The universe

Latest about The universe

An illustration of a red world with white streaks.

Nearby exoplanet could offer clues about atmospheres around hot, rocky alien worlds

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

A nearby Earth-sized planet beyond our solar system could soon add to the diversity of known terrestrial worlds with their own "air."

Exoplanets
a comet with a long tail streaks through a star filled sky above trees.

Newly discovered Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN) captured in stunning photo blazing across UK skies

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

The striking Comet C/2025 F2 (SWAN) photograph was captured by astrophotographer Josh Dury at 4:50 a.m. local time on April 9.

Comets
An artist's illustration of the hot Jupiter exoplanet CoRoT 2b, which has a strange westward-blowing hotspot in its atmosphere, scientists say.

How science gets tested on alien worlds: 'We quickly realize how much there is yet to discover'

By Victoria Corless published

New insights into the chemistry of exoplanet atmospheres indicates planet-wide rainfall might take place following hydrogen atmosphere and water mixing.

Exoplanets
A visualization of the Earth toward the right, the moon in the center and the asteroid in the foreground toward the left.

We now know the shape of notorious asteroid 2024 YR4 that dominated headlines recently — it's probably 'suburban,' too

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

Asteroid 2024 YR4, once a potential Earth threat, likely originated from the main asteroid belt's central region, a surprising origin for Earth-crossing space rocks, a new study finds.

Asteroids
An illustration of a rotating black hole blasting jets from its poles

Could we use black holes to power future human civilizations? 'There is no limitation to extracting the enormous energy from a rotating black hole'

By Robert Lea published

Black holes power some of the most energetic phenomena in the known universe, but could they ever power an advanced human civilisation?

Black Holes
An illustration of molecular gas around the protocluster core SPT2349-56

This baby galaxy cluster is powering extreme star formation with a hidden fuel tank

By Robert Lea published

An extreme protocluster gathering of infant galaxies is hiding a vast cosmic fuel tank that is powering 400 million years of intense star formation.

The Universe
The record galaxy RUBIES-UDS-QG-z7 and its spectra as seen by the JWST

Record-breaking 'dead' galaxy discovered by JWST lived fast and died young in the early universe

By Robert Lea published

The most distant and earliest "dead" massive galaxy ever seen shows some galaxies lived fast and died young shortly after the Big Bang.

The Universe
Zoomed-in view of the moon’s Drygalski Crater taken with the high-resolution camera on South Korea’s Danuri lunar orbiter.

South Korea is converting an abandoned coal mine into a moon exploration testing ground

By Andrew Jones published

South Korea conducted a test inside the former Hamtae mine in late March, deploying prototype moon rovers equipped with tech that could be used in space mining.

The moon
An illustration of a Kerr black hole dragging space around with it, the so-called "lense-thirring effect"

What is dark matter made of? New study bolsters case for 'primordial' black holes

By Paul Sutter published

In the early universe, primordial black holes could acquire a "dark charge," giving them an unnaturally long lifetime, new research suggests. This makes them an interesting candidate for dark matter.

Black Holes
A light blue planet set against the darkness of space

A day on Uranus is actually longer than we thought, Hubble Telescope reveals

By Sharmila Kuthunur published

This approach can now be used to determine the rotation rate of any celestial object with a magnetic field and auroras — including exoplanets.

Uranus
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