These latest Hubble observations of the Sombrero galaxy indicate only a tiny fraction of older, metal-poor stars in the halo, plus an unexpected abundance of metal-rich stars. Past major galaxy mergers are a possible explanation, though the stately Sombrero shows none of the messy evidence of a recent merger of massive galaxies.

By measuring iron isotopes, researchers have shown that our planet originally formed much faster than previously thought. This finding provides new insights on both planetary formation and the likelihood of water and life elsewhere in the universe.

A signal originally detected by the Kepler spacecraft has been validated as an exoplanet using the Habitable-zone Planet Finder.

Astronomers used two of the most powerful radio telescopes in the world to create more than three hundred images of planet-forming disks around very young stars in the Orion Clouds. These images reveal new details about the birthplaces of planets and the earliest stages of star formation.

Scientists have built a new compositional model for Mars. They used rocks from Mars and measurements from orbiting satellites to predict the depth to its core-mantle boundary, some 1,800 km beneath the surface and have been able to suggest that its core contains moderate amounts of sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen as light elements.

Astronomers from the University of Warwick have observed an exoplanet orbiting a star in just over 18 hours, the shortest orbital period ever observed for a planet of its type.

Two particularly tenacious species of bacteria have colonized the potable water dispenser aboard the International Space Station (ISS), but a new study suggests that they are no more dangerous than closely related strains on Earth.

Engineers devise a decision map to identify the best mission type to deflect an incoming asteroid.

Researchers have developed a mathematical model that describes how rotating detonation engines work.

Researchers have conducted experiments in the nutrient-poor Cuatro Cienegas Basin in Mexico. Their goal was to shed light on how fundamental features of an organism's genome -- its size, the way it encodes information, and the density of information -- affect its ability to thrive in an extreme environment.

A fireball in the sky, accompanied by a bang, amazed hundreds of eyewitnesses in northern Germany in mid-September last year. The reason for the spectacle was a meteoroid entering the Earth's atmosphere and partially burning up. Planetologists have been studying a part of the meteorite. They found out that the meteorite contains minerals that formed under the presence of water on small planetesimals in the early history of our solar system.

A team of scientists using the Low Frequency Array radio telescope in the Netherlands has observed radio waves that carry the distinct signatures of aurorae, caused by the interaction between a star's magnetic field and a planet in orbit around it.

Breakthrough Listen announced its second major release of SETI data: a radio survey of the plane of the Milky Way and the galactic center. The public is urged to search the data for signals from intelligent civilizations. A former undergraduate initiated the analysis by looking at emissions from 20 nearby stars that could see Earth transiting our sun. The VLA also signed on to capture radio data for SETI.

New technologies that enable new strategies are revitalizing the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), by not only augmenting the traditional search for intelligently generated radio signals but also allowing searches for other signs of life and technological activity.

Planetary scientists have revealed the secrets of the atmosphere of Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. The team found a chemical footprint in Titan's atmosphere indicating that cosmic rays coming from outside the Solar System affect the chemical reactions involved in the formation of nitrogen-bearing organic molecules. This is the first observational confirmation of such processes, and impacts the understanding of the intriguing environment of Titan.

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT), astronomers have captured the unprecedented dimming of Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the constellation of Orion. The stunning new images of the star's surface show not only the fading red supergiant but also how its apparent shape is changing.

Data from NASA's New Horizons mission are providing new insights into how planets and planetesimals -- the building blocks of the planets -- were formed.

The early solar system was a chaotic place, with evidence indicating that Mars was likely struck by planetesimals, small protoplanets up to 1,200 miles in diameter, early in its history. Scientists modeled the mixing of materials associated with these impacts, revealing that the Red Planet may have formed over a longer timescale than previously thought.

Researchers have developed a new technique for shielding electronics in military and space exploration technology from ionizing radiation. The new approach is more cost effective than existing techniques, and the secret ingredient is...rust.

Citizen scientists have uncovered a bizarre pairing of two brown dwarfs, objects much smaller than the Sun that lack enough mass for nuclear fusion. The discovery, confirmed by astrophysicists, shows that brown dwarf systems -- the formation of which are still poorly understood -- can be very low mass and extremely far apart yet inexorably linked.

Astronomers have probed the formation process of giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs by using a combination of direct imaging of these objects and custom software to model their orbits.

This new work sheds fresh light on the complicated interplay of factors affecting global climate and the carbon cycle -- and on what transpired millions of years ago to spark two of the most devastating extinction events in Earth's history.

The majority of stars in the universe will become luminous enough to blast surrounding asteroids into successively smaller fragments using their light alone, according to an astronomer.

For the first time, researchers have simulated the formation of galaxies in a universe without dark matter. To replicate this process on the computer, they have instead modified Newton's laws of gravity. The galaxies that were created in the computer calculations are similar to those we actually see today. According to the scientists, their assumptions could solve many mysteries of modern cosmology.

Scientists have found a new way to analyze the chemistry of the moon's soil using a single grain of dust brought back by Apollo 17 astronauts in 1972. Their technique can help us learn more about conditions on the surface of the moon and formation of precious resources like water and helium there.