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The strange orbits of 'Tatooine' planetary disks (w/video)
Astronomers have found striking orbital geometries in protoplanetary disks around binary stars. While disks orbiting the most compact binary star systems share very nearly the same plane, disks encircling wide binaries have orbital planes that are severely tilted. These systems can teach us about planet formation in complex environments.
March 19, 2020 Read more
Snapping an exoplanet shot
Physicists will develop instruments to directly image exoplanets.
March 19, 2020 Read more
Merger between two stars led to iconic supernova
Simulations suggest that two stars came together to form a blue supergiant, which subsequently exploded.
March 19, 2020 Read more
Astronomers discover the first pulsating remains of a star in an eclipsing double star system
Scientists have discovered a pulsating ancient star in a double star system which will help further our understanding of how stars like the Sun evolve and die.
March 17, 2020 Read more
Astrophysicists wear 3D glasses to watch quasars
Researchers have shown a way to determine the origins and nature of quasar light by its polarization. The new approach is analogous to the way cinema glasses produce a 3D image by feeding each eye with the light of a particular polarization: either horizontal or vertical.
March 13, 2020 Read more
Researchers find new minor planets beyond Neptune
An updated catalog of trans-Neptunian objects, and the methods used to find them, could aid in future searches for undiscovered planets in the far reaches of the solar system.
March 12, 2020 Read more
Discovery points to the origin of mysterious ultraviolet radiation
Billions of lightyears away, gigantic clouds of hydrogen gas produce a special kind of radiation, a type of ultraviolet light known as Lyman-alpha emissions. The enormous clouds emitting the light are Lyman-alpha blobs (LABs). LABs are several times larger than our Milky Way galaxy, yet were only discovered 20 years ago.
March 12, 2020 Read more
Observed: An exoplanet where it rains iron
This exoplanet, 390 light years away towards the constellation Pisces, has days when its surface temperatures exceed 2,400 Celsius, sufficiently hot to evaporate metals. Its nights, with strong winds, cool down the iron vapour so that it condenses into drops of iron.
March 11, 2020 Read more
The axion solves three mysteries of the universe
A hypothetical particle called the axion could solve one of physics' great mysteries: the excess of matter over antimatter, or why we're here at all.
March 10, 2020 Read more
Slime mold simulations used to map dark matter holding universe together
The behavior of one of nature's humblest creatures is helping astronomers probe the largest structures in the universe.
March 10, 2020 Read more
Solved: the mystery of the expansion of the universe
A new hypothesis to solve a conundrum that has been splitting the scientific community for a decade: at what speed is the universe expanding?
March 10, 2020 Read more
Producing human tissue in space
Researchers have sent adult human stem cells to the International Space Station (ISS) to explore the production of human tissue in weightlessness.
March 7, 2020 Read more
Space lettuce
Nutritious and safe crops would be a dietary supplement to assist long-distance space missions.
March 6, 2020 Read more
Organic molecules discovered by Curiosity Rover consistent with early life on Mars
Organic compounds called thiophenes are found on Earth in coal, crude oil and oddly enough, in white truffles, the mushroom beloved by epicureans and wild pigs. Thiophenes were also recently discovered on Mars, and astrobiologists think their presence would be consistent with the presence of early life on Mars.
March 5, 2020 Read more
Globular cluster billowing in the Galactic wind
The Galactic magnetic field plays an important role in the evolution of our Galaxy, but its small-scale behaviour is still poorly known. It is also unknown whether it permeates the halo of the Galaxy or not.
March 2, 2020 Read more
Massive protostar keeps growing despite ionization heating by ultraviolet light
A massive young star has been spotted that is continuing to grow despite boiling away the gas it feeds on.
March 2, 2020 Read more
KABOOM! Astronomers detect biggest explosion in the history of the universe
Scientists studying a distant galaxy cluster have discovered the biggest explosion seen in the Universe since the Big Bang. The blast came from a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy hundreds of millions of light-years away.
February 28, 2020 Read more
Stunning images capture cosmic ray tracks
The beauty in science shines through at RHIC's STAR detector and makes a cosmic connection.
February 27, 2020 Read more