Cosmic expansion allows distant galaxies to move away faster than light, while still letting us see ancient light they emitted when they were much closer。 Eventually, accelerating expansion will push nearly every galaxy beyond our Local Group out of sight, making the Universe appear almost empty
Scientists say new technologies have reopened the debate over whether Mars could someday be terraformed, turning a once impossible idea into a serious research topic。 Before anyone tries to reshape the Red Planet, though, researchers say we must understand the risks, including what might be lost if Mars already harbors its own forms of life
A catastrophic asteroid breakup may have triggered a huge wave of impacts across the inner solar system about 800 million years ago。 The debris was launched from near a gravitational gateway controlled by Jupiter, sending fragments toward Earth, the Moon, and Mars。 The bombardment may explain ancient lunar craters and could have contributed to majo
NASA’s Psyche spacecraft aced its Mars flyby, using the planet’s gravity to speed toward its 2029 encounter with a metal-rich asteroid。 The spacecraft tested its cameras, magnetometer, and particle-detecting instruments, capturing unusual views of Mars and measuring its magnetic environment。 It also detected neutrons from the planet and spotted the
NASA’s Swift Observatory observed a supermassive black hole ripping apart a star more than 30,000 light-years from the center of a distant galaxy。 The extraordinary flare briefly outshone its entire host galaxy in ultraviolet light and revealed a black hole about a million times the Sun’s mass
Scientists have created an “electron lighthouse” that uses laser light to launch and steer electrons through a semiconductor without an applied electrical field。 The quantum effect could eventually improve optical sensors, communications, imaging, and information storage
A new review highlights exciting progress in atomically thin quantum materials where light and magnetism work together in ways never before possible。 In these materials, light-generated excitons can interact directly with magnetic behavior, creating opportunities to control magnetic states using light alone。 Scientists believe this could pave the w
NASA's PACE satellite captured the Black Sea glowing turquoise during its annual phytoplankton bloom。 The vivid color comes from massive numbers of coccolithophores, microscopic organisms whose reflective shells brighten the water enough to be seen from space。 An astronaut aboard the International Space Station also photographed the bloom spreading
When the first step goes wrong, bad results follow
China’s Tianwen-1 orbiter captured a faint but remarkable view of 3I/ATLAS as the interstellar comet raced past Mars。 The images reveal its tail and glowing coma, offering scientists a glimpse of material born beyond our solar system
Scientists are testing two promising ways to destroy PFAS, the stubborn “forever chemicals” that can accumulate in water and resist normal treatment。 One method uses collapsing vapor bubbles to generate extreme heat and reactive molecules, while the other uses cold plasma and rising gas bubbles to pull PFAS to the surface and break them apart
Researchers have created self-destructing living plastic that uses engineered bacteria to completely break itself down when activated。 The material degrades in just six days without creating microplastics, offering a potential new solution for single-use plastic waste
Researchers are applying evolutionary theory to cancer by changing treatments before tumors have time to develop resistance。 Mathematical models suggest that rapid, carefully timed switches between multiple therapies could improve cure rates