When astrophysicists look at the gamma-ray glow from a galaxy outside our own, all they typically see is a small spot because the galaxy is extremely far away. So, when a galaxy appears as an extended blob, something extraordinary...
Evidence that catastrophic geological events could have created evolutionary bottlenecks that changed the course of life on Earth may be buried within ancient rocks beneath our feet.
There is a 700-million year gap in Earth's history, and in that time...
On October 16, 2017, an international group of astronomers and physicists excitedly reported the first simultaneous detection of light and gravitational waves from the same source—a merger of two neutron stars. Now, a team that includes several University of...
Researchers have identified a young star with four Jupiter and Saturn-sized planets in orbit around it, the first time that so many massive planets have been detected in such a young system. The system has also set a new...
Carnegie's Anthony Piro was part of a Caltech-led team of astronomers who observed the peculiar death of a massive star that exploded in a surprisingly faint and rapidly fading supernova, possibly creating a compact neutron star binary system. Piro's...
In theoretical research that could explain everything from planet formation to outflows from stars, to even the settling of volcanic ash, Caltech researchers have discovered a new mechanism to explain how the act of dust moving through gas leads...
Astronomers from Lund University in Sweden have now found the explanation to a recent mystery at the centre of the Milky Way galaxy: the high levels of scandium discovered last spring near the galaxy's giant black hole were in...
If you're planning a trip to Jupiter's moon Europa, be prepared for a rough landing.
In a study released Monday, scientists say they've found evidence of huge, jagged "ice spikes," some 50 feet tall, on the moon's surface. They spikes...
Approximately one year ago, a spectacular dive into Saturn ended NASA's Cassini mission—and with it a unique, 13-year research expedition to the Saturnian system. In the mission's last five months, the probe entered uncharted territory again: Twenty-two times, it...
Since the 1970s, astronomers and physicists have been gathering evidence for the presence in the universe of dark matter: a mysterious substance that manifests itself through its gravitational pull. However, despite much effort, none of the new particles proposed...
Political humorist Mark Russell once joked, "The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage."
Well, there's no luggage, it turns out. But a new study appearing in Science based...
