Active black holes are more common than we thought

A new census found more active galactic nuclei in small galaxies than ever before, plus a sharp uptick in numbers as galaxy mass increases.

Famous 'Pink Planet' harbors a salty clouds

Astronomers have discovered salty skies surrounding the universe's famous "Pink Planet." For more than a decade, the ancient, rosy-hazed world kept astronomers guessing.

Four Separate Generations of Stars Found in ‘Globular Cluster’ Terzan 5

New data not only confirm the existence of two distinct populations of stars in the ancient stellar system Terzan 5, once classified as a globular cluster, but also provides evidence for two more recent rounds of star formation.

Consciousness is Not Exclusive to Earth’s Biology

Consciousness may arise not just in the biological tissue we find on Earth, but potentially in radically different physical materials found elsewhere in the cosmos.

Radioactive Stardust From an Ancient Cosmic Blast Is Still Raining on Earth

A sprinkling of radioactive plutonium atoms hidden in the ocean floor may trace back to a cosmic cataclysm more than 100 million years ago.

Nuclear clocks tick for the first time

Two independent research teams have achieved a longstanding goal in physics: building a working nuclear clock.

Scientist creates 'mini‑universe' to measure time without a clock

Scientist has built a "mini-universe" that takes a step toward answering one of science's biggest questions: "What is time?

Big Bang inside a star: How a gravastar may form

A gravastar (gravitational vacuum star) is a hypothetical cosmic object proposed as an alternative to a black hole. 

Earliest Flickering Quasar Ever Seen Could Explain Monster Black Holes

Astronomers have discovered the earliest known flickering quasar, whose light has traveled more than 13 billion years to reach us.

Experts confirm universe's expansion IS accelerating

A study published last year claiming the growth of the universe is slowing has been refuted. Our universe's expansion is still accelerating despite recent claims suggesting otherwise, an international team of astrophysicists say.

Solar System Once Had A Fifth Giant Planet

Our Solar System may once have hosted not two, but three ice giants. This long-lost world could help explain why the outer planets and their moons look the way they do today.

Supermassive black holes could be prolific planet-making machines

A new research estimates that of order tens of millions of planetary mass objects can form in outer regions of AGN accretion disks - active supermassive black holes.

Astronomers Detect Clearest Signs Yet of Magnetic Fields on Extrasolar Planets

By tracking fierce winds racing through the atmospheres of seven ultra-hot Jupiters, astronomers have uncovered the strongest evidence yet that magnetic fields shape weather on worlds beyond our Solar System.

Webb Detects Methane on Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS

Using the spectral data, James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have detected methane on 3I/ATLAS. This is the first direct detection of methane in an interstellar object.

Meteorite Found in Africa Preserves Evidence of Long-Lost Massive Protoplanet

The Northwest Africa (NWA) 12774, an angrite meteorite, appears to be a fragment of a vanished protoplanet, offering the strongest evidence yet that a large planetary body formed and was later destroyed during the Solar System’s chaotic infancy.