Space

Mar 9th, 2026 - A dying star's final breath creates a haunting, brain-shaped cosmic silhouette. The universe has a dark sense of humor. Five thousand light-years away, in the constellation Vela, a star is dying in the most cinematic way. It's almost like it's stripping its flesh, flinging its outer layers into the void to create a glowing curiosity. To the human eye (which tends to see patterns in random things), it almost looks like a brain seen through a transparent skull. Astronomers officially call it ... [Read More]

Mar 9th, 2026 - Reading time 3 minutes Scientists hunting for radio signals from any form of advanced extraterrestrial life that might be out there trying to contact us are now starting to wonder if something has been messing with their work. A new study published by researchers at the SETI Institute, short for the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, has tested the possibility that "space weather" could render strong premeditated alien broadcasts into the kind of fainter radio signals that SETI typically ... [Read More]

Mar 9th, 2026 - SETI has spent decades listening for a sharp, well-defined radio signal that could indicate it was sent by distant intelligent life. Now researchers believe that space weather could distort and blur such signals – meaning SETI has been scanning for the wrong thing We may have been missing signals from intelligent aliens because of solar wind. Researchers from the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute say this means we have been watching for the wrong type of signal, ... [Read More]

Mar 9th, 2026 - NASA intentionally crashed a spacecraft into an asteroid a few years ago as part of its planetary defense test. Scientists have discovered that the impact actually nudged the asteroid onto a slightly different path around the Sun. It was reported that the findings could help researchers understand how to deflect a dangerous asteroid if one is ever headed toward Earth. It is the first time that humans have intentionally changed the orbit of a celestial body around the Sun. In a study published ... [Read More]

Mar 8th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Jupiter's aurora is larger, stronger, and far more constant than Earth's northern lights. Scientists have now discovered something unexpected within that glowing chaos: a sharp cold patch and dramatic swings in density high above the giant planet. The surprise came from close study of two bright marks tied to Jupiter's moons Io and Europa . These marks, called auroral footprints, form when the moons interact with Jupiter's huge magnetic field and send charged particles ... [Read More]

Mar 7th, 2026 - It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news. Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Get the Live Science Newsletter Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and ... [Read More]

Mar 7th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Earth's atmosphere may feel permanent, but it is slowly leaking into space. New research suggests some of that lost air does not disappear. Instead, it drifts outward and settles onto the Moon, quietly accumulating in lunar soil over billions of years. That process matters for both science and exploration. The Moon may preserve a chemical record of Earth's ancient atmosphere, and those same materials could one day support future lunar missions. Using computer simulations, ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2026 - A team of scientists has confirmed that the nearby star GJ 887 hosts at least four planets, one of which could be a habitable world — the second closest to our own solar system. M dwarfs are the most prevalent stars in our galaxy and are some of the best targets for hunting exoplanets. Their low luminosity and small size mean orbiting planets can have shorter periods and are easier to detect. In a paper posted to the arXiv preprint server and accepted for publication in Astronomy & ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2026 - A newly spotted galaxy drags star-studded tentacles through a cosmic headwind billions of years ago. Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have discovered a rare jellyfish galaxy 8.5 billion light-years from Earth, offering a pristine look at how cosmic environments violently shut down star formation. Officially named COSMOS2020-635829, this distant system challenges established timelines by proving that ancient galaxy clusters were already hostile enough to choke off star formation ... [Read More]

Mar 6th, 2026 - Sky This Week is brought to you in part by Celestron. Friday, March 6 With no Moon in the early-evening sky, let's chase down a classic deep-sky object tonight: M1, the first entry in Charles Messier's list of "not comets" and also known as the Crab Nebula.  This smudge of gas and dust left over from a massive star's supernova blast is located just 1.1° northwest of 3rd-magnitude Zeta (ζ) Tauri, the southernmost of Taurus the Bull's two horns. It's more than 60° above the ... [Read More]

Mar 5th, 2026 - 'Conan the Bacterium' could really conquer the solar system, new study suggests Chalk up another victory for "Conan the Bacterium"—a rugged germ that fresh research suggests could conquer the solar system. Better known as Deinococcus radiodurans, this microbe is arguably the toughest organism known to science . Past studies have shown it can endure extreme cold, intense radiation, harsh chemicals and profound dehydration—all evolutionary adaptations, perhaps, to what's thought to be ... [Read More]

Mar 5th, 2026 - Reading time 3 minutes When the surface of the Sun exploded with activity in May 2024, Earth was hit by the biggest solar storm in more than two decades . The video shown below—made from images captured by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory—shows the powerful solar flare and coronal mass ejection that sent an onslaught of charged particles hurtling toward us. But of course, our planet wasn't the only one in the line of fire. A study published today in the journal Nature ... [Read More]

Mar 5th, 2026 - Of all the asteroids that have imperiled the planet, 2024 YR4 is unparalleled. Soon after it was spotted in December 2024, worldwide telescopic observations quickly positioned it as the most dangerous space rock ever discovered —one that stood a 3.1-percent (or 1-in-32) chance of crashing into Earth on December 22, 2032. If it were to hit one of the cities potentially in its path, this 60-meter asteroid would have unleashed a force comparable to several atomic bombs, devastating the ... [Read More]

Mar 5th, 2026 - Astronomers have a new map to find an alien civilization by looking for stars that appear impossibly cold. While it sounds like the plot of an Andy Weir novel, if an advanced civilization wanted to tap nearly all the power of its star, it could gather energy by putting a giant collection of light-catching structures around the star and just directly harvest the energy. That's the foundation of the " Dyson sphere " idea Freeman Dyson laid out in 1960, though most modern versions imagine a swarm ... [Read More]

Mar 5th, 2026 - The universe is filled with a cacophony of colliding black holes When black holes collide, the crash generates ripples in the fabric of spacetime— gravitational waves . These distortions travel far out into the universe, but by the time they reach Earth, they have become faint, making them extremely hard to detect. Thanks to a global network of observatories—called the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), Virgo and the Kamioka Gravitational-Wave Detector ... [Read More]

Mar 4th, 2026 - It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news. Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Get the Live Science Newsletter Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and ... [Read More]