Carolyn Collins Petersen
Uranus Has Infrared Auroras, Too
Just in time for Hallowe'en, astronomers confirmed the existence of spooky-looking infrared auroras on Uranus. Their existence reveals something about…
Environmental Concerns Could Drive Asteroid Mining
Asteroid mining is one of those topics that sounds like it's straight out of science fiction. But, in recent years,…
The Largest Simulation of the Universe Ever Made
It's about time to retire the old astronomy joke: "Define the Universe and give three examples." That's because recent simulations…
What’s Inside the Carina Pillars? Massive Protostars and Newly-Forming Planets!
Star-forming nebulae are busy places. Unfortunately, clouds of gas and dust usually hide the action. To cut through the dust…
An Unusual Crater on Pluto Might be a Supervolcano
Pluto with a super-cryovolcano? Why not! All the elements are there, just not in the way we normally think of…
NASA Mission Had the Perfect View for the Recent Solar Eclipse
Eclipse-gazers across the United States got a chance last weekend to watch as the Moon aligned with the Sun to…
Protostars Can Siphon Material from Far Away
When stars are born, they do it inside a molecular cloud. Astronomers long assumed that the "crèche" supplied all the…
This is What it Would Be Like to Fly Across Mars
Many of us have dreamed about flying over the surface of Mars—someday. The planet offers so many cool places to…
A Simulation Predicts Where Astronomers Should Look to Find Intermediate-mass Black Holes
The universe is swimming in black holes, from stellar mass to supermassive behemoths. But, there's one class that remains elusive:…
Parker Makes its Closest and Fastest Solar Flyby
The Parker Solar Probe is the little engine that just keeps going and going by the Sun. On September 27th,…