The universe

Latest about The universe

Once-in-a-160000-year comet G3 ATLAS could shine as bright as Venus next week. Here's what to expect.

By Joe Rao published

One of the brightest comets in 20 years, Comet 2024 G3 (ATLAS) returns for a close encounter with the sun — but will we be able to see it?

Comets

Spica: The brightest star in the constellation Virgo

By Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference Location, history and cultural significance of Spica.

Reference

Clyde Tombaugh: The astronomer who discovered Pluto

By Nola Taylor Tillman last updated

Reference From farm boy to cosmic pioneer: The life and legacy of Clyde Tombaugh.

Reference
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 4: Science advocate and television host Bill Nye is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Joe Biden in the East Room of the White House on January 4, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Biden is awarding 19 recipients with the nation's highest civilian honor.

Bill Nye 'The Science Guy' awarded Presidential Medal of Freedom

By Samantha Mathewson published

Bill Nye was recently awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in recognition of his dedication to science education.

The Universe
An illustration shows the universe expanding during cosmic dawn with its flip side the dark universe dominated by dark photons and dark matter also evolves.

'Dark photons' at Big Bang's cosmic dawn could shine a light on dark matter

By Robert Lea published

Interactions between dark matter and dark photons during a "missing chapter" cosmic history could shed light on one of the most troubling cosmic mysteries.

The Universe
An illustration of gas flowing out of a galaxy (purple) and then back in (red) on a cosmic conveyer belt.

Building blocks of life on Earth left the Milky Way before being pulled back in

By Robert Lea published

You may be stuck in the Milky Way but new research suggests the carbon that makes up your body took an intergalactic round trip on a cosmic conveyer belt.

The Universe
An illustration of a proton (the large golden sphere) colliding with an electron (smaller red sphere).

Scientists find 'spooky' quantum entanglement on incredibly tiny scales — within individual protons

By Robert Lea published

Einstein may have been troubled enough by entanglement to call it "spooky action at a distance" but scientists have discovered it operates at small scales between quarks and gluons in protons.

The Universe
An artist's impression of a dark comet in the outer solar system.

Big 'dark comet' discoveries could be coming in 2025

By Darryl Seligman published

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's Legacy Survey of Space and Time should spot many new "dark comets" after coming online in July 2025.

Comets
Chunks of frost composed of carbon dioxide begin to break apart and crash to the Martian surface.

From gassy geysers to frosty avalanches, let’s ring in the Martian New Year!

By Meredith Garofalo published

It’s time to ring in the Martian New Year with a variety of strange sights on the planet’s Northern Hemisphere.

Mars
person standing looking at the blood moon above

What is a blood moon?

By Scott Dutfield, Daisy Dobrijevic last updated

Reference It may look spooky, but a blood moon is just a trick of the light. Here we explain this phenomenon and tell you how and where to see the next one.

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