Space & Astrophysics

Everything that gets heated up has to, somehow, radiate that energy away. Here's what we see when that happens in the Universe.

For a thousand light-years in all directions, there's a "bubble" that the Sun sits at the center of. Here's the story behind it.

Europa may be difficult to access. But if a recent study is correct, its subsurface ocean would be more accessible than previously thought.

Most potentially hazardous asteroids remain unidentified. NEO surveyor could change that, but only if it's funded, and soon.

Extremely precise atomic clocks are not just of theoretical interest; they could help detect impending volcanic eruptions or melting glaciers.

All life forms, anywhere in our Universe, are chemically connected yet completely unique.

Was there ever life on Mars? Is there life on Mars now? Did it originate there or here, on Earth? All possibilities are fascinating.

Look out at a distant object, and you're not seeing it as it is today. It's size, brightness, and actual distance are all different.

It was supposed to have a 5.5-10 year lifetime, and take 6 months to calibrate. It's performing better than anyone anticipated.

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

There are pros and cons to sending interstellar messages to aliens that may or may not exist.

Singularities frustrate our understanding. But behind every singularity in physics hides a secret door to a new understanding of the world.

It didn't look like anything I'd seen before, but I'd be a great fool to consider "aliens" as a reasonable possibility.

We take for granted that time is real. But what if it's only an illusion, and a relative illusion at that? Does time even exist?

When the Hubble Space Telescope first launched in 1990, there was so much we didn't know. Here's how far we've come.

Spin, spin, spin — fire! The startup’s radical system could make satellite launches cheaper and cleaner.

Ancient helium-3 from the dawn of time leaks from the Earth, offering clues to our planet’s formation. A key question is where it leaks from.

Spirals, ellipticals, and irregulars are all more common than ring galaxies. At last, we know how these ultra-rare objects are made.

Pluto failed to meet the definition of a planet, but some astronomers think there might be a legitimate Planet 9 out there.

The recently discovered Oort cloud comet, Bernardinelli–Bernstein, has the largest known nucleus: 119 km. Here's what it could do to Earth.

The European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter recently captured images that could help scientists better under the mysterious physics of our Sun.

Dr. Tyson explains where we might find aliens, why "dark matter" is a misleading term, and why you can blame physics for your favorite team's loss.

Single objects rarely change the course of an entire scientific field. Distant object GNz7q, a galaxy-quasar hybrid, might do exactly that.

For some reason, the charges on the electron and proton are equal and opposite, and their numbers are equal, too. But why?

A new paper combines two concepts from the edges of astrophysics: Dyson Spheres and black holes. A Type III civilization could combine them.

Forget about the terawatt lasers we're making on Earth. This natural one is thousands of times more powerful than the Sun.

We should not expect aliens to look anything like us. Creatures that resemble octopuses or birds or even robots are legitimate possibilities.

As far as we can tell, there's no limit to how far it goes on; only a limit to how far we can see. Could the Universe truly be infinite?

Even the most brilliant mind in history couldn't have achieved all he did without significant help from the minds of others.

We've fooled ourselves before with galaxies that look just like this one. The evidence we have simply isn't strong enough.