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How do massive gas giants form far from their stars? Astronomers used JWST to find a chemical fingerprint that points to a surprising answer. The HR 8799 system is a giant version of our own solar system, with four massive planets orbiting far from their star. The smallest is five times heavier than Jupiter.

A nearby orange dwarf star was known to host two worlds. Now, precise measurements have revealed a massive third planet lurking further out. HD 176986 is a K-type star (smaller and cooler than our Sun) located 91 light-years away. In 2018, astronomers found two hot super-Earths orbiting it.

Venus is hiding a secret. Radar data has revealed a massive volcanic cave system lurking beneath the planet's thick, toxic atmosphere. Volcanic activity isn't unique to Earth. We've seen lava tubes on Mars and the Moon. But finding them on Venus is a different challenge entirely. The planet is shrouded in thick sulfuric acid clouds that block visible light.

Enceladus isn't just an icy moon. It's a planetary-scale generator, pumping energy and plasma waves more than 500,000 km through the Saturnian system. Famous for its water geysers, Enceladus has long been known to feed Saturn's E-ring. But a new study of 13 years of Cassini data reveals something much bigger: a vast "lattice" of magnetic waves connecting the moon to the planet.

Samples from asteroid Bennu reveal that the building blocks of life didn't need warm water to form—they could have been forged in the freezing, radioactive dark of the early solar system. When NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission dropped a capsule containing dust from asteroid Bennu into the Utah desert, it delivered a time capsule from 4.6 billion years ago. Inside, scientists found amino acids—the molecules that make up proteins and DNA.

Water isn't enough. A new study reveals that Earth hit a rare "chemical jackpot" 4.6 billion years ago, retaining the Phosphorus and Nitrogen essential for DNA and proteins. Phosphorus (for DNA/RNA) and Nitrogen (for proteins) are the building blocks of life. Without them, a planet is sterile, no matter how much water it has.

Could the lack of coal on other planets explain the Great Silence? A new study argues that advanced civilizations cannot rise without burning their past. For seven decades, SETI has scanned the stars for radio signals. But a new paper suggests we might be missing a crucial prerequisite for radio technology: Geology.

Galaxy clusters are twice as heavy as we thought. A new study reveals a hidden population of black holes and neutron stars that could rewrite the laws of gravity. Galaxy clusters are the largest structures in the universe, held together by gravity. For decades, scientists assumed they were mostly made of dark matter.

Earth's magnetic poles don't just swap overnight. New evidence reveals they can wander in chaos for 70,000 years, leaving the planet exposed. Deep beneath our feet, the Earth's outer core of liquid nickel-iron churns, generating the magnetic field that shields us from cosmic radiation. But this shield isn't permanent. Every so often, the poles flip.

Astronomers are building a map of the universe using gravitational waves. Their first targets? Two supermassive black hole binaries named Rohan and Gondor. In 2023, NANOGrav heard the "hum" of the universe—a background of gravitational waves created by merging supermassive black holes. Now, they are learning to pick out individual voices from the choir.

In 2021, a particle with 40 million times the energy of the LHC struck Earth. It seemed to come from nowhere. New research finally traces its true origin. Cosmic rays are usually just atomic nuclei zooming through space. But the Amaterasu particle was different. Detected by the Telescope Array in Utah, it was the second-highest-energy cosmic ray ever seen.

Is Sagittarius A* a supermassive black hole, or something stranger? New research suggests our galaxy revolves around a dense core of dark matter. For decades, astronomers have believed that a supermassive black hole lurks at the center of the Milky Way. It explains the violent, high-speed orbits of the "S-stars" that whip around the galactic center.