Paul Sutter

One possible reason why we haven't found any intelligent life in the cosmos the Great Filter argument, which says that very few civilizations make it to the advanced spacefaring stage.

Peculiar James Webb Space Telescope observations seem to show gargantuan black holes in the earliest moments of the universe. New research may explain how they formed, thanks to primordial "seeds".

To explore the galaxy and hunt for resources, intelligent aliens might need to turn their home stars into natural spaceships, a new paper suggests. A few known star systems might fit the bill.

Giant filaments crisscross the universe, connecting galaxy clusters like superhighways between cities. But due to their complex shapes, they are stubbornly difficult to measure.

To explain why dark matter particles haven't come up in any direct detection experiments, physicists have wondered if it may be a kind of particle known as an axion.

The goal of the Parker Solar Probe mission is to investigate the mysteries of the sun's corona, its outer atmosphere. What has it learned so far?

Magnetic fields are everywhere in the universe. But where do they come from?

When stars explode as supernovas, they can cause serious cosmic carnage. Is Earth in any danger from any nearby stars?

While such organisms may or may not exist in the universe, the research has important implications for future human endeavors in space.

In 2006, the International Astronomical Union (IAU) famously demoted Pluto to a dwarf planet. Things have been a bit of a mess since then — so is it time to redefine the planet?

Space mysteries Black hole mergers are beautiful — and some of the most violent events in the cosmos. Here's how the process unfolds.

Using a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, it might be possible to use the sun as a gigantic telescope to peer deep into space.

The cause of mysterious methane spikes on Mars may be a strange form of alien life — or it may just be interesting chemistry. Either way, something odd is happening on the Red Planet.

A long-lost moon could explain why Mars is so different from the other rocky planets in the solar system.

Every so often, astronomers detect a supernova explosion that's 100 times brighter than it should be. A new paper may reveal the strange source of these "superluminous" supernovas.

A tiny fraction of known black holes emit X-ray signals that resemble a human "heartbeat." Now, new research may finally explain the strange phenomenon.

Astronomers combed through an ancient Hindu text and discovered that it referenced a total solar eclipse that occurred roughly 6,000 years ago, making it the oldest known mention of an eclipse.

Space tourism is controversial, and there are a multitude of reasons why.

Reference The Local Bubble is a region of surprisingly low-density gas that surrounds our solar system and other nearby regions of our galaxy — and it has a violent history.

Do dead stars glow? A strange gravitational phenomenon could be generating enormous amounts of light around neutron stars, new research suggests.

While headlines around the world claimed that these galaxies were "breaking" our understanding of the Big Bang, the truth is much more nuanced — and much more interesting.

It's a fun question to tackle because it lets us dig into the messy, complicated, beautiful process of galaxy formation.

Mysterious dark matter could slosh over our planet like a wave. If it does, it may produce telltale radio waves in Earth's atmosphere, new theoretical research suggests.

Space mysteries Is there a center of the cosmos, and if so, where is it?