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Astronomy
The most iconic "dark nebula" of all lights up under JWST's infrared gaze. Here's what's newly discovered inside.
An interview with Lisa Kaltenegger, the founding director of the Carl Sagan Institute, about the modern quest to answer an age-old question: "Are we alone in the cosmos?"
This first-of-its-kind image offers a detailed look at the magnetic fields within the Central Molecular Zone.
Dark energy is one of the biggest mysteries in all the Universe. Is there any way to avoid "having to live with it?"
"I hope we take a mindset where we are willing to look for weird life in weird places."
The JWST's observations of well-developed galaxies early in universal history may coincide with accepted astronomical theory after all.
The most common element in the Universe, vital for forming new stars, is hydrogen. But there's a finite amount of it; what if we run out?
Total eclipses are a product of a strange and almost eerie cosmic coincidence — one that makes Earth an even rarer world in the galaxy and, by proxy, in the Universe.
Our Universe requires dark matter in order to make sense of things, astrophysically. Could massive photons do the trick?
Practically all of the matter we see and interact with is made of atoms, which are mostly empty space. Then why is reality so... solid?
If the electromagnetic and weak forces unify to make the electroweak force, maybe, at higher energies, something even grander happens?
Explore how the study of exoplanets is transforming our understanding of ocean formation.
Here's what recent DESI measurements suggest — and why it's too early to update conventional predictions about the Universe's distant future.
Yes, the Universe is expanding, but if you've ever wondered, "How fast is it expanding," the answer isn't in terms of a speed at all.
There are so many problems, all across planet Earth, that harm and threaten humanity. Why invest in researching the Universe?
Forensics has reached the final frontier, and could be used to solve future space accidents—or crimes.
The center of the galaxy doesn't just host stars and a black hole, but an enormous set of rich gassy and dusty features. Find out more!
Well-preserved ancient plants and other finds at the Clarkia fossil beds hint at what kind of evidence any Martian life may have left behind.
From before the Big Bang to Voyager 1, particle physicist Harry Cliff takes us on a whiz-bang tour of the Universe's evolution.
In the infant Universe, particle physics reigned supreme.
A deep dive into the chaotic journey of star formation.
Lasers, mirrors, and computational advances can all work together to push ground-based astronomy past the limits of our atmosphere.
Even if you aren't in the path of totality, you can still use the solar eclipse to measure how long it takes the Moon to orbit Earth.
There are only a precious few minutes of totality during even the best solar eclipses. Don't waste yours making these avoidable mistakes.
In logic, 'reductio ad absurdum' shows how flawed arguments fall apart. Our absurd Universe, however, often defies our intuitive reasoning.
NASA's only flagship X-ray telescope ever, Chandra, still works and has no planned successor. So why does the President want to kill it?
The least exciting of all eclipses, a penumbral lunar eclipse, foreshadows the spectacular show that April 8th's total eclipse will bring.
No matter how you define the end, including the demise of humanity, all life, or even the planet itself, our ultimate destruction awaits.
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb claimed to track down and find alien spherules on the ocean bottom. Here's the sober truth.
Given enough time, all galaxies will expel their star-forming material and wind up dead. Is this the earliest one, or is it just asleep?