NASA scientists ‘weigh’ a white dwarf for the first time using a space-time trick predicted by Einstein
Astronomers have finally weighed an isolated white dwarf, or the shriveled husk of a dead star, using a strange phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s theory of relativity decades…
Bright green laser lines shoot across night sky in Hawaii. What caused them?
A time-lapse image of the green laser pulses flashing across the night sky. (Image credit: National Observatory of Japan) (opens in new tab) A camera attached to…
‘1-in-10-billion’ star system is doomed to explode in a fiery kilonova
For the first time, scientists have discovered a double-star system that is doomed to explode in a fiery “kilonova,” a precious-metal-creating blast caused by the merger of…
Hidden tide in Earth’s magnetospheric ‘plasma ocean’ revealed in new study
An illustration comparing the moon’s impact on ocean tides (blue) with its impact on plasmasphere tides (orange). (Image credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences) (opens in new tab)…
8 possible alien ‘technosignatures’ detected around distant stars in new AI study
Using a new machine-learning algorithm, scientists have picked up eight extraterrestrial signals that seem to bear the hallmarks of technology. The research, published Jan. 30 in the…
Massive, volcano-like eruption may explain dead star’s mysterious slowdown
The fast-rotating husk of a dead star mysteriously slowed down, and astronomers think it’s because of an “anti-glitch” that caused a gigantic volcano-like explosion from its surface….
Elusive Planet Nine could be surrounded by hot moons, and that’s how we’d find it
An artist’s interpretation of what Planet Nine might look like. (Image credit: Shutterstock) The elusive “Planet Nine,” which may or may not lurk in the outer reaches…
Why are we seeing so many UFOs over America all of a sudden?
In the span of two weeks in February 2023, U.S. military pilots shot down four mysterious objects spotted over the United States and Canada. The military identified the first…
US shoots down UFOs over Lake Huron and Canada
An unidentified flying object (UFO) was shot down over Lake Huron in Michigan on Sunday (Feb. 12) — the fourth such object detected over the U.S. in…
What stops nuclear weapons from accidentally detonating?
Missile systems stand at the ready. (Image credit: Anton Petrus via Getty Images) Nuclear weapons can kill millions of people, wipe out entire cities and render soil in…