Astronomy
- Physics
100 years ago, an eclipse proved Einstein right. Today, black holes do too — for now
In 1919, an eclipse affirmed Einstein’s famous general theory of relativity. Now scientists hope to use black holes to poke holes in that idea.
- Physics
Big black holes can settle in the outskirts of small galaxies
Astronomers have found dozens of surprisingly massive black holes far from the centers of their host dwarf galaxies.
- Ecosystems
Readers were curious about green icebergs, aliens and more
Readers had questions and comments about icebergs and climate change, CBD and NASA’s search for E.T.
- Astronomy
Dying stars called collapsars may forge much of the universe’s gold
Spinning stars that collapse into black holes could help explain the origins of heavy elements such as gold and silver.
- Physics
What a nearby kilonova would look like
Physicists imagined what we’d see in the sky if two neutron stars collided just 1,000 light-years from Earth.
- Physics
LIGO is on the lookout for these 8 sources of gravitational waves
Gravitational wave hunters are on a cosmic scavenger hunt. Here’s what they’re hoping to find.
- Physics
LIGO and Virgo made 5 likely gravitational wave detections in a month
It took decades to find the first gravitational wave event, and now they’re a weekly occurrence.
- Astronomy
Skepticism grows over whether the first known exomoon exists
New analyses of the data used to find the first discovered exomoon are reaching conflicting results.
- Astronomy
Seeing very far away and hitting closer to home
Editor in Chief Nancy Shute discusses the first-ever image of a black hole and what can be done to help young children with anxiety.
- Physics
The M87 black hole image showed the best way to measure black hole masses
The first image of M87’s black hole suggests it is 6.5 billion times the mass of the sun — close to what was expected based on how stars move around it.
- Chemistry
The first type of molecule to form in the universe has been seen in space
The chemistry of the universe began with helium hydride. Scientists have just seen it in outer space for the first time.
- Science & Society
Black hole image validates imagining the unimaginable
Human creativity conjured up the most extreme of astronomical phenomena long before they could be seen.
