Astronomers have found evidence that one of the most massive white dwarfs known has an oxygen-neon core instead of the more common carbon-oxygen core. The finding is important because the composition of a white dwarf’s core determines how it will evolve. A paper outlining this discovery was published in The Astrophysical Journal.

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A South Korean satellite has captured the first pictures of the moon’s fresh crash scene caused by a stray SpaceX rocket.

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Understanding the formation and evolution of the centers of galaxies is one of the most intriguing challenges in astrophysics. The new study aims to unveil the physical processes that led to the formation of two striking features surrounding the black holes at the centers of most galaxies: nuclear star clusters and nuclear stellar disks. Only […]

Deep inside super-Earths—rocky planets with masses between 1 and 10 times that of Earth—high pressure can cause familiar minerals to take forms rarely seen on Earth. Understanding more about the temperature and pressure conditions in which these phases are reached could help researchers learn more about how planets evolve.

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The recent confirmation of an atmosphere around a rocky exoplanet called LHS 1140b has created a wave of interest within the astronomy community. The planet orbits within the habitable zone around its parent star—a red dwarf located some 48 light-years from Earth.

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Astronomers may have just confirmed one of the quirkiest aspects of quantum mechanics: that seemingly empty space can alter the behavior of light. This phenomenon, called “vacuum birefringence,” was first predicted nearly 90 years ago by Werner Heisenberg, one of the founding fathers of quantum mechanics. He suggested that even a perfect vacuum should be […]

This composite of seven images from the Mastcam-Z instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover shows Earth, visible as a small bright dot moving from upper left to lower right, passing behind the Martian moon Phobos on July 2, 2026, the 1,907th Martian day, or sol, of the mission.

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Researchers from the University of Leicester and the University of Aberdeen have carried out a series of field demonstrations in Portsoy to test cutting-edge handheld analytical instruments. Designed for use by astronauts on the moon and, eventually, Mars, these instruments would support astronauts working as field scientists while exploring these worlds.

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