Like a shelf in an old house, the Earth collects a lot of dust from its surroundings. This "space dust" is mostly made up of micrometeorites that survive atmospheric entry and provides researchers with a cheap and easy way ...
Last year, an interstellar traveler entered our solar system. Some speculated that it was an alien spacecraft, but it turned out to be a comet, 3I/Atlas, and it provoked interest from astronomers and astrophysicists eager ...
Astronomers have used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (ESO's VLT) to study the composition of 3I/ATLAS, the brightest interstellar object ever seen, in detail. By measuring specific chemical fingerprints—the ...
Comets have played an interesting role in the history of astronomy. Since antiquity, many cultures saw them as omens or spirits, portending good or bad news for kings, queens and emperors. Over the past few hundred years, ...
Astronomers have spotted many "red and dead" galaxies in the early universe. These are massive systems that stopped forming stars surprisingly early in cosmic history. Now, they may have found evidence of one in the act of ...
Astronomers have revealed new details about the makeup and age of a visiting comet that was born around a distant star. They conclude that the composition of 3I/Atlas is strikingly different from any object found in our solar ...
One year ago, on July 1, 2025, astronomers discovered a fascinating new object moving through the solar system. Detected by the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS), the object was quickly recognized as something ...
The Gaia mission has allowed researchers to understand the motions of stars like never before, even revealing possible interactions between our solar system and nearby stars. Planetary Science Institute Senior Scientist Nathan ...
For decades, astronomers and policymakers have been working on plans to protect our planet from killer asteroids. But now there's a new realm to protect: the thousands of satellites we're putting in orbit.
Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) scientists are using a solar wind forecasting method combined with analytic and numerical heliosphere models to find out where the first plasma boundary of the outer heliosphere lies as ...
