Scientists find evidence the early solar system harbored a gap between its inner and outer regions
The cosmic boundary, perhaps caused by a young Jupiter or an emerging wind, likely shaped the composition of infant planets.
Professor Emeritus Ronald Probstein, world-renowned expert in fluid mechanics, dies at 93
Probstein’s research had diverse applications in fields including aeronautics, energy, desalination, and soil decontamination.
Astronomers nail down the origins of rare loner dwarf galaxies
The results provide a blueprint for finding such systems in the universe’s quieter, emptier regions.
TESS Science Conference II draws nearly 700 virtual attendees
Not just an exoplanet-finder anymore, TESS yields diverse astrophysics results at second science conference.
Physicists observationally confirm Hawking’s black hole theorem for the first time
Study offers evidence, based on gravitational waves, to show that the total area of a black hole’s event horizon can never decrease.
LIGO and Virgo detect rare mergers of black holes with neutron stars for the first time
In a 3Q, Salvatore Vitale describes how gravitational-wave signals suggest black holes completely devoured their companion neutron stars.
CHIME telescope detects more than 500 mysterious fast radio bursts in its first year of operation
Observations quadruple the number of known radio bursts and reveal two types: one-offs and repeaters.
Supermassive black holes devour gas just like their petite counterparts
Regardless of size, all black holes experience similar accretion cycles, a new study finds.
Fast-spinning black holes narrow the search for dark matter particles
Certain ultralight bosons would be expected to put the brakes on black holes, but new results show no such slowdown.
Astronomers image magnetic fields at the edge of M87’s black hole
New image of M87 reveals how it looks in polarized light.
Pondering the unknowable
Alan Lightman’s new book explores the riddles of origins, infinities, and other bafflements brought to us by modern science.
Research updates from TESS: Hunting for worlds beyond our solar system
MIT scientists present exoplanet data at the 237th American Astronomical Society meeting.
Astronomers detect extended dark matter halo around ancient dwarf galaxy
Findings suggest the first galaxies in the universe were more massive than previously thought.
TESS discovers four exoplanets orbiting a nearby sun-like star
MIT-led NASA mission finds a multi-planetary system that could be an “ideal laboratory” to study planetary formation and evolution.
Search for axions from nearby star Betelgeuse comes up empty
Results significantly narrow the range of possible places to find the hypothetical dark matter particles.