Space

  1. A photo of a dark room with a projector screen showing a film about the origin of a star cluster. The outlines of people and stars are on the screen frozen while stars light up the ceiling.
    Science & Society

    The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky

    The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  2. The surface of Venus
    Planetary Science

    Venus has almost 50 times as many volcanoes as previously thought

    Where are there NOT volcanoes on Venus? A new map of the planet unveils a veritable volcanic bonanza.

    By Maria Temming
  3. A telescope image of a long stream of cold cosmic gas seen as a blue line coming off a big purple circle on a dark background.
    Astronomy

    A stream of cold gas is unexpectedly feeding the far-off Anthill Galaxy

    The finding suggests that early galaxies might have gained more of their bulk from streams of cold gas instead of in violent galaxy collisions.

    By Lisa Grossman
  4. A dark planet in space with no star nearby, with a galaxy distantly cutting through the background
    Planetary Science

    Planets without stars might have moons suitable for life

    Thanks to gravitational squeezing by their host planets, some moons of rogue planets could stay warm for over a billion years, simulations suggest.

    By Bas den Hond
  5. A photo of Jupiter with its moons Io and Europa seen in front.
    Planetary Science

    Baby Jupiter glowed so brightly it might have desiccated its moon

    During its infancy, Jupiter may have glowed about 10 thousand times brighter than it does today, which may explain why its moon Io is completely dry.

    By Nikk Ogasa
  6. illustration of two merging neutron stars in blue
    Astronomy

    A neutron star collision may have emitted a fast radio burst

    Astronomers spotted both a fast radio burst and gravitational waves from a cosmic smashup in the same part of the sky and at about the same time.

    By Lisa Grossman
  7. An illustration of an orange planet with dark orange and red spots scattered across its surface.
    Astronomy

    The biggest planet orbiting TRAPPIST-1 doesn’t appear to have an atmosphere

    TRAPPIST-1b is hotter than astronomers expected, suggesting there’s no atmosphere to transport heat around the planet.

    By Sid Perkins
  8. An image of a black hole
    Math

    Here’s a peek into the mathematics of black holes

    The universe tells us slowly rotating black holes are stable. A nearly 1,000-page proof confirms it.

    By Rachel Crowell
  9. An astronaut in a space suit stands with their back to the camera and looks out at inflatable domes as part of a habitat on Mars.
    Space

    ‘Off-Earth’ asks how to build a better future in space

    As humans prepare to live in space someday, ethics should be as much of guide as science and technology, an astrophysicist argues in a new book.

    By Lisa Grossman
  10. A photo take of the asteroid Ryugu. A light gray circular shape in the center on a deep black background.
    Space

    A crucial building block of life exists on the asteroid Ryugu

    A sample from Ryugu collected by Japan’s Hayabusa2 spacecraft contains uracil, a component of RNA, which is found in all living cells.

    By Allison Gasparini
  11. A collection of lens set up in front of a drawn portrait of Christiaan Huygens.
    Astronomy

    The mystery of Christiaan Huygens’ flawed telescopes may have been solved

    The discovery of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, may have come despite its discoverer, Christiaan Huygens, needing eyeglasses.

    By Emily Conover
  12. A close-up of rice plants
    Agriculture

    Martian soil may have all the nutrients rice needs

    Experiments hint that in the future, we might be able to grow the staple food in the soils of the Red Planet.

    By Nikk Ogasa