Space

Apr 23rd, 2026 - Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By MARCIA DUNN, AP Aerospace Writer CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The comet that rambled past us from another star last year likely originated in a cold, isolated corner of the galaxy that had yet to gel into its own solar system, astronomers reported Thursday. Comet 3I/Atlas is only the third interstellar visitor to be confirmed and quite possibly the oldest. Scientists estimate it could be up to 11 billion years old, more than twice as old as the ... [Read More]

Apr 23rd, 2026 - Spy satellite hardware has been repurposed to scan the Universe in the infrared. GREENBELT, Md.—On Tuesday, NASA invited the press to look at the fully assembled Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, which is now ready to join the ranks of the great observatories in orbit, ahead of its September launch. The Roman Space Telescope (NGRST), named after a key figure in the planning of the Hubble Space Telescope, is notably distinct from hardware like the Hubble and Webb, as it's designed around ... [Read More]

Apr 23rd, 2026 - Early in 1986, a visitor from deep space graced Earth's skies, and for a few breathless weeks human eyes were snatched from their daily labors and fixated on the heavens. The object of this transitory public veneration was Halley's Comet — the most famous, easily recognizable, and beloved of celestial wanderers. This icy interloper, officially known as 1P/Halley, revisits the inner solar system every 72 to 80 years. Aggregated lumps of frozen water and gases mixed with smaller amounts of ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google What if life on other planets doesn't breathe oxygen at all? Scientists are beginning to rethink one of the biggest assumptions in the search for alien life, thanks to a microbe thriving in Chile's extreme Atacama Desert. Instead of relying on oxygen, this organism produces carbon-based gases that could leave detectable fingerprints in a planet's atmosphere. That shift matters because many distant worlds may resemble early Earth – harsh, dry, and low in oxygen ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2026 - The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope has now reached a major turning point, with NASA confirming that its final assembly is complete at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. The observatory, often described as the next big step after Hubble and the James Webb Space Telescope, is now fully built and preparing for launch operations expected in 2026. As reported, engineers recently finished integrating its main systems inside a large cleanroom, marking the end of years of construction ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google Researchers have found that comet C/2025 R3 has shifted onto an escape trajectory after its solar pass, marking a final visible visit before it leaves the solar system.  That change turns a brief window of dawn visibility into a one-time chance to observe a comet that will not return. A faint visitor Before sunrise in mid-April, the comet sat low above the eastern horizon, where its rapid brightening made it briefly accessible to observers.  Observations ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2026 - The solar system's first solids formed in a rush Some 4.6 billion years ago, when the solar system was born from a vast cloud that collapsed to form the sun and a surrounding disk of whirling gas , no planets yet orbited our star. Back then, besides stardust, no solid materials at all drifted through this natal disk. Only as the disk cooled did mineral grains condense from the gas to become the building blocks of space rocks that would eventually form Earth and other planets. Scientists have ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2026 - A record-breaking 3D cosmic map suggests dark energy is changing, challenging standard cosmological models. From a mountaintop in Arizona, an army of robotic eyes has spent the last five years staring into the universe's deep past. They captured ancient light that began its journey across the cosmos up to 11 billion years ago. On Tuesday, April 14, scientists completed the primary mission of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) ahead of schedule. The team successfully built the ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2026 - A small near-earth asteroid is expected to make a close pass by Earth on 21 April 2026, according to data reportedly shared by NASA. The object has been identified as 2026 HJ1 and is being monitored by astronomers using specialised telescopes. It appears to be part of the regular stream of space objects that move through Earth's orbital region from time to time. The approach has drawn attention, mainly because the term "asteroid near Earth" often sounds concerning at first glance. Experts say ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2026 - Scientists think they are looking at chemical building blocks of life preserved for 3.5bn years Nasa's Curiosity rover has detected organic molecules on Mars, including chemicals widely considered building blocks for the origin of life on Earth. Five of the seven molecules identified in a dried lakebed near the equator had never previously been observed on the red planet. The analysis performed by the robotic rover cannot establish whether the organic compounds are linked to potential ancient ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 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 Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now Get the world's most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox. By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2026 - Reading time 3 minutes The cold, icy world of Uranus is framed by a pair of rings that orbit the planet at twice the distance of its main ring system. Each ring tells a different story — the outermost ring appears blue, while the inner ring has a reddish hue. For years, astronomers have wondered why the rings are so different and how each of them came to be. By decoding the light from these rings, we may finally have a clue to their unique origin stories. A team of astronomers used the W. ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google A new study has found that large-scale maps of frozen water and other simple molecules can now reveal hidden structure inside a massive star-forming region in our galaxy. That new view shows exactly where these frozen materials survive, changing how scientists track the earliest ingredients of planets. Inside the clouds Across Cygnus X, a vast star-forming region in the Milky Way about 4,600 light-years away, the newly mapped ice bands appeared directly on the dark, dusty ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2026 - The idea of a planet orbiting two suns has long captured both scientific curiosity and public imagination. Popularised by science fiction, such worlds, known as circumbinary planets, do exist, and astronomers have confirmed several beyond our solar system. Yet, a puzzling pattern has emerged: many of these planets seem to vanish from observation. They are not destroyed, nor do they drift away into space. Instead, they become temporarily invisible to our instruments. Now, scientists believe the ... [Read More]

Apr 20th, 2026 - Follow Earth on Google A new analysis has found that gravity follows Newton's inverse-square law across hundreds of millions of light-years, even when tested using 300,000 galaxies. That result leaves little room for alternatives that weaken gravity at large distances. It also sharpens the case for unseen mass shaping cosmic motion. Across cosmic distances Maps from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope ( ACT ) and galaxy records capture clusters separated by vast distances where gravity's reach can ... [Read More]

Apr 20th, 2026 - Astronomers have been watching the supergiant WOH G64 for decades – and it might have turned into a hypergiant and be heading for self-destruction. One of the largest known stars in the universe underwent a dramatic transformation in 2014, new research shows, and may be preparing to explode. A study led by Gonzalo Muñoz-Sanchez at the National Observatory of Athens, published in Nature Astronomy today , argues that the enormous star WOH G64 has transitioned from a red supergiant to ... [Read More]