James Webb has revealed that the Butterfly Nebula hides a complex mix of gemstone-like crystals, fiery dust, and unexpected carbon molecules. The discovery may rewrite how we understand the chemistry that seeds planets and life itself.

WISPIT 2b, a gas giant forming around a young Sun-like star, has been directly imaged for the first time inside a spectacular multi-ringed disk. Still glowing and actively accreting gas, the planet offers a unique opportunity to study planetary birth and evolution.

Astronomers have discovered a giant Saturn-sized planet orbiting TOI-6894, the smallest star ever known to host such a world. The finding overturns long-held theories suggesting that tiny, low-mass stars lack the material needed to form or keep giant planets.

Billions of years ago, Jupiter’s violent growth transformed the young solar system, smashing icy and rocky bodies together at incredible speeds. These cataclysmic collisions created tiny molten droplets called chondrules—microscopic time capsules later preserved in meteorites. New research shows that water vapor explosions from planetesimal impacts explain their origin, while also pinpointing Jupiter’s birth at about 1.8 million years after the solar system began. This breakthrough not only rewrites the timeline of Jupiter’s formation but also opens a new way to trace the birth order of planets across our own system and beyond.

Astronomers using the Inouye Solar Telescope have captured the sharpest-ever images of a solar flare, revealing coronal loops as thin as 21 km wide. These threadlike plasma structures, imaged during an X1.3-class flare, confirm long-standing theories about loop scales and may represent the fundamental building blocks of flare activity. The discovery pushes solar science into new territory, opening doors to improved space weather forecasting and deeper understanding of magnetic reconnection.

Scientists using Google’s quantum processor have taken a major step toward unraveling the deepest mysteries of the universe. By simulating fundamental interactions described by gauge theories, the team showed how particles and the invisible “strings” connecting them behave, fluctuate, and even break. This breakthrough opens the door to probing particle physics, exotic quantum materials, and perhaps even the structure of space and time itself.

Perseverance is exploring Mars’ sandy ripples, strange frozen waves that could reveal how wind still shapes the planet. Along the way it uncovered unusual helmet-shaped rocks, sparking new questions about Mars’ present and future.

Scientists studying asteroids found that two seemingly unrelated types share a strange dusty coating of troilite. By using polarization of light instead of traditional spectra, they uncovered evidence that these space rocks may have originated from the same ancient parent bodies, offering a new glimpse into the chaotic past of the early solar system.

Earth may already be broadcasting its presence to alien civilizations without realizing it. A new study shows that our deep-space transmissions, especially those aimed at Mars and interplanetary spacecraft, spill over into space in detectable patterns. If extraterrestrial observers were aligned with certain planetary positions, they’d have a strong chance of catching our signals. The findings suggest that by mirroring this logic—looking for exoplanet alignments and focusing on nearby star systems—we could boost our own search for alien technosignatures.

Astronomers have detected the closest and brightest fast radio burst ever recorded, a dazzling signal from a galaxy just 130 million light-years away. The extraordinary flash, nicknamed RBFLOAT, outshone every other radio source in its galaxy for a split second, offering scientists a rare opportunity to study these mysterious cosmic outbursts in unprecedented detail.

For years, scientists thought Jupiter’s strange interior was the result of a massive collision in its youth. But new research suggests that the planet’s diffuse, “fuzzy” core wasn’t born from a cataclysm at all. Instead, the giant appears to have developed this structure gradually as it pulled in both heavy and light elements while forming.

Scientists are rethinking the universe’s deepest mysteries using numerical relativity, complex computer simulations of Einstein’s equations in extreme conditions. This method could help explore what happened before the Big Bang, test theories of cosmic inflation, investigate multiverse collisions, and even model cyclic universes that endlessly bounce through creation and destruction.

A giant bubble of gas and dust surrounds the red supergiant DFK 52, likely created in a powerful outburst 4,000 years ago. Astronomers are baffled at how the star survived without going supernova, and suspect a hidden companion may have played a role. This discovery could reveal clues about the final stages of massive stars.

Scientists from the Southwest Research Institute have found strong evidence that near-Earth asteroids Bennu and Ryugu share a common origin with Polana, a much larger asteroid in the main belt. By comparing James Webb Telescope observations with samples from NASA’s OSIRIS-REx and Japan’s Hayabusa2 missions, researchers discovered spectral similarities suggesting all three were once fragments of the same parent body, shattered in an ancient collision.

Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have uncovered a tiny new moon orbiting Uranus, increasing the planet’s moon tally to 29. The object, only about six miles wide, escaped Voyager 2’s detection during its 1986 flyby, hiding between the orbits of Ophelia and Bianca.

Scientists have identified a never-before-seen supernova, SN2021yfj, which exploded after losing nearly all of its outer layers. Instead of light elements, it revealed silicon and sulfur from deep within the star—direct proof of a layered stellar structure. The discovery challenges existing theories and suggests stars may die in more exotic ways than textbooks predict.

Massive stars have always puzzled scientists—how do they grow so quickly despite fierce radiation pushing material away? New high-resolution ALMA observations suggest that instead of relying solely on accretion disks, young stars may be fueled by colossal gas “streamers.” These vast cosmic highways carry matter across thousands of astronomical units, potentially overwhelming feedback effects and sustaining stellar growth.

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe has directly observed magnetic reconnection in the Sun’s atmosphere for the first time, confirming decades-old theories about solar explosions. This discovery bridges small-scale events near Earth with massive solar eruptions that shape space weather. The data provides crucial insights to improve predictions of solar storms that can impact our technology.

Astronomers may have uncovered the origins of the mysterious “little red dots,” some of the strangest galaxies seen in the early universe. These tiny but brilliant objects, discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope, appear far too compact and bright to fit existing models of galaxy and black hole formation. A new study suggests they may have formed within rare dark matter halos that spin unusually slowly, creating conditions that squeeze matter into incredibly dense structures. If true, these galaxies could provide vital clues about how the first black holes and galaxies came into being.

Astronomers using AI have captured a once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event: a massive star’s violent death triggered by its black hole companion. The explosion, known as SN 2023zkd, not only produced a brilliant supernova but also shocked scientists by glowing twice, after years of strange pre-death brightening. Observed by telescopes worldwide, the event provided the strongest evidence yet that black holes can ignite stellar explosions.

For decades, scientists have puzzled over why so little sulfur appears in space, even though it is one of the most common elements in the universe and vital to life. A new study suggests that the missing sulfur may be locked away in icy dust grains, forming unusual molecular shapes like crown-like rings and hydrogen-linked chains. These hidden forms make sulfur difficult to detect with telescopes, helping explain why its presence has been underestimated for so long. Researchers now believe they may be closing in on solving a mystery that has lingered in astronomy for years.

Hubble’s newest view of the spiral galaxy NGC 2835 adds a stunning twist to a familiar sight. By capturing light in a special wavelength called H-alpha, astronomers have revealed glowing pink nebulae that mark where stars are born and where they fade away.

A mysterious blazar that baffled scientists for years has been unraveled. VLBA imaging revealed a toroidal magnetic field powering a jet aimed at Earth, explaining how it can unleash neutrinos and gamma rays despite its sluggish appearance.

Hubble has taken the clearest image to date of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS, which is racing through our solar system at 130,000 miles per hour. Astronomers are using Hubble and other telescopes to better understand its icy nucleus and chemical composition.

By exploring positive geometry, mathematicians are revealing hidden shapes that may unify particle physics and cosmology, offering new ways to understand both collisions in accelerators and the origins of the universe.