Astronomy

Mathematicians rely on numbers, but finding words to explain different levels of certainty has stymied everyone from the ancient Greeks to the most famous modern philosophers. Maths columnist Jacob Aron tells the story of how a CIA analyst finally cracked it

Why flu cases are spiking, how AI predicts disease from your sleep, and what surprising biomechanics lie behind woodpeckers’ powerful pecks.

How was the unusual Red Rectangle nebula created?

Beginning in the 1980’s, another physicist, Roger Penrose, came up with what he called the Triangle of Reality, which sounds like the nerdiest cult in history (and when later I get to talk about the Pythagoreans you’ll see that I’m right).

NASA has announced that it and SpaceX will return the Crew-11 mission team to Earth from the ISS (due to medical concerns with a crew member) no earlier than 5 p.m. EST (2 p.m. PST) on Wednesday, Jan. 14th.

Astronomers have uncovered a barred spiral galaxy that existed over 2 billion years after the Big Bang, potentially making it the earliest barred spiral galaxy ever observed.

NASA's new, small observatory — launched successfully on January 11th — has a big mission: to characterize exoplanet atmospheres.

The post Pandora Mission Launches to Explore Atmospheres on Alien Worlds appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Like, it shouldn’t be this easy. Yeah I know physics is kind of hard, and it has taken us centuries to reach our present level of knowledge, and we know we’re still a long way from complete knowledge of time and space.

Most galaxies have a single nucleus -- does this galaxy have four?

Scientists are a step closer to solving one of the universe's biggest mysteries as new research finds evidence that dark matter and neutrinos may be interacting, offering a rare window into the darkest recesses of the cosmos.

Four ISS crew members are set to touch down on Thursday after NASA announced the first medical evacuation in the space station’s history

One of the best things about being able to see thousands of exoplanetary systems is that we’re able to track them in different stages of development. Scientists still have so many questions about how planets form, and comparing notes between systems of different ages is one way to answer them. A new paper recently published in Nature by John Livingston of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan and his co-authors details one particularly interesting system, known as V1298, which is only around 30 million years old, and hosts an array of four “cotton candy” planets, which represent some of the earliest stages of planet formation yet seen.

Neither a square nor prime number, 2026 is still intriguing

Imagine you walk into a parking lot full of cars. You have in your pocket one single key. It’s the key to your car. The same key you’ve always used, the same key you’ve always trusted, the same key that you always manage to realize that you’ve lost right when you’re rushing out the door.

NASA crews go through extensive training and have access to supplies to treat medical issues, from dental problems and migraines to heart attacks, while they are in orbit

Images depicting NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are projected onto the Washington Monument as part of an event to kick off the nation's 250th birthday year, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, in Washington.

Cutting down boreal forest and sinking the felled trees in the depths of the Arctic Ocean could remove up to 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year – but it could come at a cost to the Arctic ecosystem

Cutting down boreal forest and sinking the felled trees in the depths of the Arctic Ocean could remove up to 1 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year – but it could come at a cost to the Arctic ecosystem

At CES 2026, Stevie Wonder offered a simple test for tech. And in the smart glasses boom, the most persuasive tools aren’t about perfect sight but day-to-day independence

The supermassive black hole in the Milky Way's galactic center, Sagittarius A-star, is known for being quiet and dim. But that wasn't always the case. The powerful XRISM x-ray telescope shows that it flared brightly at least once in the very recent past.