Earth's Place in the Universe
- Physics
Scientists used lasers to make ‘smoke rings’ of light
Physicists had a bright idea: Make light into swirling, ring-shaped vortices, similar to smoke rings or bubble rings.
- Planets
Scientists Say: Habitable Zone
The habitable zone is the region around a star where temperatures could be right for worlds to host liquid water.
- Space
A massive rogue roaming our galaxy may be a black hole
Alternatively, this unseen wanderer might be a hefty neutron star. Whatever it is, its gravity caused starlight to be warped — and that gave it away.
- Planets
Noises sound totally different on Mars than on Earth. Here’s why
The Perseverance rover recorded the sound of laser pulses on Mars. Scientists used those recordings to determine the Martian speeds of sound.
- Materials Science
Let’s learn about diamond
Diamond is born under extreme heat and pressure inside Earth and elsewhere in the universe.
- Space
Ancient volcanoes may have left ice at the moon’s poles
Volcanic eruptions billions of years ago may have produced several temporary atmospheres on the moon that held water vapor.
- Planets
The InSight lander has caught a large ‘earthquake’ on Mars
This magnitude 5 quake is offering scientists a peek at what’s going on beneath the Martian surface.
- Earth
Tiny gemstones show when Earth’s crust first started moving
Chemical hints observed in zircons suggest when the important process of plate tectonics first took off.
- Space
Behold: The biggest known comet in our solar system
This “dirty snowball” in space is about twice as wide as Rhode Island and darker than coal.
- Space
A star called ‘Earendel’ could be the most distant ever seen
A thin red arc found in an image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows starlight from nearly 13 billion years ago.
- Physics
Muons reveal the inner worlds of pyramids, volcanoes and more
Tracking these subatomic particles can uncover surprising hidden structures.
- Space
Some of the sun’s iconic coronal loops may be ghostly illusions
Wrinkles in the sun’s outer atmosphere might trick the eye into seeing glowing arches, scientists now report.
