Carolyn Collins Petersen
Astronomers Find a Group of Water-rich Asteroids
If you've ever been at sea or visited a seacoast, you probably looked out at the vast expanse of ocean…
Some Elements Arrived on Earth by Surfing Supernova Shock Waves
When stars die, they spread the elements they've created in their cores out to space. But, other objects and processes…
This is Your Brain on Spaceflight
When you go to space, it's going to change your brain. Count on it. That's because space travelers enter microgravity,…
The Event Horizon Telescope Gazes into the Heart of a Distant Quasar
Oftentimes in astronomy, it takes a village of telescopes and people to make an amazing find. In the case of…
Scientists are Simulating Europa in the Lab, Learning What They Can Before Clipper Arrives in 2030
What's the best way to learn about Europa before we actually land a mission there? A team of scientists at…
Seeing a Mirror Image of the Milky Way From Billions of Years Ago
Ever wonder what our Milky Way Galaxy looked like in its early history? Astronomers using the Webb Telescope (JWST) found…
Astronomers Make a New Map of all the Matter (and Dark Matter) in the Universe
There's a lot of matter in the Universe, but not all of it is visible to us. Matter is, essentially,…
Face-on View of Galaxy NGC 4303 Reveals its Arms are Filled with Active Star Formation
Galaxies fill a lot of roles in the universe. The most obvious one is star formation factories. Without that activity,…
Soon We’ll Detect Extreme Objects Producing Gravitational Waves Continuously
The cosmic zoo contains objects so bizarre and extreme that they generate gravitational waves. Scorpius X-1 is part of that…
Newly Found Stars are Technically in the Milky Way, but They’re Halfway to Andromeda
We all know our galaxy, the Milky Way, is big. Really big. But, exactly how far out does it extend?…