PDS 70 is a 370-light-year-distance star that is almost 6 million years old and has a mass roughly three-quarters that of the Sun. Two years ago astronomers spotted what they thought might be a moon-forming disk around PDS 70b, its … Read More
According to new research, the flaming space rock that slammed into Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs struck at the worst possible angle (for the dinosaurs, that is). Under any circumstances, colliding with a massive, fast-moving cosmic projectile would have … Read More
Our solar system was formed about 5 billion years ago from material left over from previous generations of stars, according to astronomers. Beyond that, however, things get a little murky. According to popular belief, a nearby supernova explosion compressed a … Read More
Take a look at the highest-resolution image of atoms ever seen. Cornell University researchers captured a three-dimensional sample from a crystal and magnified it 100 million times, doubling the resolution that earned the same scientists a Guinness World Record in … Read More
On a clear winter night, it’s difficult to miss Orion the Hunter, who holds his shield in one hand and stretches his other arm high into the sky. Betelgeuse, a bright red dot on Orion’s shoulder, has captivated sky gazers … Read More
Scientists have unambiguously confirmed the collision of a black hole and a neutron star for the first time: the fateful moment when two extreme objects collide in an event so massive that its ripples across the cosmos can still be … Read More