These weird lumps of 'inflatons' could be the very first structures in the universe By Mara Johnson-Groh An ultra-high-resolution simulation of a tiny slice of the universe — a million times smaller than a proton — has revealed the very first structures to ever exist.
Dark matter 'annihilation' may be causing the Milky Way's center to glow By Mara Johnson-Groh A new study suggests that annihilating dark matter particles may explain the Milky Way center's mysterious glow.
Astronomers find the 'safest place' to live in the Milky Way By Mara Johnson-Groh Astronomers have searched the entire Milky Way to identify the safest places to live. It turns out, we're in a pretty good spot.
Radioactive 'snowflakes' act like the tiniest nuclear bombs in the universe By Mara Johnson-Groh Tiny snowflakes of radioactive uranium that trigger massive nuclear blasts might explain some of the universe's more mysterious star explosions.
Twisted light from the beginning of time could reveal brand-new physics By Mara Johnson-Groh A new study on the rotation of the universe's first light could suggest physicists need new rule-breaking subatomic particles
The electric hum of life may have originated with primordial lightning By Mara Johnson-Groh A low-frequency hum in our cells syncs may have synced with ancient sky bolts.
4 mysterious objects spotted in deep space are unlike anything ever seen By Mara Johnson-Groh Astronomers have discovered four faint objects that at radio wavelengths are highly circular and brighter along their edges. And they're unlike any class of astronomical object ever seen before.
Mysterious 'Particle X17' Could Carry a Newfound Fifth Force of Nature, But Most Experts Are Skeptical By Mara Johnson-Groh It would rewrite the Standard Model of physics.
Astronomers See Stars Slinging Comets at Earth for the First Time By Mara Johnson-Groh For the first time, a Polish group has identified two nearby stars that seem to have plucked up their icy partners, swinging them into orbits around our sun.
Black Holes As We Know Them May Not Exist By Mara Johnson-Groh Black holes may not have singularities at their heart, but instead may be stuffed with dark energy.
Astronomers Baffled by 'Cosmic Mountain Ranges' Jutting Through the Milky Way By Mara Johnson-Groh Astronomers are learning that in some regions of our galaxy, stars have clumped into features that resemble ones on Earth — streams, waves, arches and mountain ridges.
Sending Even a Tiny Message Through a Black Hole Would Make It Evaporate By Mara Johnson-Groh Sending a carrier pigeon across the cosmos would probably be a more reliable way to send a message.
Does the Universe Rotate? By Mara Johnson-Groh If you look around space, you'll notice a lot of things — the planets, stars, moons, even the galaxy itself — have one thing in common: they're spinning. So, is the universe spinning, too?
Exotic 'Early Dark Energy' Could Be the Missing Link That Explains the Universe's Expansion By Mara Johnson-Groh Measures of the universe's expansion taken from different sources don't match. An exotic form of dark energy particles could be the reason why.
Voracious Black Holes Could Feed Alien Life on Rogue Worlds By Mara Johnson-Groh Black holes are engines of destruction on a cosmic scale, but they may also be the bringers of life.
If There Were a Time Warp, How Would Physicists Find It? By Mara Johnson-Groh It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but scientists have already detected a time warp.
Neutrinos Entangled in the Cosmic Web May Change the Structure of the Universe By Mara Johnson-Groh The neutrinos enmeshed in the vast cosmic web could provide a glimpse of the earliest observable moment after the Big Bang.
Something Is Not Quite Right In the Universe, Ultraprecise New Measurement Reveals By Mara Johnson-Groh A super-precise measurement of one of the fundamental constants of the universe suggests it's expanding faster now than it was in its early years.
If Aliens Are Causing Weird Dimming of 'Tabby' Star,' They Aren't Using Lasers to Do It By Mara Johnson-Groh The evidence for aliens around one of the weirdest stars in our galaxy — Boyajian's star — is not looking promising.
Scientists Find the 'Missing' Dark Matter from the Early Universe By Mara Johnson-Groh Past studies suggested there was less dark matter earlier on in the universe’s history.
Spinning Grains of Cosmic Dust Could Explain Weird Signals at the North Pole By Mara Johnson-Groh A mysterious cosmic signal that was detected above the North Pole could be coming from fast-spinning grains of dust.
If Extra Dimensions Do Exist, They Must Be Really, Really Small By Mara Johnson-Groh So far, gravitational waves have found no hints of extra dimensions, but there may still be some really tiny ones lurking out there.
