GeologySeptember 30, 2022
The Milky Way’s Spiral Arms May Have Carved Earth’s Continents
A controversial new theory suggests the Milky Way galaxy’s arms sent comets hurtling toward early Earth, where impacts built new continental crust
Milky Way
AstronomySeptember 22, 2022
JWST’s First Exoplanet Images Forecast a Bright Future
The James Webb Space Telescope’s snapshots of a giant world orbiting another star show that the observatory is performing even better than expected and that its best exoplanet images are yet to come
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Planetary ScienceAugust 30, 2022
Webb Telescope Finds Carbon Dioxide on a Distant Exoplanet
The result offers a sneak peek at the observatory’s transformative potential for studying worlds beyond the solar system
AstrophysicsAugust 23, 2022
Astronomers Reveal New Details of How Stars Devour Planets
Surprisingly, some worlds can survive being engulfed by a sunlike star when it swells to become a red giant
AstronomyAugust 18, 2022
Ancient Stargazers Saw Betelgeuse Shine a Different Color
Although Betelgeuse is currently a red giant star, astronomers millennia ago reported it as yellow
Extraterrestrial LifeAugust 10, 2022
Cultural Bias Distorts the Search for Alien Life
“Decolonizing” the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) could boost its chances of success, says science historian Rebecca Charbonneau
AstronomyAugust 4, 2022
Planetary Debris Disks Discovered with Citizen Scientists and Virtual Reality
Members of the public are helping professional astronomers identify nascent planetary systems
Extraterrestrial LifeAugust 3, 2022
With New Study, NASA Seeks the Science behind UFOs
Although modest in scope, a NASA research project reflects shifting attitudes toward the formerly taboo subject of UFOs
AstronomyJuly 12, 2022
NASA Triumphantly Unveils Full Set of Webb’s First Images
Breathtaking pictures that include the deepest-ever infrared view of ancient galaxies offer a preview of the spectacular science in store for the most powerful space observatory in history
OpinionJuly 11, 2022
Webb’s Record-Breaking First Image Shows Why We Build Telescopes
A new galaxy-packed picture from the James Webb Space Telescope offers a chance to rekindle our wonder about the universe
Space ExplorationJune 22, 2022
New Maps of Milky Way Are Biggest and Best Yet
The latest data release from the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission is sparking a frenzy of exciting new astrophysics research
AstronomyJune 17, 2022
Betelgeuse ‘Great Dimming’ Mystery Solved by Satellite Photobomb
Images from Japan’s Himawari-8 spacecraft shed light on the red supergiant star’s remarkable fading