Space & Physics

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a bizarre-looking exoplanet that defies explanation

Oceans hiding within the crusts of distant moons are tantalizing targets for scientists looking for life beyond Earth

The combination of a supernova and a kilonova may have produced a rare space explosion that astronomers have never seen before

New laboratory studies could shed light on a rock containing potential signs of alien life that’s stranded on Mars

This week marks the last chance for backyard astronomers to see interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS before it races on its journey back to outer space

Celestial transients shine furiously and briefly. Astronomers are just beginning to understand them

Whether space, health, technology or environment, here are the issues in science that the editors of Scientific American are focusing on for 2026

New experiments show how RNA might form not just on Earth but on other rocky planets, too

Precisely calibrating clocks on Mars is harder than you’d think, because of some extremely esoteric physics

NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft didn’t phone home as expected on December 6

An idea about the sun’s magnetic field called the terminator model could help predict dangerous space weather more accurately

NASA’s Perseverance rover has gathered groundbreaking Mars samples, but the mission to bring them home is facing serious challenges.