Scientists have discovered that a potentially habitable planet is being stripped of its atmosphere, a process that could ultimately make the world, Trappist-1e, inhospitable to life. The stripping appears to be caused by electrical currents created as the planet races around its red dwarf host star. It is an important discovery because the Trappist-1 system, … Read more
On August 21, 2017, a total solar eclipse moved from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean, casting a narrow corridor through 14 U.S. states under the moon’s shadow in the first coast-to-coast totality in 99 years. On that day, Oregon’s shadow moved across the U.S. toward South Carolina, moving roughly northwest to southeast. It’s … Read more
Spring, summer, autumn and winter – the seasons on Earth change every few months, around the same time every year. It’s easy to take this cycle for granted here on Earth, but not every planet has a regular seasonal change. So why does Earth have regular seasons while other planets do not? I am an … Read more
It’s a cosmic jungle for stars that venture too close to black holes. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has found 18 new examples of black holes tearing stars apart and feasting on their remains. This result more than doubles the number of horrific, star-crushing Tidal Disruption Events (TDEs) observed in the local … Read more
Spring, summer, autumn and winter – the seasons on Earth change every few months, around the same time every year. It’s easy to take this cycle for granted here on Earth, but not every planet has a regular seasonal change. So why does Earth have regular seasons while other planets do not? I am an … Read more
ratpack223/Getty Images At the equator, the Earth rotates at a speed of about 1,600 kilometers per hour. But what if it suddenly stopped? You and everything else could be flying at hundreds of miles per hour unless you are at the poles. The Earth’s rotation is actually slowing down at an estimated rate of 2.3 … Read more
The night sky of 2023 yielded many astonishing sights, from bright, fiery comets to extraordinary aurorae, unexpected meteor impacts on the moon, newly discovered supernovae – and even an astronaut’s lost tool bag floating through space. Here are some of Space.com’s most memorable skywatching attractions from this year. New year, new comet A long exposure … Read more
Astronomers have discovered not one but two planetary systems with sun-like stars at their hearts. Both systems contain mini-Neptune planets and one is home to a huge “super-Jupiter” world, all of which are many times more massive than Earth. Studying these realms could lead to a better understanding of how planets form and evolve around … Read more
Scientists are building a digital model of space around Earth that goes beyond the state of the art to improve the prediction of solar storms and their effects on infrastructure. Nearly seventy years after the beginning of the Space Age, scientists’ insights are… space again is still very rude. Unlike Earth’s weather, which is now … Read more