Space

Recent Space Stories

The asteroid Ryugu, as seen by Japan's Hayabusa2 spacecraft on June 26, 2018.

Every building block of DNA and RNA has been found on an asteroid

All five nucleobases needed to build DNA and RNA have now been confirmed in samples from asteroid Ryugu.

Joseph ShavitupdaPublished Mar 18, 2026 4:51 AM PDT

An artist’s impression of L 98-59 d.

Space New class of planet with a permanent magma ocean found 35 light-years away Joshua Shavit

Lead author Andy Tzanidakis’ rendering of the planetary collision he suspects occurred around star Gaia20ehk in 2021.

Space Astronomers find evidence of two planets colliding 11,000 light-years away Joseph Shavit

A realistic depiction of a free-floating gas giant planet and its Earth-like moon.

Space Hydrogen atmospheres could keep exomoons habitable for billions of years Joseph Shavit

Study of 6,594 solar twins suggests the Sun migrated outward from the Milky Way’s center 4–6 billion years ago.

Space The Sun could be one of thousands of solar twins moving through the Milky Way Joshua Shavit

Scientists discover the first neutron star–black hole merger with an eccentric orbit, reshaping theories of how these systems form.

Space Astronomers discover the first neutron star–black hole merger with an eccentric orbit Joseph Shavit

Artist’s conception of a magnetar surrounded by an accretion disk that is wobbling, or precessing, because of the effects of general relativity. Some models of magnetars suggest that high-speed jets of charged particles emanate from the magnetar along its rotation axis.

Space Newborn magnetar offers rare evidence of Einstein’s relativity in a stellar explosion Joshua Shavit

Visualization of the ultra-high-energy neutrino event detected by the KM3NeT/ARCA detector in the Mediterranean Sea. The colored tracks show the Cherenkov light produced as secondary particles travel through the water and are recorded by the detector's optical modules.

Space Black hole-powered blazars may explain the highest-energy neutrino ever detected Joshua Shavit

Turbulent star environments may broaden alien radio signals, making them harder for SETI to detect.

Space Space weather near stars may be hiding alien signals from Earth Joseph Shavit

Physicists decode how neutron stars deform under tidal forces, offering in sights into their extreme interiors.

Space Gravitational waves finally reveal what’s inside neutron stars Joseph Shavit

Dimorphos streaks offer first direct evidence that binary asteroids can exchange debris through slow impacts.

Space NASA DART Mission data reshapes understanding of how near-Earth asteroids evolve over time Joshua Shavit

Study finds Earth-sun distance helps drive the Pacific cold tongue, a key player in El Niño and global weather.

Space Earth’s distance from the Sun found to dramatically alter seasons Joshua Shavit

James Webb observations confirm asteroid 2024 YR4 will safely pass the Moon in 2032, eliminating a previous collision risk.

Space Asteroid 2024 YR4 once feared to strike the Moon now appears harmless Joseph Shavit

Scientists grew chickpeas in simulated moon soil, offering a possible step toward feeding future lunar astronauts.

Green Impact Researchers successfully grow chickpeas in ‘moon dirt’Rebecca Shavit

The oldest stars in the Milky Way provide information about the age of the universe.

Space Ancient Milky Way stars challenge the age of the universe and the Hubble tension Joseph Shavit

Section of the Line Intensity Map created by charting the distribution and concentration of excited hydrogen via the Lyman alpha wavelength in the universe 10 billion years ago.

Space Astronomers built the largest and most accurate 3D map of the ultraviolet universe Joshua Shavit

ESA orbiters watched a May 2024 solar superstorm flood Mars’ upper air with electrons and trigger spacecraft glitches.

Space ESA orbiter reveals strange behavior within Mars’ upper atmosphere during a solar superstorm Joseph Shavit