Latest articles by Keith Cooper
Earth's moon could have formed in just 5 hours after giant impact
One day in history about 4.5 billion years ago was a dramatic one for Earth, potentially giving our planet an instant moon and an almighty headache all in one go.
Scientists watch a comet being born 3 billion miles away
A rare look at a centaur transforming into a comet with coma is providing a missing link in the evolution of small, icy solar system bodies.
The moon might be hiding a history of ancient supernova explosions
Scientists have managed to extract the history of supernova explosions in our cosmic backyard from radioactive isotopes found in moon dust.
Scientists discover massive 'thermal anomaly' beneath the surface of Mars
New research into the interior of Mars further emphasizes that the Red Planet is a world of two very different halves.
It's been 20 years since Pluto lost planet status. Will it ever get its title back?
The reclassification of Pluto as a dwarf planet continues to stir up a hornet's nest of controversy and debate, as Space.com meets one astronomer who believes the decision to have been a mistake.
How a huge fleet of 17 spacecraft discovered something surprising about solar eruptions
Taking measurements of the same CME from different vantage points in the solar system revealed the true extent of a solar eruption.
How an ancient collision with another galaxy transformed the Milky Way
The Milky Way has a secret history of galaxy mergers that we are only now starting to uncover.
Scientists find dead star that predicts our sun's future: 'Broken apart and returned to the galaxy'
A composite image of data from the Hubble Space Telescope, the Kitt Peak four-meter telescope and MOTHRA reveal the Helix Nebula. We can see the bow shocks, particularly on the left.
Scientists find 3 supermassive black holes on the verge of collision inside a distant galaxy
A greedy galaxy that existed less than 1.3 billion years after the Big Bang is hoarding supermassive black holes.
A 'river' of cosmic gas 1 trillion miles long sent planets in the Orion constellation into tilted orbits
A river of gas over a trillion miles long is streaming onto a young planet-forming system and is tipping it over.
Farthest 'black hole star' ever found could help solve the James Webb Space Telescope's little red dot mystery
A distant black hole star is providing strong evidence that these objects lie at the hearts of the mysterious little red dots found shortly after the Big Bang by the James Webb Space Telescope.
Pluto's atmosphere is collapsing as it drifts away from the sun into a deep freeze
As Pluto edges further away from the sun, the chilly temperatures are causing its atmosphere to condense onto its barren surface as frost.
Inside the mystery of the James Webb Space Telescope's little red dots — and how they might be evolving
The James Webb Space Telescope's strange "little red dots" may be evolving into spiral galaxies.
Are aliens running out of places to hide? It turns out we've searched much more of the galaxy than we realized
Astronomers may have already scanned millions of more stars than they thought, a realization that might lead to new ways to hunt for extraterrestrial radio signals.
1st three-headed asteroid found in our solar system — and it has a little moon
Sophisticated high-contrast imaging has revealed asteroid 44 Nysa to have three lobes and a small moon.
Our Milky Way galaxy appears to have flipped 90 degrees long ago. But why?
A slowly rotating stellar halo was the clue to a major and unknown event in the Milky Way's history that saw the spiral disc flip over by more than 90 degrees.
Are we overlooking signs of alien life that aren't technological or biological? 'Bread would be a signature of intelligence'
Between biosignatures and technosignatures lie noosignatures, and some scientists think they could help us find alien life someday.
Should we trust AI in the search for alien life? Scientists aren't so sure
New research suggests AI can be repeatedly fooled into mistaking non-life for life.
Astronomers discover landslides on Pluto large enough to bury entire cities on Earth
Evidence for landslides down steep crater walls on Pluto have been found in imagery from NASA's New Horizons mission.
The 1st of 10,000 'missing' black holes in the Omega Centauri star cluster has been found by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes
The first of 10,000 missing black holes in the Omega Centauri globular cluster has been found thanks to teamwork by the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes.
1st-ever X-rays in space offer hope for possible patients headed to the moon
A portable X-ray device has been used successfully in orbit for the first time, promising X-ray diagnosis of everything from broken bones to ripped spacesuits and damaged satellites.
These mysterious exoplanets may have clouds of vaporized rock and grounds of scorching magma oceans
Sub-Neptune exoplanets could have atmospheres so dense and crushing that rock is vaporized to form clouds that trap heat at the surface of the planet.
The sun's atmosphere is way hotter than its surface. Scientists may finally know why
NASA's Parker Solar Probe has found charged grains of dust being carried on magnetic plasma waves in the Sun's outer atmosphere, providing a new clue to the mystery of the Sun's corona is so hot.
