Earth's Place in the Universe
- Space
Weird black holes may reveal secrets of the early universe
Emerging evidence points to the existence of rogue black holes and other cosmic oddities — such as big black holes in tiny galaxies.
- Space
Experiment: A puzzling parallax helps stargazers
In this project, we explore how perspective, or parallax, can be used to measure the distances to objects such as stars.
- Space
Ghost particles paint a new picture of the Milky Way
Scientists tracked neutrinos from space to create a new map of our galaxy. It’s the first image of the Milky Way to be made without light.
- Space
Newfound gravitational waves may be from the biggest black holes in the universe
Observations of dead stars hint that ripples in spacetime — ripples light-years long — roll through our universe.
- Space
Scientists Say: Pulsar
These rapidly spinning dead stars send beams of radio waves into space like cosmic lighthouses.
- Space
Lightning dances through Jupiter’s skies much like it does on Earth
Data from NASA’s Juno spacecraft hint that Jupiter’s lightning extends in jagged steps as it does on Earth.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Explosion
Explosions happen when chemical or nuclear reactions blow out a lot of heat, noise and expanding gas.
- Planets
In a first, telescopes have caught a star eating a planet
A burst of light and a cloud of dust are signs that a distant star swallowed a giant planet.
- Space
James Webb telescope catches newborn stars sculpting spiral galaxies
Dark voids riddle the galaxies, revealing new details about how stars alter their environments.
- Physics
Explainer: Reflection, refraction and the power of lenses
The inner workings of microscopes, telescopes, eyeglasses and other lens-based devices rely on two important laws of optics.
- Space
Here’s why the moon must get its own time zone
But should moon time be like Earth time — or quite different? At issue: The moon’s lesser gravity will make seconds there tick faster than on Earth.
- Earth
One collision could have formed the moon and started plate tectonics
A hypothetical planet slamming into Earth 4.5 billion years ago might have set subduction into motion.
