Latest articles by Nola Taylor Tillman
Strange cosmic objects spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope may be baby 'platypus' galaxies — or something entirely new
"These nine objects are special."
Best space board games to play this Christmas
Enjoy some out-of-this-world fun this Christmas with my selection of the best space board games available right now.
Asteroid belt — What it is, where it is and how it formed
Reference Most asteroids orbit between Mars and Jupiter in the main asteroid belt. But some space rocks stray out of the main belt and threaten Earth.
Saturn's moon Mimas may have an ocean — and a future spacecraft could find it
"It would be hard, but may be doable."
The weird ringed dwarf planet Quaoar may have an extra moon, astronomers discover
"The profile of the occultation was most consistent with it being a new satellite — a new moon — going around Quaoar."
1st known interstellar visitor 'Oumuamua is an 'exo-Pluto' — a completely new class of object, scientists say
"'Oumuamua is in a different category of object. It's much harder to find, but there are a lot more of them."
Pluto's dwarf planet partner Charon may have spilled its guts to create 2 of the pair's moons
"The surfaces of Nix and Hydra are as close to unaltered as you can get."
New Pluto mission could uncover dwarf planet's hidden ocean — if the 'queen of the underworld' gets to fly
A conceptual mission known as "Persephone" could explore Pluto and its moons for 50 years — if it ever gets funded and approved.
An icy supervolcano on Pluto may have erupted millions of years ago, leaving a massive crater on the frozen world.
The caldera may have blasted out its cryomagma in a single explosive event, or it may have spread its eruptions over time.
Dust devils on Mars leave 'fingerprints' that can guide future Red Planet missions
The high winds that birth dust devils can also revitalize robots by cleaning their solar cells.
Astronomers discover giant alien planet 35 times more massive than Earth hiding in a known star system
"It remains possible that there are other unseen planets in the system. The challenge is finding them!"
Earth may have at least 6 'minimoons' at any given time. Where do they come from?
"It is incredible that modern telescopic surveys have the ability to detect such small objects up to millions of kilometers away."
After the Arecibo collapse in 2020, a lone NASA radar dish in the Mojave desert stepped up as a leading asteroid hunter
The unexpected 2020 collapse of the Arecibo Observatory left NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar as the new heavy hitter when it comes to finding and studying asteroids.
What is dark matter?
Reference Roughly 80% of the mass of the universe is made up of dark matter, a material that scientists cannot directly observe. So why do scientists think it dominates?
Our moon may have once been as hellish as Jupiter's super volcanic moon Io
The moon spent a few million years as a volcanic wasteland, covered with ongoing eruptions that spewed from mountains and even from the ground itself.
A giant crater on the moon may hold remnants of an ancient magma ocean. Artemis astronauts could bring home samples of it
Crewmembers on upcoming Artemis missions could potentially return samples from the moon's mantle back to Earth, providing insight into the final stages of lunar formation.
A whole 'population' of minimoons may be lurking near Earth, researchers say
The discovery of 2024 PT5, a small, rocky body dubbed a "minimoon" during its discovery last year, hints at a hidden population of lunar fragments traveling near Earth.
Saturn's moons: Facts about the weird and wonderful satellites of the ringed planet
Reference Saturn has the most moons of any other planet in the solar system. Here we explore some of the 274 moons that orbit the ringed planet.
Some planet-forming stars never 'grow up' and lose their 'Peter Pan' disks
Astronomers used the James Webb Space Telescope to study a planet-forming disk around a low-mass star, finding it contains chemical signatures never seen before in such a disk.
Black holes: Everything you need to know
Reference Black holes are some of the most fascinating objects in the universe.
What was the mysterious space signal scientists discovered in 2024? Here are some possibilities
Scientists found a new kind of cosmic signal in 2024, and still aren't quite sure what's causing it.
Did Covid lockdowns really cause temperatures on the moon to drop?
Scientists have been arguing about a curious topic recently: Did temperatures on the moon dip due to the world's Covid-19 lockdown?
How long does it take to get to Mars?
Reference We explore how long it takes to get to Mars and the factors that affect a journey to the Red Planet.
