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Solar flares’ domino effect isn’t limited to the sun, 16,000-star sweep reveals

Our sun is a roiling mass of energy, with solar flares exploding on its surface, sending gas, plasma, and light that blasts across the solar system. When radiation from extra-powerful flares breaks through Earth’s outer protective magnetosphere, it can affect satellites and even electric grids and cause the aurora borealis—lighting up the night sky.

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Titan’s lakes may spawn 10-foot waves in gentle winds, new model suggests

On a calm day, a light breeze might barely ripple the surface of a lake on Earth. But on Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, a similar mild wind would kick up 10-foot-tall waves. This otherworldly behavior is one prediction from a new wave model developed by scientists at MIT. The model is the first to capture […]

ALMA confirms rare quasar pair at redshift 5.7 in merging galaxies

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have discovered a close pair of quasars, which is a result of a distant massive galaxy merger. The detection of the quasar pair was detailed in a research paper published April 7 on the arXiv pre-print server.

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‘Dancing jets’ from black hole reveal an immense power equivalent to 10,000 suns

New Curtin University-led research has used a radio telescope that spans Earth to snap images that measure the immense power of jets from black holes, confirming scientists’ theories of how black holes help shape the structure of the universe.

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‘Interstellar glaciers’: NASA’s SPHEREx maps vast galactic ice regions

NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission has mapped interstellar ice at an unprecedented scale. Covering regions in our Milky Way galaxy more than 600 light-years across, the ice was found inside giant molecular clouds—vast regions of gas and dust where dense clumps of matter collapse […]

Dark matter could explain the earliest supermassive black holes

A growing mystery in astronomy is the presence of gargantuan black holes—some weighing as much as a billion suns—existing less than a billion years after the Big Bang. According to the standard theory of black hole formation, these black holes simply should not have had enough time to grow so large. A study led by […]

Astronomers crack a decades-old mystery, catching gas morphing into planet-building disks around newborn stars

An international team led by Dr. Indrani Das of Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) has shown, for the first time, how infalling gas from star-forming cores gradually transitions into planet-forming disks. Their findings, combining numerical simulations with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations, are published today in The Astrophysical Journal.

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Planets need more water to support life than scientists previously thought

Unfortunately for science fiction fans, desert worlds outside our solar system are unlikely to host life, according to new research from the University of Washington. Scientists show that an Earth-sized planet needs at least 20 to 50% of the water in Earth’s oceans to maintain a critical natural cycle that keeps water on the surface. […]

Alien life may hide in plain sight: Statistical patterns across exoplanets move beyond traditional biosignatures

A research team has developed a new approach to detecting life beyond Earth that does not rely on identifying specific biological markers. Instead, the study suggests that life may be detectable through patterns emerging across groups of planets, offering a new framework for astrobiology in situations where traditional biosignatures are ambiguous or unreliable.

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Exploring the moon’s shadowy craters with nuclear-powered rovers

NASA and other space agencies are intent on sending astronauts back to the moon, and this time, to stay! A vital part of these plans for reducing costs and dependency on Earth is the process of In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), using local resources for construction materials and meeting astronauts’ basic needs. This is why the […]

‘Bathtub ring’ hints at ancient Martian ocean

Caltech researchers have identified geological features on Mars that could point to the existence of a long-dried ocean that once covered a third of the Red Planet’s surface. The research was conducted by former Caltech postdoctoral scholar Abdallah Zaki and Caltech professor of geology Michael Lamb. The study is described in a paper appearing in […]

The Zhamanshin impact event was likely much more destructive than thought

Earth and the course of life on Earth have been shaped by impacts. Scientists have uncovered links between massive impacts and changes in climate that altered the planet forever. But the further scientists look into the past to try to understand these changes, the more difficult it is to link them together.

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A 3D map of 47 million galaxies is redefining our view of the universe

For the last five years, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) has been systematically scanning the night sky. Today marks the completion of its first map, which is the largest high-resolution 3D map of the universe ever made.

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Dark volcanic ash has visibly reshaped Martian surface since 1976

Noticeable change on Mars often takes millions of years—but the European Space Agency’s Mars Express has captured a blanket of dark ash creeping across the planet in just decades.

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Reading the moon’s buried past

The lunar south pole looks chaotic from orbit. Craters heaped upon craters, ancient basins, scarps and slopes tumbling in every direction, it is without doubt, one of the most geologically complicated terrains in the inner solar system. That aside, it’s exactly where we intend to send people, since understanding what lies beneath that battered surface […]