Rock fossils hint at Mars’s ancient climate

Paleo-megaripples – as seen in Mars’ Terra Sirenum by the High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment – have consistent crest wavelengths, numerous fractures and craters, and can be partially covered by ancient…

What happens to the climate when Earth passes through interstellar clouds?

Orion Molecular Cloud Complex, dominated in the center of this view by the brilliant Flame nebula (NGC 2024). The smaller, glowing cavity falling between the Flame nebula and the Horsehead…

Potential indicators of life on other planets can be created in a lab

Citizen science collaboration yields precise data on exoplanet WASP-77 A b

Artists Concept of the WASP-77 A b system. Credit: NASA Exoplanet Catalog A planet swings in front of its star, dimming the starlight we see. Events like these, called transits,…

Exoplanets could be hiding their atmospheres

Illustration of the tidally locked world TRAPPIST-1f. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech Most of the exoplanets we’ve discovered orbit red dwarf stars. This isn’t because red dwarfs are somehow special, simply that they…

Hubble lights the way with new multiwavelength view of galaxy NGC 1559

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy NGC 1559. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, W. Yuan, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team, A. Riess, K.…

Life might thrive on the surface of Earth for an extra billion years

This schematic shows the relationship between the different physical and chemical processes that make up the carbonate-silicate cycle. In the upper panel, the specific processes are identified, and in the…

Astronomers just detected the biggest black hole jets ever seen—and named them Porphyrion

This picture taken by LOFAR shows Porphyrion, with the galaxy hosting the supermassive black hole in the centre. The largest blob-like structure near the centre is a separate smaller jet…

New cosmic distance catalog could unlock the mysteries of universe formation

The William Herschel Telescope in La Palma, Spain. Credit: PAUS team A new catalog providing information on millions of distant galaxies, which determines their distances with unprecedented precision over a…

Hidden craters reveal Earth may once have had a ring—like Saturn

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain The rings of Saturn are among the most famous and spectacular features in the solar system. Earth may once have had something similar. In a paper…