Latest articles by Keith Cooper
Asteroid samples NASA brought to Earth suggest life's building blocks may be widespread in the universe
The discovery is just the latest to come from the asteroid sample, which dates back to the dawn of the solar system.
Did the Viking missions discover life on Mars 50 years ago? These scientists think so
The key to solving the mystery of the Viking results is the discovery of perchlorate on the Martian surface in 2008.
This supermassive black hole jet is more powerful than the Death Star's laser
It's nicknamed Jetty McJetface.
Could a toxic chemical in Mars dirt help us build a Red Planet base?
Perchlorate, a toxic substance found in Mars dirt, could help the bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii strengthen bonds between particles of regolith.
Is Jupiter on a diet? New measurements say it's smaller than we thought
Jupiter may be a bit more petite than expected, and that could have a big impact on how scientists model the mysterious interior of the giant planet.
A 'cold Earth' exoplanet just 146 light-years away might be in its star's habitable zone — if it exists
The planet is one of the best worlds for follow-up studies to determine whether it could be habitable or not.
NASA's Juno spacecraft spots the largest volcanic eruption ever seen on Jupiter's moon Io
"What makes the event even more extraordinary is that it did not involve a single volcano, but multiple active sources."
Venus may get a huge meteor shower this July, thanks to a long-ago asteroid breakup
This coming July, Venus could plow through the dust generated by an asteroid breakup thousands of years ago, potentially sparking an impressive meteor shower.
Magnetic avalanches on the sun reveal the hidden engine powering solar flares
"This is one of the most exciting results from Solar Orbiter so far."
A colossal asteroid may have warped the moon from the inside out
The findings are a big clue as to why the far and near hemispheres of the moon look so different.
How to make a super-Earth: The universe's most common planets are whittled down by stellar radiation
The origin of super-Earths and sub-Neptunes has been revealed in a system of four young planets that are dramatically losing their thick atmospheres.
This SETI program is chasing down its final 100 signals. Could one of them be from aliens?
SETI@home has been one of the largest citizen science projects ever, with millions of users around the world.
How Mars 'punches above its weight' to influence Earth's climate
"Without Mars, Earth's orbit would be missing major climate cycles. What would humans and other animals even look like if Mars weren't there?"
How Mars' ancient lakes grew shields of ice to stay warm as the Red Planet froze
The findings potentially solve the paradox of how liquid water seems to have persisted on Mars even when the climate grew too cold.
Jupiter ocean moon Europa likely lacks tectonic activity, reducing its chances for life
New models suggest that Europa has very little tectonic activity at its seafloor, which is potentially catastrophic news for the hopes of finding alien life within its ocean.
Astronomers discover the earliest, hottest galaxy cluster in the universe, and it breaks all the rules
The galaxy cluster appears hotter and more mature than it should for its young age, challenging what we think we know about how these cities of galaxies form.
How did life begin on Earth? New experiments support 'RNA world' hypothesis
The new findings strengthen the "RNA world" hypothesis that describes how the first life on Earth could have used RNA instead of DNA.
8 astronomy discoveries that wowed us in 2025
Here are eight of the most spectacular astronomical discoveries of 2025.
Could the Star of Bethlehem have actually been a comet?
The direction, distance and motion of the comet through the sky during its closest approach could have made it seem like it was hovering over Bethlehem when Jesus was said to have been born.
Good news for lunar bases? Earth's atmosphere leaks all the way out to the moon
Anomalous amounts of volatile elements found in the Apollo samples brought back from the moon have been traced back to our own planet's leaky atmosphere.
Astronomers capture close-up images of nova explosions on 2 dead stars in unprecedented detail
The nova eruptions come about when a white dwarf steals too much matter from a close red giant companion.
How do you activate a supermassive black hole? A galaxy merger should do the trick
A space telescope and AI teamed up to analyze a million galaxies and learn what triggers supermassive black holes the most.
Uranus may have more in common with Earth than we thought, 40-year-old Voyager 2 probe data shows
The findings provide an answer to a planetary mystery that has bewildered scientists for nearly four decades.
