Late-stage planetary collisions reshaped Earth and its neighboring planets, delivering water, altering their atmospheres, and influencing their tectonics. New findings suggest these violent impacts were central to both planetary diversity and the origins of habitability.

Scientists from the University of St Andrews have discovered that ions in solar flares can reach scorching temperatures more than 60 million degrees—6.5 times hotter than previously believed. This breakthrough challenges decades of assumptions in solar physics and offers a surprising solution to a 50-year-old puzzle about why flare spectral lines appear broader than expected.

A strange “Einstein Cross” with an extra, impossible fifth image has revealed the hidden presence of a massive dark matter halo. An international team of astronomers, including Rutgers scientists, used powerful radio telescopes and computer modeling to confirm the invisible structure’s existence. This rare cosmic lens not only magnifies a distant galaxy but also opens a unique window into the mysterious matter that shapes the universe.

A new AI model from NYU Abu Dhabi predicts solar wind days in advance with far greater accuracy than existing methods. By analyzing ultraviolet solar images, it could help protect satellites, navigation systems, and power grids from disruptive space weather events.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has delivered its most compelling clue yet in the search for life on Mars. A rock sample called “Sapphire Canyon,” taken from the Bright Angel formation in Jezero Crater, shows unusual mineral patterns known as “leopard spots” that may have formed through microbial activity. While non-biological processes could also explain the find, scientists say the chemical fingerprints look strikingly similar to those left behind by microbes on Earth.

Behind the dusty clouds of the Cigar Galaxy lies a dazzling powerhouse of star formation, where stars are being born ten times faster than in the Milky Way. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered massive super star clusters in its core, each glowing with hundreds of thousands of stars and shining brighter than typical clusters. These observations reveal not only the galaxy’s extraordinary pace of star creation but also provide a rare look into how such enormous clusters develop and evolve.

Scientists are unraveling the mysteries of "steam worlds"—exoplanets known as sub-Neptunes that are rich in water but orbit so close to their stars that their surfaces are shrouded in thick atmospheres of vapor. Using advanced models, researchers at UC Santa Cruz are now mapping how water behaves under extreme pressures and temperatures, offering insights into exotic phases like supercritical fluids and superionic ice.

Billions of years ago, Mars may not have been the frozen desert we see today. New simulations suggest that volcanic eruptions pumped out reactive sulfur gases, creating greenhouse effects strong enough to trap warmth and possibly liquid water. This strange sulfur-rich chemistry might have made the planet more Earth-like, even supporting microbial life in hydrothermal-style environments.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered mysterious “little red dots” that may not be galaxies at all, but a whole new type of object: black hole stars. These fiery spheres, powered by ravenous black holes at their core, could explain how supermassive black holes in today’s galaxies were born. With discoveries like “The Cliff,” a massive red dot cloaked in hydrogen gas, scientists are beginning to rethink how the early universe formed—and hinting at stranger cosmic surprises still waiting to be revealed.

For centuries, scientists have puzzled over globular clusters, the dense star systems that orbit galaxies without dark matter. Using ultra-detailed simulations, researchers recreated their origins and unexpectedly revealed a new class of cosmic object that bridges star clusters and dwarf galaxies. These “globular cluster-like dwarfs” may already exist in our Milky Way, offering fresh opportunities to study both dark matter and the earliest stars.

Mars’ Jezero Crater holds signs of ancient water and strange mineral reactions, some linked with organic compounds. With Perseverance’s samples and AI-refined mineral maps, scientists are closing in on whether Mars once had the chemistry needed for life.

Hubble’s latest image captures a glittering star cluster inside the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy about 160,000 light-years from Earth. This region, known as N11, is one of the galaxy’s largest stellar nurseries where vast clouds of gas and dust give birth to new stars.

Gravitational-wave astronomy has exploded since 2015, capturing hundreds of black hole and neutron star collisions. With ever-clearer signals, researchers are testing Einstein’s relativity and Hawking’s theorems while planning massive next-generation observatories to explore the dawn of the universe.

NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission has uncovered surprising behavior of pickup ions drifting through the solar wind near Earth. These particles, once thought to be minor players, appear capable of generating waves and influencing how the solar wind heats and evolves. If true, it could force scientists to revise models of solar system dynamics, with implications reaching all the way to the edge of the heliosphere.

Astronomers have uncovered the violent secret of V Sagittae, a white dwarf star consuming its companion in a spectacular feeding frenzy. This cosmic dance not only makes the system burn with unusual brilliance but also creates a massive gas halo, signaling its turbulent and doomed future. Scientists believe this frenzied interaction will eventually erupt in a dazzling supernova, visible even in broad daylight from Earth.

Physicists may soon witness a cosmic fireworks show: the explosive death of a primordial black hole. Once thought to be unimaginably rare, new research suggests there’s up to a 90% chance of catching one in the next decade. Such an event would not only confirm Hawking radiation but also provide a complete catalog of all the particles in existence, potentially rewriting our understanding of physics and the origin of the universe.

Hubble has uncovered a rare ultra-massive white dwarf created in a violent star merger. Once thought to be ordinary, the star’s ultraviolet signature revealed its explosive history and hinted that such cosmic collisions may be surprisingly common.

Physicists have unveiled a new superconducting detector sensitive enough to hunt dark matter particles smaller than electrons. By capturing faint photon signals, the device pushes the search into uncharted territory.

Astronomers studying an oddball brown dwarf called “The Accident” have finally spotted silane, a long-predicted silicon molecule missing from Jupiter and Saturn’s skies. Its ancient, oxygen-poor atmosphere allowed the molecule to form, offering new insight into how planetary atmospheres evolve.

NASA’s Perseverance rover has discovered mudstones in Mars’ Jezero Crater that contain organic carbon and unusual textures hinting at possible biosignatures. These findings suggest that ancient Martian environments may have supported chemical processes similar to those on Earth, where microbial life thrives. While the team stresses they have not discovered evidence of life, the rocks show chemical reactions and mineral formations that could point to biological activity.

Saturn’s icy moon Enceladus has long fascinated scientists with its spectacular water plumes, which NASA’s Cassini spacecraft once revealed to contain organic molecules. Many hoped these molecules hinted at life-supporting chemistry in the moon’s hidden ocean. But new experiments suggest they may not come from the ocean at all—instead, radiation from Saturn’s magnetosphere could be producing them right on Enceladus’s frozen surface.

Scientists caution that asteroid deflection must be precise, as striking the wrong spot risks sending it through a gravitational keyhole that sets up a future collision with Earth. Using lessons from NASA’s DART mission, researchers are developing probability maps to guide safer impact strategies.

Astronomers have directly spotted a rare young planet, WISPIT 2b, still forming within the gap of a dusty ringed disk around a star like our sun—something long theorized but never observed until now.

Physicists at the University of Colorado Boulder have created the first time crystal that humans can actually see, using liquid crystals that swirl into never-ending patterns when illuminated by light. This breakthrough builds on Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek’s 2012 theory of time crystals—structures that move forever in repeating cycles, like a perpetual motion machine or looping GIF. Under the microscope, these crystals form colorful, striped patterns that dance endlessly, opening possibilities for everything from anti-counterfeiting features in money to futuristic methods of storing digital information.

Astronomers have uncovered a massive new trans-Neptunian object, 2017 OF201, lurking at the edge of our solar system. With an orbit stretching 25,000 years and a size that may qualify it as a dwarf planet, this mysterious world challenges long-held assumptions about the “empty” space beyond Neptune. Its unusual trajectory sets it apart from other distant bodies and may even cast doubt on the controversial Planet Nine hypothesis.