Astronomy

Does the Milky Way always rise between these two rocks?

Astronomers have made a breakthrough by using 25 year old Hubble images to investigate a potential "rogue planet" drifting through space without a host star. When a brief gravitational microlensing event occurred in 2023, researchers discovered Hubble had photographed the same location in 1997, creating an unprecedented quarter century baseline. Finding no stellar companion in the archival data strengthened evidence for a rogue planet with mass between Earth and Saturn, demonstrating the scientific value of space telescope archives for studying these elusive worlds wandering the Galaxy alone.

Some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world are designed to simulate complex astrophysical processes, like what's happening inside a giant star as it's going supernova. But researchers have developed a new machine learning algorithm that was able to accurately simulate galaxy evolution with fewer computer resources and dramatically more quickly than a supercomputer, which could take years to fully process.

Astronomers once wondered if the Universe might one day collapse in on itself in a Big Crunch, but the discovery of dark energy suggested that the expansion of the Universe would accelerate, removing that possibility. New data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument suggests that dark energy might be changing in strength over time, maybe even going negative. If that result holds, are we due for a Big Crunch? And how long would it take?

A cancer-killing virus could soon be approved for use after shrinking tumours in a third of people with late-stage melanoma

A cancer-killing virus could soon be approved for use after shrinking tumours in a third of people with late-stage melanoma

President Donald Trump says he withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman for NASA administrator after learning of his donations to Democratic political candidates.

Interest in the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin skyrocketed during the covid-19 pandemic, but evidence for many of its supposed health claims are lacking

Interest in the anti-parasitic drug ivermectin skyrocketed during the covid-19 pandemic, but evidence for many of its supposed health claims are lacking

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” just signed by President Trump will slash support for clean energy, leaving the US far short of its Paris Agreement pledge

The “One Big Beautiful Bill” just signed by President Trump will slash support for clean energy, leaving the US far short of its Paris Agreement pledge

Astronomers use algorithms to analyze the numerous images coming from space, but how accurate are they?

Lockheed Martin has unveiled a new proposal to take over NASA's beleaguered Mars Sample Return mission for less than half the current cost while achieving key science goals.

Ancient humans in Africa changed their behaviour in a major way 70,000 years ago, which could explain how their descendants managed to people the rest of the world

Ancient humans in Africa changed their behaviour in a major way 70,000 years ago, which could explain how their descendants managed to people the rest of the world

These are the best Amazon Prime Day model rocket deals available as we count down the top offers on rockets and accessories during the sales event.

"We know that some microbes on Earth can tolerate the range of pH found on Enceladus."

Babies lacking in key gut bacteria are at greater risk of developing asthma, allergies or eczema

Putting aerosols in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight could prevent the shutdown of key ocean currents, but only if it is done soon, a computer model suggests

Putting aerosols in the stratosphere to reflect sunlight could prevent the shutdown of key ocean currents, but only if it is done soon, a computer model suggests