Astronomy

98 articles with this tag

How Comets Break Apart—and What Scientists Learn Science

How Comets Break Apart—and What Scientists Learn

Comets are fragile relics of the early solar system. When they fragment, scientists gain rare access to pristine material billions of years old, revea...

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How Scientists Read Exoplanet Atmospheres From Light Science

How Scientists Read Exoplanet Atmospheres From Light

Transit spectroscopy lets astronomers decode the chemical makeup of distant worlds by analyzing starlight filtered through their atmospheres — a techn...

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What Are Nucleobases and How Do They Form in Space? Science

What Are Nucleobases and How Do They Form in Space?

Nucleobases are the five molecular 'letters' that encode all life on Earth. Scientists have now found all five in pristine asteroid samples, reshaping...

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What Are Magma Ocean Planets and Why They Matter Science

What Are Magma Ocean Planets and Why They Matter

Magma ocean planets are rocky worlds covered in vast seas of molten rock. Once a phase every rocky planet passed through, these extreme worlds are now...

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What Are the Magellanic Clouds and Why They Matter Science

What Are the Magellanic Clouds and Why They Matter

The Magellanic Clouds are two dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way that serve as vital laboratories for astronomy, dark matter research, and understa...

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What Is Dark Energy and Why Is Space Speeding Up? Science

What Is Dark Energy and Why Is Space Speeding Up?

Dark energy makes up roughly 68% of the universe and drives its accelerating expansion, yet scientists still don't know what it is. Here's how it was...

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How Solar Wind Stripped Mars of Its Atmosphere Science

How Solar Wind Stripped Mars of Its Atmosphere

Billions of years ago, Mars had rivers, lakes, and a thick atmosphere. Today it is a frozen desert. The culprit is the solar wind—and the loss of the...

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Jupiter's Europa: Why Scientists Think It May Host Life Science

Jupiter's Europa: Why Scientists Think It May Host Life

Beneath Europa's frozen crust lies a vast saltwater ocean that contains carbon compounds, tidal heat, and the chemical ingredients for life—making Jup...

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What Is the Migdal Effect and Why It Matters Science

What Is the Migdal Effect and Why It Matters

The Migdal effect is a quantum phenomenon predicted in 1939 that could unlock the detection of light dark matter — and scientists have only just confi...

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What Is Lonsdaleite—the Diamond Harder Than Diamond? Science

What Is Lonsdaleite—the Diamond Harder Than Diamond?

Lonsdaleite, or hexagonal diamond, is a rare carbon allotrope born from meteorite impacts. Scientists have now synthesized it in the lab, confirming i...

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What Are Mars Boxwork Formations and Why They Matter Science

What Are Mars Boxwork Formations and Why They Matter

NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring eerie spider-web-like rock structures on Mars called boxwork formations. Here's what they are, how they form...

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What Are Fast Radio Bursts and How Do They Work? Science

What Are Fast Radio Bursts and How Do They Work?

Fast radio bursts are millisecond-long flashes of radio energy so powerful they outshine entire galaxies—yet their exact cause remained a mystery for...

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