Vibrating mirrors of light create analog of a black hole event horizon

Optical cavities are pairs of light-trapping mirrors and underpin the operation of lasers, atomic clocks and many types of precision sensors. If the distance between the mirrors is changed rapidly enough, some theories predict that the waves inside them should bunch together into short, intense pulses. So far, however, this prediction has never been tested […]

Robot successfully builds space structure in first autonomous construction demo

A robotic truss builder that was conceived, designed and built by Caltech researchers has successfully built a structure in space—without the help of astronauts—for the first time. The truss builder, part of DARPA’s Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, consists of an autonomous manipulator that picks up struts and joints […]

Wacky magnetic fields of ice giants may stem from conductivity changes in their deep interiors

When NASA’s Voyager 2 robotic probe flew by Uranus and Neptune in the 1980s, it uncovered an anomaly: their magnetic fields are highly disordered, unlike Earth’s, which has well-defined north and south poles.

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A galaxy nicknamed Misty Moons offers a glimpse of early star formation

Gravitational lensing is one of astronomy’s best tricks for seeing the early universe. When a massive galaxy cluster sits in between the observer and a distant object, its gravity bends and magnifies the distant object’s light, acting like a giant natural magnifying glass. Galaxies that would otherwise be too faint to spot suddenly come into […]

Astronomers deliver the sharpest and deepest view yet of the low-frequency radio sky

Using the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR), an international team led by Leiden University has produced the sharpest and most sensitive radio image of the sky ever made at low radio frequencies. The image reveals almost 63,000 radio sources, such as active galactic nuclei and star-forming galaxies, across a patch of sky about 25 times the […]

Connecting artificial intelligence with the tools of astrophysical research

Investigating a scientific question is often a complex process. As an astrophysicist studying some of the most energetic phenomena in the universe, I know that finding answers requires much more than reading scientific papers or understanding existing theories. Astrophysical research involves collecting observations, analyzing data, building physical models and comparing their predictions with observations. These […]

Hubble learns galactic history from stars

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image provides a lesson in galactic history. The sparkling collection of stars is named Messier 30 (M30) after the French astronomer Charles Messier, who cataloged M30 and other diffuse objects that might be mistaken for comets in the early telescopes of Messier’s time. M30 lies about 27,500 light-years away in […]

Earth’s slowing spin may have shaped its primordial crust

Around 4.5 billion years ago, a planet-sized object collided with the newly formed Earth, throwing out the debris that would later form the moon. The collision left Earth spinning extremely fast, with days lasting just two to five hours. Yet existing models of how Earth’s first crust formed and evolved have largely overlooked how the […]

NASA’s Swift telescope has burned up, months after a robot sent to save it failed

NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory took its last look at the sky on Oct. 20, 2026, while orbiting about 171 miles (275 kilometers) above Earth. NASA ended the telescope’s mission three days later, because Swift had sunk so low that drag from the thin air there meant its telescopes couldn’t hold steady.

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Webb Space Telescope’s little red dots could hold key to first black holes

Johns Hopkins researchers searching the expanse of the universe for the existence of the first black holes are zeroing in on little red dots that may hold the key to the theoretical phenomenon.

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Microbial growth in simulated Mars conditions could guide search for life

A new experiment reveals that Earth’s microbes can grow in harsh conditions similar to what may exist just below the surface of Mars, suggesting new directions in the search for potential cellular life on the red planet.

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European orbiter detects fresh hints of volcanic activity on Mars

New evidence from gas seeping above volcanic rifts suggests Mars is not geologically dead deep inside, but merely sleeping. Fresh fissures along the Alba Mons region hint at active spots under the surface, where gases from inside the planet may be making their way up to the surface.

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NASA navigation experiment shows promise for planetary landings

NASA has successfully demonstrated technology designed to help spacecraft autonomously navigate to safe landing sites on the moon and on other planets. An Alta-X drone equipped with the agency’s Safe and Precise Landing—Integrated Capabilities Evolution (SPLICE) guidance, navigation and control payload completed simulated lunar descent and landing maneuvers Aug. 27. The flight took place at […]

Cosmic hydrogen measurement marks breakthrough in mapping the universe

An international research project is bringing scientists closer to mapping the universe. The MeerKLASS Collaboration has reported its first measurement of the large-scale clustering of cosmic hydrogen, advancing a technique that could transform how cosmologists chart the universe.

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A cosmic ‘leaf blower’: Light-propelled winds help explain early universe’s bright galaxies

When astronomers looked at photos of the early universe taken by the James Webb Space Telescope, they found something odd: an overabundance of bright galaxies. Based on what they knew about the early universe, such galaxies should have been far less common in the few hundred million years following the Big Bang.

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