Astronomy

Astronomers Spot Ancient Fast Radio Burst from the Early Universe—And It’s the Most-Distant Ever Seen

Micah Hanks·August 12, 2025

The most distant fast radio burst ever observed, originating from a time when the universe was just three billion years old, has been detected by astronomers.

Landmark James Webb Space Telescope Discovery Has Astronomers Working to Solve “The Case of a Disappearing Planet”

Ryan Whalen·August 9, 2025

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has provided crucial new evidence of a giant planet orbiting one of three stars making up Alpha Centauri.

James Webb Space Telescope Detects Most Distant Black Hole Ever Identified, Challenging Models of Early Cosmic Evolution

Ryan Whalen·August 8, 2025

A 13.3 billion-year-old black hole—the most distant ever discovered—has been observed by an international team of astronomers, providing new insights into the early universe. 

“It May Sound Really Crazy”: A Paperclip-Sized Probe Could One Day Visit a Black Hole, This Researcher Says

Ryan Whalen·August 7, 2025

Sending an artificial probe into a black hole may be in the cards within the coming decades, according to a Fudan University researcher

Scientists Successfully Synthesize ‘Superalcohol’ Seed of Life Molecule in Space-Like Conditions

Christopher Plain·August 6, 2025

Scientists announce the first ever successful synthesis of a "superalcohol" seed of life molecule that could aid the search for life in space.

Astronomers Discover Unusual White Dwarf That Shouldn’t Exist—Unless It Has a Very Rare Origin Story

Ryan Whalen·August 6, 2025

A white dwarf star close to Earth may be the result of a powerful cosmic collision, where two stars merged into one. 

Dark Matter May Arise From ‘Mirror Worlds’ or Cosmic Horizons, Bold New Theories Suggest

Ryan Whalen·August 5, 2025

New theories put forward possible answers to the long-standing question of dark matter’s particle nature, a major mystery of the universe.

Pluto’s Alien Landscape Reveals “Bladed Terrain” Riddled with Massive Methane Ice Spires, Study Suggests

Micah Hanks·August 4, 2025

Pluto’s mysterious far side may conceal towering ice formations, according to research offering clues about the dwarf planet’s bladed terrain.

High-Resolution Images Reveal Rare ‘Plasma Ribbon’ in a Distant Black Hole Galaxy

Ryan Whalen·August 4, 2025

A stunning image reveals the plasma jet at the heart of the OJ 287 galaxy, providing new data on black holes’ impact on their surroundings.

Scientists Warn Moonquakes Are Stronger and Happen More Often Than Expected

Ryan Whalen·August 2, 2025

Moonquakes created landslides on the lunar surface, according to new research highlighting new concerns for safety in moon habitation.

In the Darkness Between Stars, Mysterious Rogue Planets May Be Building Worlds of Their Own, Webb Telescope Reveals

Micah Hanks·August 1, 2025

New research has revealed that mysterious ‘rogue planets’ could be assembling scaled-down planetary systems of their own.

James Webb Space Telescope Spots a “Cosmic Starfish,” Revealing Multi-Polar Chaos in a Dying Star’s Final Act

Micah Hanks·July 31, 2025

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope catches stunning new views of a complex multi-polar structure resembling a cosmic "starfish."

Double Meteor Showers Will Close Out July with a Celestial Show—Here’s How Skywatchers Can Spot Them

Ryan Whalen·July 30, 2025

July 2025 will end with a double meteor shower, offering great views to skywatchers as the two celestial events peak simultaneously.

Cosmic Ray Discovery Suggests Extraterrestrial Life May Exist in “More Places Than We Ever Imagined”

Ryan Whalen·July 29, 2025

Cosmic rays may be enough to nourish exterrestrial life residing underground in our solar system offering to broaden the search.

A Radical New Theory Has Scientists Rethinking the Origins of the Universe

Ryan Whalen·July 28, 2025

A radical new model of the universe redefines the first few moments of existence, reducing reliance on theoretical concepts.

Scientists May Have Finally Solved the Origin Mystery of the Moon’s Exosphere

Christopher Plain·July 26, 2025

A new analysis of lunar exosphere origin theories has cast doubt on how much the high-energy solar wind really impacts its formation.

Aliens, or Something Else? Astronomers Thought Life Might Exist on This Exoplanet—New James Webb Telescope Data Says Otherwise

Micah Hanks·July 25, 2025

Claims that extraterrestrial life may exist on the exoplanet K2-18b face new challenges from James Webb Space Telescope data.

James Webb Space Telescope Sees ‘Zombie’ Black Holes Spring to Life, Feasting on Stars in Dramatic Tidal Disruption Events

Micah Hanks·July 25, 2025

Astronomers have made a series of first-of-their-kind observations that uncover the dusty remains of stars ripped apart by supermassive black holes.

Vera Rubin Observatory Unveils First High-Res Images of 3I/ATLAS—Captured Days Before Astronomers Knew It Existed

Micah Hanks·July 23, 2025

A mysterious new interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, was discovered in July. It turns out that wasn't the first time our telescopes spotted it.

Enter Ammonite: Discovery of Distant Space Object Shakes Up the Hunt for Planet Nine

Chrissy Newton·July 22, 2025

Astronomers have discovered "Ammonite," a mysterious object on the solar system’s edge whose unusual orbit challenges current theories about a hypothetical ninth planet.

Mysterious Object Spotted by ESO Telescope Could Reveal a Hidden “Companion” Lurking Near a Remote Star

Christopher Plain·July 22, 2025

Scientists studying data from the VLT's ERIS instrument have spotted a mysterious object in the vicinity of star V960 Mon they can't explain

ESO’s Very Large Telescope Spots Newfound Protoplanet Sculpting Patterns in a Distant Star’s Disc

Christopher Plain·July 22, 2025

Scientist studying a star over 440 light-years away have spotted a planet creating intricate patterns in the star's protoplanetary disc.

In a Stunning First, Scientists Have Watched a Star Survive a Black Hole Encounter

Micah Hanks·July 21, 2025

For the first time, astronomers have confirmed a star’s survival following a tidal disruption event with a supermassive black hole.

Astronomers Reveal Betelgeuse Has an Elusive Stellar Companion Linked to Star’s Curious Brightness Cycle

Ryan Whalen·July 21, 2025

Betelgeuse, the red supergiant star closest to Earth, has finally been proven to have a companion star in observations from NASA scientists.

Astronomers Spot Strange Activity Over Jupiter’s North Pole That Could Lead to a Paradigm Shift in Plasma Physics

Micah Hanks·July 18, 2025

NASA’s Juno spacecraft has detected an unusual new variety of plasma phenomenon occurring over Jupiter's north pole.

“Everything is Unusual About This Galaxy”: James Webb Space Telescope Uncovers Strangely Shaped ‘Infinity Galaxy’

Ryan Whalen·July 18, 2025

The Infinity Galaxy is a recent discovery from the James Webb Space Telescope’s COSMOS-Web survey, found in archival data.

James Webb and ALMA Telescopes Spy First-Ever “Dawn” of Planets Forming Around a Sun

Christopher Plain·July 17, 2025

Astronomers using ALMA and the James Webb Space Telescope witnessed the dawn of a solar system, including the first stages of planets forming

“It Could Tell Us the Story of Many Other Solar Systems”: Doomed Exoplanet May Change Our Understanding of Planetary Evolution

Ryan Whalen·July 16, 2025

On a collision course with its star, the Jupiter-like exoplanet TOI-2109b has astronomers keenly observing its unusual orbital decay.

‘Interstellar Contamination’ Could Change Which Exoplanets Scientists Search for Extraterrestrial Life

Christopher Plain·July 15, 2025

A new analysis of exoplanets has shown interstellar contamination from nearby stars could change where to search for extraterrestrial life.

Gravitational Waves Unveil Record-Breaking Black Hole Merger, Challenging Existing Models

Ryan Whalen·July 14, 2025

The most massive gravitationally detected black hole merger to date has been observed by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration.

Astronomers Detect a Mysterious Giant and “Hidden Substructures” Lurking in the Haze Around a Young Star

Ryan Whalen·July 14, 2025

Shrouded by a swirl of gas and dust, a gas giant, roughly three to ten times the size of Jupiter, was found in a new exoplanet discovery.

New Simulations Reveal Dozens of Hidden Galaxies Orbiting the Milky Way

Ryan Whalen·July 12, 2025

There may be many more satellite galaxies in the Milky Way than have been observed, according to new Durham University simulations.

“What Else is Out There?” New Study Reveals Everything We Currently Know About Mysterious Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS

Micah Hanks·July 11, 2025

New research has revealed everything astronomers currently know about the mysterious interstellar object 3I/ATLAS.

Have Astronomers Found Signs of Life in Venus’s Atmosphere? UK-led VERVE Mission Aims to Investigate

Ryan Whalen·July 11, 2025

The VERVE mission seeks to investigate the presence of bacterial life floating in the heavy cloud cover on Venus up close.

‘CosmoCube’ Spacecraft Plans to Listen for Whispers from the Cosmic Dark Ages on the Far Side of the Moon

Ryan Whalen·July 10, 2025

A proposed satellite mission aims to orbit the far side of the Moon to detect faint radio signals from the universe’s cosmic Dark Ages.

“E-MERLIN is Showing What’s Possible”: UK Telescope Array Captures a Rare Look at Protoplanetary “Pebbles”

Ryan Whalen·July 9, 2025

New observations from England’s e-MERLIN interferometer telescope array display cosmic pebbles that will one day grow into entire exoplanets.

Cosmic Mystery Solved? Earth May Reside Within a Huge ‘Void’ in Space

Christopher Plain·July 9, 2025

Scientists have proposed Earth is in the middle of a huge void in space, potentially resolving the cosmic mystery known as the Hubble Tension.

Look: Stunning First Images from Vera C. Rubin Observatory Reveal the Cosmos Like Nothing You’ve Ever Seen

Micah Hanks·July 8, 2025

The widely anticipated first images collected by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have been released, offering nothing short of an awe-inspiring view of the cosmos.

Did a Mystery Object Just Hit Saturn? Astronomers Investigating Strange Flash Issue Urgent Call for Images

Micah Hanks·July 8, 2025

Astronomers are calling for images of Saturn captured over the weekend that may help document a rare impact event with a mystery object.

‘Space Ice’ Experiments Pour Cold Water on Panspermia Origin of Life Theories

Christopher Plain·July 8, 2025

Scientists studying space ice say the amorphous, low-density material's structure decreases the odds of a panspermia origin of life theories.

Theoretical “Dark Dwarfs” Lurking Near the Galactic Center Could Help Reveal Dark Matter’s Secrets

Ryan Whalen·July 7, 2025

Dark dwarfs, stars composed of dark matter, may be the optimal objects in which to finally discover physical dark matter in the real world.

NASA’s SPHEREx Space Telescope Begins Its Groundbreaking Mission to Share All-Sky Mapping Data with the Public

Ryan Whalen·July 4, 2025

NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope has settled into low-Earth orbit, providing a wellspring of publicly available space data.

Astronomers Are Tracking a Massive New Interstellar Object That Just Entered Our Solar System

Avi Loeb·July 3, 2025

Astronomers have announced the discovery of A11pl3Z, a massive new interstellar object entering our solar system.

James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Peculiar Cosmic ‘Jellyfish’ in Rare Galactic Observation

Micah Hanks·July 2, 2025

The most distant known example of what astronomers call a “jellyfish galaxy” has been spotted by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

“I Literally Screamed with Joy”: In a Rare Stellar Discovery, Kilonova Project Citizen Scientists Have Made a Breakthrough

Ryan Whalen·July 2, 2025

Citizen scientists working with the Kilonova Project made their first confirmed discovery of a rare exploding star, enabling rapid follow-up observations by astronomers.

Is Cosmic Expansion Losing Steam? Scientists Say Dark Energy’s Grip May Be Weakening

Ryan Whalen·July 1, 2025

Scientists say the dark energy in our universe may be losing its power over time, leading to a slowdown in universal expansion.

James Webb Space Telescope Trains Its Sights on the ‘Bullet Cluster,’ Revealing a Stunning View of Galaxies in Collision

Micah Hanks·June 30, 2025

NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has captured high-resolution images of the Bullet Cluster, revealing its complex dynamics.

Rethinking the Search for Extraterrestrial Life: Scientists Urge Broader Search as Exoplanet Discoveries Multiply

Ryan Whalen·June 28, 2025

New research says that the search for extraterrestrial life may be too narrow, as life could thrive in conditions far different from Earth's.

A Mysterious Radio Signal from Space Was Traced to an Unexpected Source—and It’s Something Within Our Own Galaxy

Micah Hanks·June 27, 2025

An object astronomers initially thought to be a high-speed burst of radio waves from deep space last year has been revealed to be something else entirely.

James Webb Space Telescope Captures First Direct Image of Mysterious Alien Exoplanet Lurking in Dusty Debris Disk

Micah Hanks·June 25, 2025

In a groundbreaking first, the James Webb Space Telescope has captured its first direct image of a distant exoplanet unrecognized from past astronomical surveys.