An artist's rendering of a black hole

Ancient Black Hole Challenges Our Understanding of the Early Universe

The Big Bang theory is not threatened, but astrophysicists have some explaining to do.
A representation of the evolution of the universe over 13.77 billion years.

New Paper Argues That the Universe Began with Two Big Bangs

Bang bang all over the Universe.
Lion's Head rock formation on the shoulder of Mt. Washington, NH

Why the Worst Weather on Earth Is in New Hampshire

A combination of factors makes the weather at New Hampshire’s Mount Washington arguably the most brutal in the world.
The Sun photographed at 304 angstroms by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA 304) of NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)

How Earthquakes Helped Us Map the Interior of the Sun

Temperatures in the Sun’s core exceed 10 million degrees Celsius. But how on Earth did we actually come to know that?

The Hunt for Life in Alpha Centauri

This oddball system of three stars might be our best chance at finding nearby life in the Universe.
Asteroid rock on green starry background

How Asteroids Bombarded Earth and Built the Continents

Asteroid collisions aren't always bad.
Spacetime as represented by a grid with a body (presumably a black hole) bending it.

When Gravity Sucked, According to the Plutocrats

After Einstein’s general theory of relativity was proven during a 1919 solar eclipse, quantum and nuclear physics pushed it aside to hog the limelight.
This artist concept depicts "multiple-transiting planet systems," which are stars with more than one planet.

To Find a New World, Watch How a Planet Dances with Its Star

Finding a tiny planet around bright stars dozens or hundreds of light-years from Earth is extremely difficult.
The continent of Antarctica, circa 2006

Inventing Antarctica

We're only just getting to know "the Ice."
This composite image contains X-ray data from Chandra (green and blue) that show heated material in the center of a shell generated by a supernova explosion. Optical data from Hubble show the glowing pink rim, which is ambient gas being shocked by the blast wave from the supernova, as well as the surrounding star field. The Type Ia supernova that resulted in the creation of this remnant would have been visible from Earth some 400 years ago.

How Stars Die

Nothing in this Universe is eternal—not even the stars.