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Are planets with oceans common in the galaxy? It's likely, NASA scientists find
Through a mathematical analysis of several dozen exoplanets, scientists learned something significant: More than a quarter of the exoplanets they studied could be ocean worlds, with a majority possibly harboring oceans beneath layers of surface ice, similar to Europa and Enceladus.
June 19, 2020 Read more
Stunning new hubble images reveal stars gone haywire
As nuclear fusion engines, most stars live placid lives for hundreds of millions to billions of years. But near the end of their lives they can turn into crazy whirligigs, puffing off shells and jets of hot gas. Hubble has dissected such crazy fireworks in two nearby young planetary nebulas.
June 18, 2020 Read more
Scientists reveal a lost 8 billion light years of universe evolution
Every year, 2 million black hole mergers are missed - scientists work out how to detect them, revealing a lost 8 billion light years of Universe evolution.
June 18, 2020 Read more
New video engages public in cosmic exploration
The two-minute video explains how researchers are measuring the oldest light in the universe with the highest telescopes on Earth.
June 18, 2020 Read more
Astronomers detect regular rhythm of radio waves, with origins unknown
Signal from 500 million light years away is the first periodic pattern of radio bursts detected.
June 17, 2020 Read more
Quasar jets are particle accelerators thousands of light-years long
An international collaboration has shown that the very high-energy gamma-ray emission from quasars, galaxies with a highly energetic nucleus, is not concentrated in the region close to their central black hole but in fact extends over several thousand light-years along jets of plasma.
June 17, 2020 Read more
This supernova in a lab mimics the cosmic blast's splendid aftermath
Mystery enshrouds the birth of swirls typical for supernova remnants like the Crab Nebula. A new 'supernova machine' may help solve it.
June 17, 2020 Read more
If there is life out there, can we detect it?
Instruments on-board future space missions are capable of detecting amino acids, fatty acids, and peptides, and even identify ongoing biological processes on ocean moons in our Solar System.
June 16, 2020 Read more
As many as six billion Earth-like planets in our galaxy, according to new estimates
There may be as many as one Earth-like planet for every five Sun-like stars in the Milky way Galaxy, according to new estimates by astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler mission.
June 16, 2020 Read more
Atomic physics: radiation pressure with recoil
Light exerts a certain amount of pressure onto a body: sun sails could thus power space probes in the future. However, when light particles hit an individual molecule and knock out an electron, the molecule flies toward the light source. Atomic physicists have now observed this for the first time, confirming a 90 year-old theory.
June 15, 2020 Read more
Why pulsars shine bright: A half-century-old mystery solved
Intense radio emissions produced by the fast-spinning stars are caused by newborn particles interacting with powerful electromagnetic fields, new plasma simulations suggest.
June 15, 2020 Read more
Research sheds new light on intelligent life existing across the galaxy
Is there anyone out there? This is an age-old question that researchers have now shed new light on with a study that calculates there could be more than 30 intelligent civilizations throughout our Galaxy. This is an enormous advance over previous estimates which spanned from zero to billions.
June 15, 2020 Read more
Innovative model provides insight into the behavior of the black hole at the center of our galaxy
Like most galaxies, the Milky Way hosts a supermassive black hole at its center. Called Sagittarius A*, the object has captured astronomers' curiosity for decades. And now there is an effort to image it directly.
June 12, 2020 Read more
Scientists carry out first space-based measurement of neutron lifetime
Scientists have found a way of measuring neutron lifetime from space for the first time - a discovery that could teach us more about the early universe.
June 12, 2020 Read more
New distance measurements bolster challenge to basic model of universe
A new set of precision distance measurements made with an international collection of radio telescopes have greatly increased the likelihood that theorists need to revise the 'standard model' that describes the fundamental nature of the Universe.
June 11, 2020 Read more
Astronomers discover how long-lived Peter Pan discs evolve
New research has revealed how long-lived Peter Pan discs form, which could provide new insights into how planets arise.
June 11, 2020 Read more
Confirming Einstein's most fortunate thought
Radio astronomers use a dance of three exotic stars to test the universality of free fall.
June 10, 2020 Read more
Black hole's heart still beating
The first confirmed heartbeat of a supermassive black hole is still going strong more than ten years after first being observed.
June 10, 2020 Read more