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Astronomers discover a rare 'black widow' binary, with the shortest orbit yet
Astronomers discovered a rapidly spinning neutron star circling and slowly consuming a smaller companion star. The pair has the shortest orbital period yet identified, and is unique in that it appears to host a third star that orbits around the two inner stars every 10,000 years.
May 4, 2022 Read more
Gravity telescope to image exoplanets
To sidestep the physical limitations of telescopes, astrophysicists have been working on a new conceptual imaging technique that would be 1000 times more precise than the strongest imaging technology currently in use. By taking advantage of gravity's warping effect on space-time, called lensing, scientists could potentially manipulate this phenomenon to create imaging far more advanced than any present today.
May 4, 2022 Read more
Search reveals eight new sources of black hole echoes
The findings will help scientists trace a black hole's evolution as it feeds on stellar material.
May 3, 2022 Read more
Spacecraft navigation uses x-rays from dead stars
Researchers have developed a new way spacecraft can use signals from multiple pulsars to navigate in deep space.
May 3, 2022 Read more
Revealing the secret language of dark matter
Shedding light on the interplay of dark matter with standard matter, a new study suggests a possible solution to one of the greatest and long-standing mystery of astrophysics.
April 29, 2022 Read more
Spinning stars shed new light on strange signal coming from galactic centre
Researchers have found an alternative explanation for a mysterious gamma-ray signal coming from the centre of the galaxy, which was long claimed as a signature of dark matter.
April 28, 2022 Read more
Solar energy is superior to nuclear for powering crewed mission to Mars, show scientists
Photovoltaics could be efficiently deployed across half the planet.
April 28, 2022 Read more
Earth's atmosphere may be source of some lunar water
Hydrogen and oxygen ions escaping from Earth's upper atmosphere and combining on the moon could be one of the sources of the known lunar water and ice.
April 28, 2022 Read more
The instability at the beginning of the solar system
Scientists have unveiled a new theory that could help solve a galactic mystery of how our solar system evolved. Specifically, how did the gas giants - Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - end up where they are, orbiting the sun like they do?
April 28, 2022 Read more
More evidence that the building blocks of life on Earth came from meteorites
There is more evidence that the building blocks of life on Earth came from meteorites, according to researchers, who analysed three carbon-rich meteorites and found evidence of multiple compounds needed for DNA or RNA. Using state-of-the-art analytical techniques on the meteorites, they found guanine, adenine, uracil, cytosine, and thymine molecules which may have served as building blocks of life on Earth.
April 26, 2022 Read more
Classifying exoplanet atmospheres opens new field of study
An international team of researchers examined data for 25 exoplanets and found some links among the properties of the atmospheres, including the thermal profiles and chemical abundances in them. This marks the first time exoplanet atmospheres have been studied as populations, rather than individually.
April 26, 2022 Read more
A roadmap for deepening understanding of a puzzling universal process
A puzzling process called magnetic reconnection triggers explosive phenomena throughout the universe, creating solar flares and space storms that can take down mobile phone service and electrical power grids. Now scientists have detailed a roadmap for untangling a key aspect of this puzzle that could deepen insight into the workings of the cosmos.
April 22, 2022 Read more
Pushing the boundaries of space exploration with X-ray polarimetry
Researchers introduce an imaging X-ray polarimetry mission that enables new measurements of cosmic X-ray sources.
April 22, 2022 Read more
Using bacteria to build settlements on Mars
Researchers have developed a sustainable method for making bricks out of Martian soil.
April 20, 2022 Read more
Explanation for formation of abundant features on Europa bodes well for search for extraterrestrial life (w/video)
Ice-penetrating radar data from Greenland suggests that shallow water pockets may be common within Europa's ice shell, increasing the potential habitability of the Jovian moon's ice shell.
April 20, 2022 Read more
Astronomers discover new type of stellar explosion called micronovae (w/video)
Astronomers have discovered a new kind of stellar explosion that could be commonplace in the universe and may change our understanding of how eruptions in stars occur.
April 20, 2022 Read more
Why Venus rotates, slowly, despite sun's powerful grip
If not for the soupy, fast-moving atmosphere on Venus would likely not rotate. Instead, Venus would be locked in place, always facing the sun the way the same side of the moon always faces Earth.
April 20, 2022 Read more
Mars may have less water than previously estimated
Scientists have developed an improved model for planet-wide groundwater flow prediction on Mars that is not only more accurate but more elegant too.
April 20, 2022 Read more