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Researchers advocate statistical approach to search for Earth-like planets
A team of astronomers seeks to change the way scientists approach the search for Earth-like planets orbiting stars other than the sun. They favor taking a statistical comparative approach in seeking habitable planets and life beyond the solar system.
Posted: Jun 14th, 2017
Read moreHot rocks, not warm atmosphere, led to relatively recent water-carved valleys on Mars
New research shows that snow and ice melted by hot impact ejecta could have produced enough water to carve those valleys with no groundwater or heat wave required.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2017
Read moreGalaxy alignments traced back 10 billion years
A new study reveals that the most massive galaxies in the universe have been aligned with their surroundings for at least ten billion years. This discovery shows that galaxies, like people, are influenced by their environment from a young age.
Posted: Jun 13th, 2017
Read moreThe seven most extreme planets ever discovered
As the hunt for planets outside our own solar system continues, we have discovered many worlds with extreme features. And the ongoing exploration of our own solar system has revealed some pretty weird contenders, too. Here are seven of the most extreme.
Posted: Jun 9th, 2017
Read moreThe largest virtual Universe ever simulated
Scientists have simulated the formation of our entire Universe with a large supercomputer. A gigantic catalogue of about 25 billion virtual galaxies has been generated from 2 trillion digital particles.
Posted: Jun 9th, 2017
Read moreOrganic compound found in early stages of star formation (w/video)
Scientists seeking to understand the origins of life have found a new organic compound in the material from which a star like the Sun is forming.
Posted: Jun 8th, 2017
Read moreA planet hotter than most stars
Newly found world has a 'year' only 1.5 days long - and may even have a tail like a comet.
Posted: Jun 5th, 2017
Read moreGravitational waves spotted for the third time
For the third time, researchers have detected gravitational waves predicted by Albert Einstein 100 years ago. A pair of black holes with 31 and 19 solar masses had merged into a single one with a mass about 49 times that of our Sun.
Posted: Jun 1st, 2017
Read moreWalking on exoplanets
A recent statistical study has revealed that the mass of Exoplanets between 1 and 100 times the mass of the Earth have a surface gravity surprisingly similar to the terrestrial gravity.
Posted: Jun 1st, 2017
Read moreDARPA picks design for next-generation spaceplane (w/video)
Agency partners with Boeing to build and fly an experimental vehicle for aircraft-like access to space.
Posted: May 31st, 2017
Read moreDo stars fall quietly into black holes, or crash into something utterly unknown?
Astronomers have put a basic principle of black holes to the test, showing that matter completely vanishes when pulled in. Their results constitute another successful test for Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
Posted: May 30th, 2017
Read moreJupiter's complex transient auroras
Combined observations from three spacecraft show that Jupiter's brightest auroral features recorded to date are powered by both the volcanic moon Io and interaction with the solar wind.
Posted: May 26th, 2017
Read moreThe big star that couldn't become a supernova (w/video)
For the first time in history, astronomers have been able to watch as a dying star was reborn as a black hole. It went out with a whimper instead of a bang.
Posted: May 25th, 2017
Read moreBiggest ever simulations help uncover the history of the galaxy
Thousands of processors, terabytes of data, and months of computing time have helped a group of researchers create some of the largest and highest resolution simulations ever made of galaxies like our Milky Way.
Posted: May 24th, 2017
Read moreA new approach to forecasting solar flares?
Using 3D numerical models, an international team has discovered a proxy that could be used to forecast an eruptive event. The proxy is associated with magnetic helicity, which reflects the extent of twist and entanglement of the magnetic field.
Posted: May 22nd, 2017
Read moreHubble spots moon around third largest dwarf planet
The combined power of three space observatories, including NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, has helped astronomers uncover a moon orbiting the third largest dwarf planet, catalogued as 2007 OR10. The pair resides in the frigid outskirts of our solar system called the Kuiper Belt, a realm of icy debris left over from our solar system's formation 4.6 billion years ago.
Posted: May 20th, 2017
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