Latest articles by Keith Cooper
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.
The surface of this volcanic exoplanet is hotter than some stars
Described as being like "Io on steroids," a newly discovered exoplanet is the victim of a tug of war between its neighboring planets and its star.
China's Chang'e 6 probe to the moon's far side has a big lunar mystery to solve
By retrieving rare volcanic samples from the lunar far side, Chang'e-6 aims to provide answers as to why volcanism was so limited on just one side of the moon.
A failed star and an ammonia trail could reveal how some giant exoplanets form
The James Webb Space Telescope is teaching us about how planets form.
Spacecraft captures absolutely incredible video of plasma swirling on the sun
The video gives an insight into the energetic events that transfer energy and plasma into the solar corona that ultimately drives the solar wind.
Long ago, a lake on Mars might have been sprawling with microbes
The presence of manganese oxide on Mars has positive implications in the search for life beyond Earth.
Einstein Probe X-ray telescope releases 1st images taken with 'lobster vision'
Einstein Probe, which is the new Chinese–European X-ray mission, has revealed its first widescreen views of the universe.
Scientists reveal Southern Ring Nebula's unexpected structure: 'We were amazed'
The molecular gas ejected by a dying star within the Southern Ring Nebula will one day be recycled into a new generation of stars and planets.
Evidence for Planet 9 found in icy bodies sneaking past Neptune
The hypothetical ninth planet may be slingshotting Oort Cloud objects onto orbits that come closer to the sun than Neptune does.
During the solar system's chaotic era, Jupiter may have helped form Earth's moon
The great planetary instability coincides with the collision that formed Earth's moon — could the two events be linked?
Ancient rocks hold proof of Earth's magnetic field. Here's why that's puzzling
Earth's ancient magnetic field appears to have had a strength similar to what we see today, and it may have protected ancient life from harmful cosmic radiation.
Iconic British meteorite 'Winchcombe' found to have a smashing past
A detailed analysis of the Winchcombe meteorite has found evidence that its parent asteroid was altered by water before being smashed apart multiple times.
In a virtual reality universe, upcoming 'JUICE' mission flies by Jupiter's moon Callisto
To test its autonomous software, the JUICE mission team pretended to fly the spacecraft past Jupiter's fourth moon, and passed the exam with flying colors.
Monster star gains magnetic personality following stellar merger
A rare massive star possessing a magnetic field could have produced its dynamo after merging with another star.
Stars make a bigger mess in old galaxies, and scientists just figured out why
More evolved galaxies demonstrate a greater range of stellar motions compared to the orderly, circular orbits of stars like our sun in the Milky Way.
