Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit moon

Scientists are now hoping that the asteroid will smash into the Moon. A huge asteroid that was briefly feared to strike Earth now has a nearly 4% chance of smashing…

Dark energy may not be constant—this discovery could undermine our entire model of cosmological history

by Bernard J.T. Jones, Licia Verde, Vicent J. Martínez and Virginia L Trimble, The Conversation The Cosmic Inventory: the different components of the universe derived from the Planck Satellite observations…

What’s the difference between a young exoplanet and an old one?

As astronomers delve deeper into the diversity of worlds orbiting distant stars, a new study suggests comparing populations of young exoplanets with older ones could reveal vital clues about how…

Ultralight dark matter could explain early black hole formation

This is an artist’s illustration of a supermassive black hole that is inside the dust-shrouded core of a vigorously star-forming “starburst” galaxy. It will eventually become an extremely bright quasar…

Plush polar bear with penguin art floats as Fram2 zero-g indicator in polar orbit

The first astronauts to enter a polar orbit around Earth chose the obvious animal to serve as their zero-g indicator — a plush white *polar* bear. But given that the…

KiDS dataset doesn’t shake up cold dark matter model after all, say researchers

The OmegaCAM camera lies at the heart of the VST. It is built around 32 CCD detectors that together create 268-megapixel images. The camera contains extra CCDs to control the…

2 decades of Hubble Space Telescope data track changing seasons on Uranus

An analysis of two decades of data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has provided fresh insights into the complex atmospheric changes on Uranus that are largely driven by the effects…

NASA’s newly returned astronauts say they would fly on Boeing’s Starliner capsule again

Astronauts Nick Hague, Suni Williams, and Butch Wilmore pose for a photo during a press conference at Johnson Space Center on Monday, March 31, 2025, in Houston. Credit: AP Photo/Ashley…

Cosmic rays may be the elusive spark for lightning here on Earth

Cosmic rays may offer an out-of-this-world answer to a long-standing mystery about lightning on Earth, a new study suggests. Thunderstorms are exceedingly common; a staggering 3 million lightning strikes occur…

SpaceX to launch private astronauts on first crewed polar orbit

This picture courtesy of Fram2/SpaceX shows from left to right, mission specialist and medical officer Eric Philips, mission commander Chun Wang, pilot Rabea Rogge and vehicle commander Jannicke Mikkelsen. SpaceX…