Astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomers may have spotted the birth of a neutron star

Scientists say they’ve witnessed a type of neutron star called a pulsar being born in the wake of a massive supernova for the first time.

Astronomy

Japan has launched a miniature space elevator

The Japanese space agency just launched a prototype space elevator to the International Space Station to test motion along a taut cable in space.

Astronomy

The TESS space telescope has spotted its first exoplanet

TESS’s first exoplanet is twice Earth’s size and may have lots of water.

Physics

Nuclear pasta in neutron stars may be the strongest material in the universe

Simulations suggest that the theoretical substance known as nuclear pasta is 10 billion times as strong as steel.

Astronomy

Jocelyn Bell Burnell wins big physics prize for 1967 pulsar discovery

Astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell speaks about winning the Breakthrough Prize, impostor syndrome and giving back.

Astronomy

Readers’ interest piqued by Parker Solar Probe, general relativity and more

Readers had questions about NASA's Parker Solar Probe, Einstein's general relativity theory and underwater cables used as earthquake sensors.

Astronomy

To boldly go where no robot explorer has gone before

Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the importance of robotic space missions for scientific research.

Astronomy

‘Accessory to War’ probes the uneasy alliance between space science and the military

Neil deGrasse Tyson and Avis Lang’s ‘Accessory to War’ grapples with the millennia-old partnership between space science and warfare.

Astronomy

New images reveal how an ancient monster galaxy fueled furious star formation

Scientists were able to see the abundance of star-forming gas and dust in a giant galaxy from when the universe was less than 2 billion years old.

Astronomy

Strange gamma rays from the sun may help decipher its magnetic fields

The sun spits out more and weirder gamma rays than anyone expected, which could give a new view of the sun’s magnetic fields.

Astronomy

Five things we learned from last year’s Great American Eclipse

A year after the total solar eclipse of 2017, scientists are still pondering the mysteries of the sun.

Astronomy

A galaxy 11.3 billion light-years away appears filled with dark matter

The “Cosmic Seagull,” a distant galaxy magnified by a gravitational lens, seems chock-full of dark matter, in contrast with other galaxies almost as far away.