Astrophysics

Astrophysics

A dark, rocky planet orbits in space with the sun illuminating its edge, surrounded by stars and distant cosmic clouds.
In the search for life in the Universe, the ultimate goal is to find an inhabited planet beyond Earth. How will we know when we've made it?
parallel universe
Parallel universes are among the most profound notions in all of quantum physics. It's a compelling and fascinating idea, but is it true?
Two tall, rectangular scientific instruments, including a NASA nuclear reactor prototype, stand on the rocky lunar surface with Earth visible in the background against the blackness of space.
There are real concerns with long-term power generation on the Moon; nuclear could be the answer. But for NASA, will the cost be too high?
A hexagonal telescope with a gold exterior and an open, black interior is shown against a black background, highlighting NASA habitable worlds observatory science.
At the end of July, hundreds of scientists convened to plan NASA's upcoming astrophysics flagship mission. Will the US allow it to happen?
Two supermassive black holes on an inevitable death spiral push the limits of Einstein's relativity. New observations reveal even more.
creation of adam sistine
When it comes to our Universe's origins, scientists discuss the Big Bang, cosmic inflation, and other theories. Why doesn't "God" come up?
laniakea
On the largest scales, galaxies don't simply clump together, but form superclusters. Too bad they don't remain bound together.
Abstract digital artwork featuring concentric blue circles, lines, and green geometric shapes over a dark blue and black textured background, evoking a sense of vibe physics within its captivating composition.
The conversation you're having with an LLM about groundbreaking new ideas in theoretical physics is completely meritless. Here's why.
5000 exoplanets
Somewhere, at some point in the history of our Universe, life arose. We're evidence of that here on Earth, but many big puzzles remain.
Full moon over a city skyline at night, high-rise buildings aglow and lights reflecting on the calm water—a scene that inspires 5 science lessons about the moon's impact on our world.
Even just by examining the Moon with the unaided eye, we can learn an incredible amount about the Moon, Earth, and more.
The Big Bang was hot, dense, uniform, and filled with matter and energy. Before that? There was nothing. Here's how that's possible.
every square degree
When the Hubble Space Telescope first launched in 1990, there was so much we didn't know. Here's how far we've come.
Green abstract image with floating, glowing funnel-shaped objects and spherical wireframe shapes evokes a black hole universe, all set against a misty green background with ethereal light streaks.
Once you cross a black hole's event horizon, there's no going back. But inside, could creating a singularity give birth to a new Universe?
F = ma fall up
From high school through the professional ranks, physicists still take incredible lessons away from Newton's second law.
A colorful, abstract scientific illustration with a central glowing sphere, circular patterns, and various lines and circles suggesting quantum connections or uncertainty data points, on a dark background with blue accents.
No matter what it is that we discover about reality, the fact that reality itself can be understood remains the most amazing fact of all.
gravitational wave effects on spacetime
With over 300 high-significance gravitational wave detections, we now have a huge unsolved puzzle. Will we invest in finding the solution?
Two glowing spheres, one red and one green, face each other in space with a wavy line of light—like a particle physics collision—connecting them against a speckled dark background reminiscent of the last collider’s discoveries.
Will we build a successor collider to the LHC? Someday, we'll reach the true limit of what experiments can probe. But that won't be the end.
A visual simulation of two objects orbiting and merging, distorting a red-orange grid representing spacetime—illustrating gravitational waves once thought to be the worst prediction in science.
The measured value of the cosmological constant is 120 orders of magnitude smaller than what's predicted. How can this paradox be resolved?
comet collide with earth
65 million years ago, a massive asteroid struck Earth. Not only did Jupiter not stop it, but it most likely caused the impact itself.
Black and white image of a star field with one bright object in the center, indicated by a red arrow, believed to be the third interstellar object detected passing through our solar system.
First 'Oumuamua, then Borisov, and now ATLAS have shown us that interstellar interlopers are real. Here's what the newest one teaches us.
Side-by-side images of the Ring Nebula show its structure in different colors, each with a white dotted oval highlighting the central region.
Our nearby Ring Nebula, with JWST's eyes, shows evidence for planet formation. Will the Sun eventually destroy, and then replace, the Earth?
A crane lifts a large metal structure onto a white building at a construction site in a mountainous, arid area under clear blue sky.
The relic signal that first proved the Big Bang has been known and analyzed for 60 years. Join us at the frontiers of modern cosmology!
The CMB has long been considered the Big Bang's "smoking gun" evidence. But after what JWST saw, might it come from early galaxies instead?
Images show the planet Uranus. The left image highlights its bright rings, while the right image, captured by the James Webb Space Telescope, depicts surprising details of glowing rings and a cloudy atmosphere. Discover more wonders in our solar system with these stunning visuals.
Once every 12 years, Earth, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune all line up, opening a window for a joint mission. Our next chance arrives in 2034.
Infographic displays spacecraft names and missions around the Sun, planets, and moons, illustrating the current and planned science fleet exploring the Solar System.
Over the first half of 2025, the US has cut science as never before. This disaster for American science may be a gift to the rest of the world.
A dense field of distant galaxies and bright stars against a black background, as captured in a JWST early galaxies deep space telescope image.
Originally, the abundance of bright, early galaxies shocked astronomers. After 3 years of JWST, we now know what's really going on.
the night sky with stars and trees in the foreground.
Looking at a dark, night sky has filled humans with a sense of awe and wonder since prehistoric times. But appearances can be deceiving.
The Vera Rubin Observatory is situated on a rocky hilltop under a clear, star-filled night sky, with distant mountains and a bright planet visible on the horizon, inspiring astronomers to solve puzzles of the universe.
In just its first 10 hours of observations, the Vera Rubin observatory discovered more than 2000 new asteroids. What else will it teach us?
An image of a sphere with stars in it.
For over 50 years, it’s been the scientifically accepted theory describing the origin of the Universe. It’s time we all learned its truths.
A dense star field and distant galaxies with bright galaxy clusters and several white squares highlighting specific points in the image.
For hundreds of millions of years, a cosmic fog blocked all signs of starlight. At last, JWST found the galaxies that cleared that fog away.