Physics
Physics theories about the multiverse are stranger than fiction
Cosmology and quantum physics both offer tantalizing possibilities that we inhabit just one reality among many. But testing that idea is challenging.
Space
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Space
- Planetary Science
A newly spotted asteroid spins faster than any of its size ever seen
Among the first finds from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, the discovery hints at a population of exceptionally strong asteroids.
- Astronomy
A double cosmic explosion could be the first known ‘superkilonova’
The blast may have been a kilonova — a type of neutron star merger — in the wake of a more traditional supernova.
- Climate
Hidden tree bark microbes munch on important climate gases
Trees are known for absorbing CO2. But microbes in their bark also absorb other climate-active gases, methane, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide.
- Particle Physics
Earth is bathed in droves of neutrinos spewed by the Milky Way’s stars
The subatomic particles are incredibly numerous. About 1,000 neutrinos from stars other than the sun pass through a thumbnail every second.
- Space
Betelgeuse’s buddy leaves a wake in the giant star’s atmosphere
The wake left by Betelgeuse’s companion could solve a decades-old mystery of its strange brightness cycles.
- Astronomy
Galaxies with ‘hoop skirts’ are more common than we thought
The discovery of thousands more galaxies with stars ringing their main disks could help astronomers study galactic evolution more generally.
- Space
First maps of the sun’s outer boundary may help predict solar storms
NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has mapped the shifting boundary between the sun and the rest of the solar system.
- Earth
Some of 2025’s scientific discoveries broke records
Longest lightning, the first AI-generated genomes and biggest black hole smashup were among this year’s top science superlatives.
- Astronomy
Against the odds, a burbling lava planet retains an atmosphere
The James Webb Space Telescope detected an atmosphere on a lava-covered exoplanet, evidence that small planets close to stars can have atmospheres.
