frank Drake, who transformed the search for alien life & extraterrestrial intelligence into a full-fledged scientific endeavor.
A far-ranging conversation about telescopes, what they do, and who they impact. When most of us think of astronomy, we think about two types of scientists: the observers who point their […]
An almost 40-year-old theory finally has ‘smoking gun’ evidence for it. During most of their lives, stars burn stably, changing imperceptibly. The rotten egg nebula, at lower right (and shown in […]
If you want to understand what the Universe is, how it began, evolved, and will eventually end, astrophysics is the only way to go.
And what might we learn as we collect new, never-before-seen data? If you took one of history’s top scientists from 100 years ago and dropped them into today’s world, what […]
When you don’t have enough clues to bring your detective story to a close, you should expect that your educated guesses will all be wrong.
We haven’t discovered life beyond our Solar System yet, but we’re closer than ever before. Over the past 30 years, we’ve gone from zero exoplanets to thousands. With each new […]
The Universe is supposed to be the same everywhere and in all directions. So what’s that giant “cold spot” doing out there?
A new survey, the DESI Legacy Imaging Survey, has found more lenses than all others put together. One of Einstein’s most revolutionary predictions is that mass bends light. During a […]
