Astronomy

Quantum Physics

Aliens could send quantum messages to Earth, calculations suggest

Scientists are developing quantum communications networks on Earth. Aliens, if they exist, could be going further.

Astronomy

An otherwise quiet galaxy in the early universe is spewing star stuff

Seen as it was 700 million years after the Big Bang, the galaxy churns out a relatively paltry number of stars. And yet it’s heaving gas into space.

Astronomy

Gravitational wave ‘radar’ could help map the invisible universe

Gravity ripples scattering off warped spacetime near massive objects might help astronomers peer inside stars and find globs of dark matter.

Astronomy

Seven newfound dwarf galaxies sit on just one side of a larger galaxy

Seven newly found dwarf galaxy candidates are stick to just one side of the large galaxy M81. Astronomers don’t know why.

Astronomy

Neutrinos hint the sun has more carbon and nitrogen than previously thought

Scientists still don’t know the sun’s exact chemical composition, which is crucial for understanding the entire universe. Neutrinos will help.

Astronomy

A celestial loner might be the first known rogue black hole

The object could be the first isolated stellar-mass black hole identified in the Milky Way — or it might be an unusually heavy neutron star.

Astronomy

New Gaia data paint the most detailed picture yet of the Milky Way

Gaia’s new data can tell us about galaxies the Milky Way has swallowed, the young solar system and asteroids that could hit Earth.

Astronomy

A newfound, oddly slow pulsar shouldn’t emit radio waves — yet it does

The highly magnetic neutron star rotates three times slower than the previous record holder, challenging the theorical understanding of these objects.

Astronomy

The Solar Orbiter spacecraft spotted a ‘hedgehog’ on the sun

In its closest flyby yet of the sun, the Solar Orbiter came within 48 million kilometers of our star, revealing new details.

Astronomy

Pulsars may power cosmic rays with the highest-known energies in the universe

Earth is pelted by energetic particles from space. The source might be the magnetic remains of massive stars, a new study suggests.

Particle Physics

High-energy neutrinos may come from black holes ripping apart stars

Where extremely energetic neutrinos originate from is a mystery. A new study supports the idea that “tidal disruption events” are one source.

Astronomy

We finally have an image of the black hole at the heart of the Milky Way

Observations from the Event Horizon Telescope reveal the turbulent region around our home galaxy’s black hole, Sagittarius A*, in new detail.