Astronomy
This near-Earth asteroid is 4.2 billion years old and nearly indestructible
By analyzing just three dust particles, researchers learned that the rubble pile asteroid Itokawa is 4.2 billion years old and hard to kill.
Rare Martian meteorite is full of complex carbon molecules
A 650-million-years-old meteorite found in Africa shows the rich and complex chemistry that once happened on Mars.
Jupiter’s hot “pizza moon” may contain life
Jupiter's moon Io is thought to be inhospitable, but new data suggests life could exist underground, perhaps in lava tubes.
NASA announces alien-hunting Habitable Worlds Observatory
NASA has announced that it is developing the Habitable Worlds Observatory, a new space telescope optimized to hunt for extraterrestrial life.
SpaceX puts Starlink promises to astronomers in writing
SpaceX has signed an agreement with the National Science Foundation detailing its plans to minimize Starlink’s impact on astronomy.
The case for dark matter has strengthened
Though it makes up about 26% of the Universe, we cannot see dark matter. But we know it's there because we can see its effects.
What happens when an astrophysicist puts ChatGPT to the test?
Can an astrophysicist get ChatGPT to learn and assimilate new information and give correct answers where it gave confident but false ones?
Ring galaxies, the rarest in the Universe, finally explained
After decades of wondering how ring galaxies form, we've caught them in enough stages of evolution that we finally know where they come from.
A far-out plan to build an asteroid city
University of Rochester researchers think they have a solution to creating an asteroid city: a giant bag.
The 12 most exciting space missions of 2023
2023 will see the launch of new rockets, the return of OSIRIS-REx, and a mission to Jupiter that could help us find extraterrestrial life.