Space
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SpaceScientists Say: Solar wind
This is a powerful gust of charged particles that flows out from the sun through the solar system.
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SpaceAstronomers may have found first known planet in another galaxy
The spiral-shaped Whirlpool galaxy may be home to the first planet spotted outside our own Milky Way galaxy.
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SpaceLet’s learn about the hunt for alien life
Finding any extraterrestrials, from advanced alien civilizations to simple microbes, would be an unmatched discovery.
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SpaceExplainer: Calculating a star’s age
Scientists can figure out a star's mass or composition pretty easily. Determining how old that star is, however, is a lot harder.
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SpaceLet’s learn about auroras
A gust of charged particles from the sun called the solar wind lights up auroras on Earth — and on other planets.
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PlanetsNASA’s Perseverance rover grabbed its first Martian rocks
Two finger-sized pieces of stone drilled from a basalt rock are the first bits of Mars ready to be brought to Earth.
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PlanetsPluto is no longer a planet — or is it?
In the 15 years since Pluto lost its status as a planet, some scientists continue to use whatever definition works best for them.
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SpaceHere’s an easier new way to weigh a black hole
The timing of flickers in the gas and dust of a black hole’s accretion disk correlates to its mass, a new study finds.
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EarthLet’s learn about meteor showers
Meteor showers happen when Earth’s orbit passes through trails of debris left behind by comets or asteroids.
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SpaceExplainer: How auroras light up the sky
The northern and southern lights are considered natural wonders of the world. Here’s how these and related splendid sky glows form.
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PlanetsJupiter’s intense auroras heat up its atmosphere
Jupiter’s hotter-than-expected upper atmosphere may be warmed by charged particles slamming into the air above the poles.
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SpaceLet’s learn about dark matter
Dark matter is only detectable by the gravitational pull it exerts on visible objects, like stars and galaxies.