Space
- Physics
Some of the sun’s iconic coronal loops may be ghostly illusions
Wrinkles in the sun’s outer atmosphere might trick the eye into seeing glowing arches, scientists now report.
- Space
We finally have an image of the black hole at the heart of our galaxy
New observations from the Event Horizon Telescope reveal the chaotic region around the Milky Way’s central black hole, Sagittarius A*, in extreme detail.
- Planets
Analyze This: Some 5,000 planets orbit stars other than our sun
A new cache of confirmed exoplanet discoveries marks a milestone in planets found beyond our solar system.
- Physics
Explainer: All about orbits
A handful of rules can describe the route some object repeatedly takes around another in space. Calculating that path, however, can be quite complex.
- Earth
Scientists Say: Atmosphere
An atmosphere is an envelope of gas around a planet, dwarf planet or moon.
- Space
Scientists Say: Constellation
Constellations are clusters of related things, especially the stars that form patterns in the night sky — some of which date back to ancient times.
- Planets
Mercury’s surface may be studded with diamonds
Billions of years of meteorite impacts may have transformed much of Mercury's graphite crust into precious gemstones.
- Planets
Let’s learn about Pluto
Once known as a pipsqueak planet, Pluto is now the solar system’s best known dwarf planet.
- Tech
Space trash could kill satellites, space stations — and astronauts
As private companies prepare to sprinkle space with tens of thousands of satellites, experts worry about the mushrooming threat of space junk.
- Physics
Scientists Say: Dark Energy
Dark energy is the unknown force causing the universe to expand faster and faster.
- Physics
Wild art? No, it’s a radio image of the heart of our Milky Way
Eyelash-like radio filaments accent the brightest feature in this image — a supermassive black hole.
- Chemistry
No, organic molecules alone don’t point to life on Mars
These carbon-based molecules, found in a meteorite, may reflect merely a mixing of water and minerals on the Red Planet over billions of years.
