Space & Astrophysics
Icy clouds on ancient Mars may have given rise to lakes and rivers
Scientists have long puzzled over how Mars, a cold and dry planet, was once warm enough to support liquid water.
Ask Ethan: Were Mars And Venus Ever Living Planets?
While Mars is known as a frozen, red planet today, it has all the evidence we could ask for of a watery past, lasting for approximately the first 1.5 billion […]
New galaxy clusters found hiding in plain sight
The research suggests that roughly 1 percent of galaxy clusters look atypical and can be easily misidentified.
False positive: Exoplanets could have lots of oxygen but no life
Oxygen is thought to be a biomarker for extraterrestrial life, but there are at least three different ways that a lifeless planet can produce it.
Scientists test how to deflect asteroids with nuclear blasts
A study looks at how to use nuclear detonations to prevent asteroids from hitting Earth.
Sorry, the EmDrive doesn’t work
The EmDrive turns out to be the "um..." drive after all, as a new study dubs any previous encouraging EmDrive results "false positives."
A rogue ‘pristine’ comet reveals clues about the origins of our Solar System
New studies find the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov is the most "pristine" ever discovered.
There’s nowhere left on Earth free of space pollution
When we look at the night sky, we may see junk instead of stars.
‘Smoking gun’ dark matter signature possibly identified
Researchers propose a new method that could definitively prove the existence of dark matter.
Did Earth eat the protoplanet it crashed into long ago?
A new study makes a compelling case for the origin of unexplained masses of underground rock causing changes to the Earth's magnetic field.
Hidden dwarf galaxies revealed in first images of the “cosmic web”
Not only does this give us a look at the scaffolding of the universe, we found some new galaxies too!
Less-advanced alien civilizations may be nearby — but we’re not looking for them
Humans are more likely to have "first contact" with an advanced alien civilization, according to a recent NASA-funded paper.
NASA’s Perseverance records first-ever sounds of rover driving on Mars
Sound waves behave quite differently on Mars than on Earth.
Unknown bacteria found living on the International Space Station
The discovery could help astronauts find better ways to grow food in space.
Got a question for Michelle Thaller? Ask it here!
NASA astronomer Michelle Thaller is coming back to Big Think's studio soon to answer YOUR questions! Here's all you need to know to submit your science-related inquiries.
Dyson spheres: The key to resurrection and immortality?
Creating an afterlife—or a simulation of one—would take vast amounts of energy. Some scientists think the best way to capture that energy is by building megastructures around stars.
The universe is expanding faster than estimated, finds new study
The controversy over the universe's expansion rate continues with a new, faster estimate.
Meteorite older than Earth likely came from a “protoplanet”
The rock, found in the Sahara, likely comes from a long-lost baby protoplanet.
Massive ‘space hurricane’ made of plasma rained electrons over North Pole
This storm rained electrons, shifted energy from the sun's rays to the magnetosphere, and went unnoticed for a long time.
NASA’s Perseverance rover has a 1997 computer chip brain. Here’s why.
It may be old tech, but it's super-reliable.
Physicist creates AI algorithm that may prove reality is a simulation
A physicist creates an AI algorithm that predicts natural events and may prove the simulation hypothesis.
Scientists grow extremophile microbes on rocks from Mars
The results could help NASA's Perseverance rover find evidence of ancient life on Mars.
Astrophysicists find rare star spinning backwards
A unique star system where exoplanets orbit their star backwards located by researchers.
Astronomers detect signs of “galactic cannibalism”
One galaxy may have eaten one of its slightly smaller, more primitive neighbors.
UAE Hope Probe has transmitted its first image of Mars
The UAE is the first Arab nation to send a spacecraft to the Red Planet.
Astronomers figure out why some galaxies are missing dark matter
A new study found the possible reason why some dwarf galaxies appear to not have dark matter.
One billion galaxies: Astronomers unveil largest sky map ever made
Scientists with the the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Legacy Imaging Surveys spent six years creating a detailed map of more than 1 billion galaxies.
Could a human enter a black hole to study it?
Get the answer from two physicists who study black holes (albeit from a safe distance).
Video: Here’s what it’s like to orbit the moon in real time
Artist Seán Doran recently created more than eight hours of high-definition video using images captured by Japan's SELENE lunar orbiter.
NASA will pay $500,000 for your innovative ideas about food production in space
Introducing the Deep Space Food Challenge.