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Are galaxies held together by invisible Dark Matter, or is our understanding of gravity fundamentally flawed?
Are galaxies held together by invisible Dark Matter, or is our understanding of gravity fundamentally flawed? Wide binary stars are finally providing the answer.
In the outer edges of galaxies, stars orbit much faster than Newton's and Einstein's laws of gravity predict. To explain this "low-acceleration anomaly," scientists invented Dark Matter—a hypothetical, invisible halo providing extra gravitational pull.
Feb 221 min read


Space junk burning up on re-entry isn't just disappearing. It's chemical fingerprint high in Earth's pristine upper atmosphere.
Space junk burning up on re-entry isn't just disappearing. It's leaving a permanent, human-made chemical fingerprint high in Earth's pristine upper atmosphere.
What goes up must come down. With approximately 14,000 active satellites in orbit and proposals for up to one million more, the sheer volume of spacecraft re-entering Earth's atmosphere is skyrocketing.
Feb 221 min read


Deep in the early universe, 8.5 billion years ago, a galaxy is being torn apart.
Deep in the early universe, 8.5 billion years ago, a galaxy is being torn apart. Its gas is stripping away in long, star-forming tentacles.
Astrophysicists from the University of Waterloo have spotted the most distant "jellyfish galaxy" ever seen. Using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), they peered into the COSMOS field—a patch of sky far from our own galaxy's dust.
Feb 191 min read


The Moon contracts, buckling its crust into ridges and scarps. A new study reveals these "wrinkles" are everywhere
As it cools, the Moon contracts, buckling its crust into ridges and scarps. A new study reveals these "wrinkles" are everywhere—and they might be dangerous. Unlike Earth, the Moon has no tectonic plates. It is a single-plate planet. Yet, it is seismically active. Why? Because it is shrinking.
Feb 191 min read


A galaxy made of 99% dark matter, betraying its presence only by four tiny clusters of stars.
In the shadows of a galaxy cluster, astronomers have found a phantom. A galaxy made of 99% dark matter, betraying its presence only by four tiny clusters of stars.
Most galaxies shine bright. But CDG-2 is a "Low-Surface-Brightness" galaxy, so faint it's nearly invisible. It contains only a sparse scattering of stars.
Feb 191 min read


Deep in the heart of a 13-billion-year-old cluster, astronomers found two dead stars dancing.
Deep in the heart of a 13-billion-year-old cluster, astronomers found two dead stars dancing. One is visible. The other is a heavy, invisible ghost.
NGC 6397 is one of the closest globular clusters to Earth. It's a crowded, chaotic place where old stars go to die.
Feb 191 min read


New data suggests dark energy might be evolving over time.
New data suggests dark energy might be evolving over time. But one physicist argues the "new physics" might just be a calibration error in our cosmic rulers.
Dark Energy is the mysterious force accelerating the expansion of the universe. For decades, we assumed it was a constant (the Cosmological Constant, $\Lambda$).
Feb 191 min read


Astronomers have found a rare exception: "Araish," a beautiful spiral galaxy hiding a powerful secret.
Radio jets usually belong to massive elliptical galaxies. But astronomers have found a rare exception: "Araish," a beautiful spiral galaxy hiding a powerful secret.
DRAGNs (Double Radio-Source Associated with Galactic Nuclei) are typically elliptical galaxies powered by supermassive black holes. Finding one inside a spiral galaxy is incredibly rare.
Feb 181 min read


Hidden behind curtains of cosmic dust, a population of ancient galaxies has finally been revealed.
Hidden behind curtains of cosmic dust, a population of ancient galaxies has finally been revealed. They challenge our understanding of how the universe grew up.
A team of 48 astronomers has discovered 70 faint, dusty galaxies that formed just 1 billion years after the Big Bang. These galaxies were invisible to optical telescopes like Hubble because they are shrouded in thick clouds of dust.
Feb 181 min read


New data from the Perseverance rover challenges the "Cold & Icy" theory, suggesting ancient Mars had heavy rainfall
New data from the Perseverance rover challenges the "Cold & Icy" theory, suggesting ancient Mars was drenched in persistent heavy rainfall for millions of years.
Mars today is a frozen desert. But 4 billion years ago, during the Noachian Epoch, it was a very different world. Evidence of river valleys and lake beds is undeniable, but the climate that created them is hotly debated.
Feb 171 min read


3I/ATLAS: An interstellar comet is speeding out of our solar system at 60 km/s.
An interstellar comet is speeding out of our solar system at 60 km/s. We missed the chance to launch directly. But we can still catch it—by diving into the Sun.
3I/ATLAS is the third interstellar object (ISO) ever detected. Like 'Oumuamua and Borisov before it, it's a visitor from another star system.
Feb 161 min read


The universe is threaded with mysterious, uniform magnetic fields.
The universe is threaded with mysterious, uniform magnetic fields. A new theory suggests they were spun into existence by "ultralight" Dark Matter.
Tiny, highly uniform magnetic fields pervade the entire universe, even in the empty voids between galaxies. Their origin has been a mystery for decades. Did they form during the violent Big Bang, or later?
Feb 161 min read
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