Science & Astronomy

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An artist’s impression of a black hole, where the black hole’s intense gravitational field distorts the space around it.

The largest black hole ever discovered can fit 30 billion suns. We found it with gravity and bent light.

By Tereza Pultarova published

Astronomers have just discovered what may be the largest black hole known to date.

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the Spiderweb Galaxy. Overlaid on it in blue is the location of the hot intra-cluster medium detected by ALMA.

Galaxy cluster spied forming in early universe (photos, video)

By Keith Cooper published

Hot gas has been detected in a young proto-galaxy cluster in the early universe for the first time, shedding more light on how cluster components come together.

an astronaut floats in space beside a superimposed graphic of a protein

Microgravity in space can alter human cells. We now know how

By Robert Lea published

Scientists have discovered how cells respond and adapt to exposure to microgravity, the near-weightless conditions experienced in space.

When Fermi and GRBAlpha detected the burst, the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory was on the other side of the Earth and localized the burst an hour later thanks to its afterglow.

A tiny Eastern European cubesat measured the monster gamma-ray burst better than NASA. Here's how

By Tereza Pultarova published

The brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen blinded all of NASA's flagship gamma-ray missions last year. This tiny Eastern European cubesat, however, didn't get overwhelmed.

Artist's illustration of our solar system. It shows planets orbiting the sun and a large comet sweeping in from the top right corner.

Solar system planets, order and formation: A guide

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference Explore the eight (or nine) planets of the solar system in order from nearest to the sun and discover the many wonders of our solar system along the way.

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a colorful galaxy-like object in deep space

Hubble telescope spies mysterious celestial object that defies classification

By Stefanie Waldek published

The Hubble Space Telescope has imaged celestial object Z-229-15, which is simultaneously classified as a Seyfert galaxy, an active galactic nucleus (AGN), and a quasar.

The Milky Way's largest globular cluster Omega Centauri through the eyes of the NEWFIRM on the Víctor M. Blanco 4-meter Telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile.

Pictures from space! Our image of the day

By Space.com Staff published

A new infrared imager recently installed at Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) in Chile has tested its abilities by observing the Omega Centauri globular cluster.

the night sky is lit in a strange glow of purples, pinks, and reds

Mysterious aurora-like phenomenon 'STEVE' appears during strongest solar storm for more than half a decade

By Harry Baker published

The STEVE phenomenon was spotted across the U.S. and in parts of the U.K. after the most powerful solar storm to hit Earth for six years smashed into our planet.

Exoplanet Smertrios is a hot Jupiter exoplanet with an atmosphere that defies expectations.

James Webb Space Telescope finds a 'hot Jupiter' exoplanet that defies expectations

By Tereza Pultarova published

The atmospheres of gas giant planets across the Milky Way galaxy can be very different from those in the solar system, the James Webb Space Telescope has found.

Four side by side images of various moon phase in March along with their dates, the full moon is on March 7, the third quarter on March 14, the new moon on March 21 and the first quarter on March 28

What is the moon phase today? Lunar phases 2023

By Tariq Malik last updated

Reference See the phase of the moon tonight and the rest of the moon phases for 2023, and when you can see them.

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The Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 revealed the infrared afterglow (circled) of the BOAT GRB and its host galaxy, seen nearly edge-on as a sliver of light extending to the burst's upper right. This composite incorporates images taken on Nov. 8 and Dec. 4, 2022, one and two months after the eruption.

Brightest gamma-ray burst ever seen a 1-in-10,000-years event that's 'absolutely monstrous,' scientists say

By Mike Wall published

"The BOAT"' was about 70 times brighter than any other gamma-ray burst that scientists have observed, a new study reports.

Graphic illustration showing the layers of Mars against the backdrop of space.

Mars: Everything you need to know about the Red Planet

By Charles Q. Choi last updated

Reference Mars, the fourth planet from the sun is famed for its rusty red appearance. Here we explore the Red Planet in more detail and see why scientists find it so intriguing.

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The moon has a water cycle that scientists don't yet fully understand.

Hidden water source on the moon found locked in glass beads, Chinese probe reveals

By Tereza Pultarova published

A huge amount of water may be trapped in beads of glass strewn across the moon's surface, an analysis of lunar soil samples delivered by China's Chang'e-5 probe revealed.

An animation depicting Europe's JUICE spacecraft approaching Jupiter's moon Ganymede.

JUICE: A complete guide to Jupiter's icy moon exploring mission

By Tereza Pultarova last updated

Reference The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or JUICE, is a European Space Agency mission to explore Jupiter and three of its icy moons: Europa, Callisto and Ganymede.

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Buoyancy waves often leave "ripples" in clouds like those seen over the Pacific Ocean in this image from NASA’s Terra satellite captured on Oct. 4, 2020.

NASA rockets search for hurricane-like swirls at the edge of space

By Robert Lea published

A pioneering new experiment uses rockets to study hurricane-like swirls near where Earth's atmosphere meets space.

A visualisation of the Trappist-1b exoplanet.

James Webb Space Telescope finds no atmosphere on Earth-like TRAPPIST-1 exoplanet

By Tereza Pultarova published

New measurements by the James Webb Space Telescope found that a rocky exoplanet orbiting a star known as TRAPPIST-1 most likely has no atmosphere.

An illustration of a supermassive black hole ringed with a fiery orange accretion disk ending in a thick ring of black dust

Black holes may be swallowing invisible matter that slows the movement of stars

By Robert Lea published

Scientists watched as two stars slowed in their orbits around black holes, concluding it was the result of "drag" generated by dark matter.

The planet Mercury seen from NASA's Messenger spacecraft in December 2009.

Why is Mercury so weird? Blame the giant outer planets.

By Paul Sutter published

Mercury is so strange that astronomers have not been able to explain its properties with simulations of the solar system's formation. But now, researchers have found an important clue.

Tropical cyclone Freddy churns between Mozambique and Madagascar on March 8, 2023 in this image from the NOAA-20 satellite.

Deadly cyclone 'Freddy' may be the longest-lived and most energetic storm ever recorded

By Harry Baker published

Cyclone Freddy, which is finally dissipating after battering Southeast Africa, has crossed the entire Indian Ocean and made landfall three separate times.

purple, pink and magneta elliptical image of cosmic microwave background

The universe might be shaped like a doughnut, not like a pancake, new research suggests

By Paul Sutter published

The universe may be flat, but could still be shaped like a doughnut, weird patterns in leftover light from the Big Bang suggest.