Astronomy

Planetary Science

Hints of Oort clouds around other stars may lurk in the universe’s first light

Sifting through the universe’s early light could reveal planetary graveyards orbiting other stars.

Astronomy

Hubble has been busy since coming back online

Since getting back to work on October 26, the Hubble Space Telescope has been studying red dwarf flares, among other celestial objects.

Astronomy

The Milky Way feasted on a smaller galaxy 10 billion years ago

The Milky Way swallowed another galaxy billions of years ago, and the leftover stars are still roaming the sky.

Astronomy

Three gas clouds nearly grazed the edge of the Milky Way’s black hole

Gas clumps cozy up to the Milky Way’s enormous black hole, new observations reveal.

Astronomy

The planet-hunting Kepler space telescope is dead

The Kepler space telescope is officially out of fuel and will hunt planets no more, NASA announced.

Astronomy

Readers wonder about a hydrogen wall, pig lung transplants and more

Readers had questions about a glow at the edge of the solar system, pig lung transplants, the use of the word promiscuous and more.

Astronomy

The Neil Armstrong biopic ‘First Man’ captures early spaceflight’s terror

At a time when NASA is considering how to return astronauts to the moon, ‘First Man’ is a sobering reminder of how risky the first giant leap was.

Astronomy

The first observed wimpy supernova may have birthed a neutron star duo

Scientists have spotted a faint, fast supernova for the first time, possibly explaining how pairs of dense stellar corpses called neutron stars form.

Astronomy

If the past is a guide, Hubble’s new trouble won’t doom the space telescope

Hubble is in safe mode, but astronomers are optimistic that the observatory will keep working.

Animals

What bees did during the Great American Eclipse

A rare study of bees during a total solar eclipse finds that the insects buzzed around as usual — until totality.

Astronomy

‘Einstein’s Shadow’ explores what it takes to snap a black hole’s picture

The new book offers a behind-the-scenes look at the Event Horizon Telescope’s attempt to image a black hole.

Planetary Science

Saturn’s ‘ring rain’ is a surprising cocktail of chemicals

NASA’s Cassini probe got a closeup view of the material falling from Saturn’s rings into the planet. The data could help illuminate the belts’ origins.