Latest articles by Keith Cooper
Why smaller planets are better at building large moons
The energy of moon-forming can have a big say in whether large or doomed smaller moons are built.
How neutron stars 'playing it cool' could unlock exotic physics
Neutron stars with surface temperatures millions of degrees cooler than expected rule out a swathe of possible models to describe the physics of such objects.
Hubble Telescope bounces back with glorious galaxy pic in '1-gyroscope mode'
The Hubble Space Telescope snapped a striking shot of the fluffy spiral galaxy NGC 1546, showing it can still observe the heavens in its new one-gyroscope mode.
How 2 quasars at the dawn of time could be a Rosetta stone for the early universe
The two active supermassive black holes are the most distant pair of quasars ever seen and shed more light on how the universe transformed into what it is today.
Life after stellar death? How life could arise on planets orbiting white dwarfs
Stellar death need not be the end for orbiting planets, which could see their ice melt as they move closer to the white dwarf that their star evolves into.
At the heart of this distant galaxy lies not 1, but 2 jet-blasting black holes
The two black holes at the heart of the galaxy OJ 287 are true behemoths with masses of 18.35 billion and 150 million times the mass of our Sun.
12 billion years of black hole history, revealed through X-rays and simulations
New findings show the black hole at the heart of our Milky Way galaxy had a late growth spurt.
Scientists find a surprise ingredient in exoplanet cake mix — sulfur dioxide
The presence of sulfur dioxide around a hot Neptune exoplanet with an evaporating atmosphere could help us understand how it formed.
A star that exploded like a nuclear bomb is still raising questions half a century later
The nova caused HM Sge to brighten in our night sky by 250 times.
Solar storm douses Mars in radiation as auroras flicker in the Red Planet sky (video)
NASA's fleet of robotic Martian explorers measured the effects of May's dramatic solar storms, experiencing the equivalent of undergoing about 30 chest X-rays all at once.
Is there really a huge subsurface lake near Mars' south pole?
Evidence for a lake beneath the south polar cap of Mars may have been misinterpreted, a new study reports.
Youthful galaxy in the early universe was a heavy metal rebel
The existence of carbon in the early universe means that planets and perhaps even life could have formed sooner than anticipated.
The 'hole' on Mars making headlines could be crucial to Red Planet exploration
Similar craters are found on Earth and the Moon, and are the product of volcanic, tectonic or even fluvial activity.
1st telescope removed from controversial astronomy hub on Hawaiian volcano
The 36-inch telescope and its dome has been decommissioned as part of a deal that will hopefully see the Thirty Meter Telescope receive a permit for construction on Maunakea.
This planet-forming disk shaped like a comet is struggling to survive
Proplyds, which are ionized protoplanetary disks, struggle to survive in the Orion Nebula as they come under an onslaught of radiation from a nearby massive star.
James Webb Space Telescope finds a dusty skeleton in this starburst galaxy's closet
The James Webb Space Telescope caught the Magellanic-like galaxy NGC 4449 is undergoing an intense bout of star formation.
Asteroid 'Dinky,' visited by NASA's Lucy spacecraft, birthed its own moon
Dinkinesh, the asteroid visited by NSA’s Lucy mission in 2023, has a small moon that is made from two objects touching each other.
Are stars vanishing into their own black holes? A bizarre binary system says 'yes'
An unusual binary system could be evidence that some massive stars can die quietly, without a supernova explosion.
Asteroid-bound Psyche spacecraft fires up ion thrusters, starts cruising through space
NASA's Psyche mission to a metallic asteroid is now under the power of solar-electric propulsion.
NASA's Juno probe captures fascinating high-resolution images of Jupiter's icy moon Europa
During a close flyby of Europa, the Juno spacecraft was at an altitude of just 330 kilometers (220 miles) above the moon's surface. It caught some awesome images, too.
Cosmic butterfly or interstellar burger? This planet-forming disk is the largest ever seen
A distant planetary nursery is breaking all records as it shows the extremes to which planet formation can go.
Where did Earth's water come from? This ancient asteroid family may help us find out
The family is part of a larger asteroid that was smashed to pieces 130 million years ago.
Jupiter's mysterious moon Amalthea spied crossing the Great Red Spot (photo)
NASA's Juno spacecraft has spotted the elusive fifth moon of Jupiter transiting the giant planet's Great Red Spot, giving astronomers a rare view of this small but intriguing natural satellite.
