An intelligent alien civilization could beam quantum messages to Earth. Particles of light, or photons, could be transmitted over vast, interstellar distances without losing their quantum nature, researchers report June…
Category: Astronomy
An otherwise quiet galaxy in the early universe is spewing star stuff
PASADENA, Calif. — A lucky celestial alignment has given astronomers a rare look at a galaxy in the early universe that is seeding its surroundings with the elements needed to…
Gravitational wave ‘radar’ could help map the invisible universe
It sounds like the setup for a joke: If radio waves give you radar and sound gives you sonar, what do gravitational waves get you? The answer might be “GRADAR”…
Seven newfound dwarf galaxies sit on just one side of a larger galaxy
PASADENA, Calif. — The faint dwarf galaxies in a nearby galaxy group seem to have missed the memo. Instead of being dispersed evenly around the group’s most massive galaxy, which…
Neutrinos hint the sun has more carbon and nitrogen than previously thought
After two decades of debate, scientists are getting closer to figuring out exactly what the sun — and thus the whole universe — is made of. The sun is mostly…
A celestial loner might be the first known rogue black hole
A solitary celestial object — more massive than the sun, yet far smaller — is wandering the galaxy a few thousand light-years from Earth. It might be the first isolated…
New Gaia data paint the most detailed picture yet of the Milky Way
1.6 billion stars. 11.4 million galaxies. 158,000 asteroids. One spacecraft. The European Space Agency’s Gaia space observatory, which launched in 2013, has long surpassed its goal of charting more than…
A newfound, oddly slow pulsar shouldn’t emit radio waves — yet it does
Astronomers have added a new species to the neutron star zoo, showcasing the wide diversity among the compact magnetic remains of dead, once-massive stars. The newfound highly magnetic pulsar has…
The Solar Orbiter spacecraft spotted a ‘hedgehog’ on the sun
A spacecraft has spied a spiky “hedgehog” on the sun and watched a solar flare in ways never done before. The Solar Orbiter, a collaboration between the European Space Agency…
Pulsars may power cosmic rays with the highest-known energies in the universe
The windy and chaotic remains surrounding recently exploded stars may be launching the fastest particles in the universe. Highly magnetic neutron stars known as pulsars whip up a fast and…
