Improving a 1960s Plan to Explore the Giant Planets
In the 1960s, NASA engineers developed a series of small lifting-body aircraft that could be dropped into the atmosphere of…
Finally, an Explanation for the “String of Pearls” in Supernova 1987A
Not long after the explosion of Supernova 1987a, astronomers were abuzz with predictions about how it might look in a…
NASA is Working on Zero-Boil Off Tanks for Space Exploration
No matter what mode of transportation you take for a long trip, at some point, you'll have to refuel. For…
Webb Reveals Secrets of Neptune’s Evolution
A twinset of icy asteroids called Mors-Somnus is giving planetary scientists some clues about the origin and evolution of objects…
Little Red Dots in Webb Photos Turned Out to Be Quasars
In its first year of operation, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) made some profound discoveries. These included providing the…
The Maximum Mass of a Neutron Star is 2.25 Solar Masses
When stars grow old and die, their mass determines their ultimate fate. Many supermassive stars have futures as neutron stars.…
Could Earth Life Survive on a Red Dwarf Planet?
Even though exoplanet science has advanced significantly in the last decade or two, we're still in an unfortunate situation. Scientists…
Webb Continues to Confirm That Universe is Behaving Strangely
Over a century ago, astronomers Edwin Hubble and Georges Lemaitre independently discovered that the Universe was expanding. Since then, scientists…
NASA is Fixing its Link to Voyager 1
Voyagers 1 and 2 were, to put it simply, incredible. They were true explorers and unveiled many mysteries of the…
The Cosmic Neutrino Background Would Tell Us Plenty About the Universe
Readers of Universe Today are probably already familiar with the concept of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB). Its serendipitous discovery…