Are humans unique and alone in the vast universe? This question—summed up in the famous Drake equation—has for a half-century been one of the most intractable and uncertain in science.
Astronomy
Apr 28, 2016
173
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A team of astronomers at the Space Telescope Science Institute, working with one colleague from the University of St Andrews' Center for Exoplanet Science and another from the European Southern Observatory, has confirmed ...
A new study reports conclusive evidence for the breakdown of standard gravity in the low acceleration limit from a verifiable analysis of the orbital motions of long-period, widely separated, binary stars, usually referred ...
Astronomy
Aug 8, 2023
272
5160
Whenever we talk about the expanding universe, everyone wants to know how this is going to end. Sure, they say, the fact that most of the galaxies we can see are speeding away from us in all directions is really interesting. ...
Astronomy
Jun 7, 2017
3
2286
Understanding Jupiter's early evolution helps illuminate the broader story of how our solar system developed its distinct structure. Jupiter's gravity, often called the "architect" of our solar system, played a critical role ...
Astronomy
May 20, 2025
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Scientists may need to rethink their estimates for how many planets outside our solar system could host a rich diversity of life.
Astronomy
Jun 10, 2019
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Techniques developed to analyze the ripples in spacetime detected by one of the 21st century's most sensitive pieces of scientific equipment have helped cast new light on the function of the oldest known analog computer.
Astronomy
Jun 27, 2024
4
2272
One of the most interesting questions considered by astrophysicists deals with the start of our universe. Indeed, there is a great deal of speculation on the subject, with different theories about how the universe began, ...
In 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), made history when it made the first direct detection of gravitational waves—ripples in space and time—produced by a pair of colliding black holes.
Astronomy
Oct 23, 2023
1
2267
Scientists have discovered one of the smallest black holes on record—and the closest one to Earth found to date.
Astronomy
Apr 21, 2021
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