Are there signs of life on alien planet K2-18b, or is it just a lot of hot air?
This artist’s impression depicts what a water world with a hydrogen atmosphere, such as planet K2-18b, might look like. A. Smith, N. Madhusudhan/University of Cambridge…
Tag: astronomy
How do astronomers find distant planets … if we can’t see them?
Enlarge this image An illustration of the GAIA telescope, launched by the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2013. Using GAIA data, astronomers can observe a…
If Planet Nine is out there, this telescope might actually find it
The Milky Way shines over the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in an image taken in October 2024. Hernán Stockebrand hide caption toggle caption Hernán Stockebrand…
Parts of America will experience a partial solar eclipse this weekend
A partial solar eclipse is seen as the sun rises behind the U.S. Capitol building on June 10, 2021. Bill Ingalls/NASA/Getty Images hide caption toggle…
Dark energy is weakening and the universe could (eventually) collapse, study says
This multi-wavelength image from NASA shows a universe full of galaxies that are various shapes, colors and sizes. Most are small while a handful are…
Why are ‘fireworks’ coming from a black hole? This is what scientists say
This artist’s concept shows Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy, surrounded by a swirling accretion disk of…
A rare ‘parade’ of all 7 planets will move across the night sky this week
This chart of the night sky from NASA shows Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Venus in a “planet parade” in January 2025. NASA/JPL-Caltech/NASA.gov hide caption toggle…