Space

Feb 3rd, 2026 - Reading time 3 minutes I've yet to meet a physicist that didn't believe in the beauty of the general theory of relativity— Einstein's description of gravity as the curvature of spacetime. After all, it's consistently reinforced a myriad of breakthroughs, especially in astrophysics. So when some cosmic phenomenon confuses scientists, it feels right for them to count on general relativity to find some answers. One such mystery, described in a recent paper in The Astrophysical Journal ... [Read More]

Feb 3rd, 2026 - There's no danger to us, and it could be a rare phenomenon. Around December 2032, the Moon might host a very violent guest. A 60-meter-wide asteroid known as 2024 YR4 currently has a 4.3% chance of slamming into the lunar surface. It sounds like small odds, but in the vastness of space, a 4% chance is pretty serious. It's high enough to demand our full attention, yet low enough to spark a massive debate: do we stop it, or do we watch? We can afford to treat this as a safe experiment. After ... [Read More]

Feb 3rd, 2026 - Reading time 3 minutes For astronomers, technological advances are akin to getting better glasses—there's often a big jump in resolution. It can make the world considerably clearer and, in the case of astronomy, expose some misconceptions we've held about the cosmos. To be clear, Jupiter is fine. The giant planet itself likely hasn't changed all that much in the past 50 years, ever since NASA's Pioneer and Voyager probes flew past and made their measurements. But newer, clearer data ... [Read More]

Feb 3rd, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Astronomers measured four planets orbiting a young star and found them far larger than expected for their mass, making them some of the lowest-density planets ever directly weighed. That imbalance exposes a brief but decisive stage when common planets remain swollen with gas before contracting into the smaller forms seen across the galaxy. Early snapshot of planet formation The finding centers on V1298 Tau, a youthful star whose tightly packed planets preserve an early ... [Read More]

Feb 3rd, 2026 - Even the Sun, Earth's brightest star, has a dark side. Sitting 93 million miles away, it rises every day to bathe our beloved Earth in a soft golden glow that sustains all life. But from time to time, its magnetic field develops concentrated, cool regions of electrically charged gas called plasma. Scientists call these concentrated patches sunspots, per NASA . Like stretched rubber bands, the magnetic field lines in these sunspots start twisting and snapping, eventually jolting the magnetic ... [Read More]

Feb 3rd, 2026 - There's a pressing need to understand and respond to what's known as "space weather". When a solar storm strikes Earth, it can disrupt technology that's vital for our daily lives. Solar storms occur when magnetic fields and electrically charged particles collide with the Earth's magnetic field. This type of event falls into the category known as "space weather". The Earth is currently experiencing one of the most intense solar storms of the past two decades, reminding us of the need for ways to ... [Read More]

Feb 2nd, 2026 - Astronomers identified a strange object in the Milky Way that sends out powerful bursts of radio waves and X-rays with steady timing. The source, known as ASKAP J1832 0911, repeats its signals every 44 minutes, a rhythm unlike anything commonly observed before. What makes the finding stand out is not just the regularity, but the combination of energy involved. Data were collected from Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) radio telescope in Australia, and ... [Read More]

Feb 2nd, 2026 - This would have taken a human astronomer decades. For more than three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has collected targeted images to answer specific scientific questions, from mapping galaxies to studying nearby nebulae. Hubble has gathered so much data that despite their best efforts, astronomers haven't had the time to analyze it all in detail yet. Alongside its many targets, the Hubble archive also contains many unexpected objects that were never the focus of the original observations. ... [Read More]

Feb 1st, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Jupiter looks calm from far away, yet violent storms and thick clouds cover every part of the planet. No spacecraft has ever reached deep enough to see what exists below those clouds. Crushing pressure and extreme heat destroy any probe that dares to descend. Scientists still want answers, so a team of researchers turned to advanced computer models to explore Jupiter 's hidden interior. The study, led by Jeehyun Yang from The University of Chicago and the Jet Propulsion ... [Read More]

Feb 1st, 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 Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter quick facts What it is: Lupus 3 (GN 16.05.2 and Bernes 149) molecular cloud Where it is: About 500 light-years away, in the constellation Scorpius ... [Read More]

Feb 1st, 2026 - More than half a century after astronauts last left the lunar surface, NASA is preparing to send a crew of four back to the moon on a fly-by mission that will sling them around the far side. The mission is called Artemis II, and if all goes according to plan, it could launch as early as next week. When it does, the astronauts will climb aboard NASA's most powerful rocket and begin a journey that could take them farther into space than humans have ever been before. Like the missions that ... [Read More]

Feb 1st, 2026 - Scientists have traced a 3,000-light-year-long cosmic jet streaming out from the first black hole ever imaged to its likely source point with the help of "significantly enhanced coverage" from the global Event Horizon Telescope, a new study published this week revealed. The findings, published in the journal "Astronomy & Astrophysics" on Wednesday, could help pinpoint exactly from where and how black holes launch vast cosmic jets that travel at nearly the speed of light. M87 is a supermassive ... [Read More]

Jan 31st, 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. Will two rare supernovas finally tell us how fast the universe is expanding? Perhaps, but we'll have to wait for it for them to 'reappear'. Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Two ... [Read More]

Jan 31st, 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 Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Many objects in space rotate. Earth completes a spin in roughly 24 hours, while Venus takes a whopping 243 Earth days . The moon's rotational ... [Read More]

Jan 31st, 2026 - When people speak of the northern lights, they are typically referring to Earth's spectacular display of aurora borealis: green, purple, and red waves of colour dancing across the polar skies. However, Earth is by no means the lone showground for this spectacular cosmic illumination. Looking across our solar system, several planets are themselves illuminated by their own auroras. These stellar displays are the result of intense interactions between charged particles and the atmospheric ... [Read More]

Jan 31st, 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 Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Astronomers have solved the mystery of how some stars stay youthfully bright and blue, despite being almost as old as the universe itself: They ... [Read More]