Stars that devour their planets get brighter and faster
18 January 2018
When the sun expands and engulfs Earth, our planet's ashes will brighten the sun and spin it faster. We might be able to watch this happen across the universe
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Premium
We may be able to see mountains and valleys on distant worlds
12 January 2018
If alien planets have canyons and mountains like ours, we may be able to catch a glimpse of them in an exoplanet’s shadow as it passes in front of its star
The universe may be full of ex-moons flung from their home worlds
26 December 2017
Moons in other stellar systems may be hurled away from their planets up to 90 per cent of the time, leaving up to 100 former moons per star in the Milky Way
Exclusive: NASA has begun plans for a 2069 interstellar mission
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NASA is sketching out plans to send a probe to visit Alpha Centauri, our nearest star system, along with a massive telescope to watch its journey from home
Jupiter’s icy moon Europa has a hidden ‘conveyer belt’ of heat
4 December 2017
Frigid Europa may be warmed by a layer under its crust that moves heat and ice to and from its poles – and alien microbes could be hitching a ride
Secure your secret messages with printable invisible ink
31 October 2017
It may seem like a party trick, but invisible ink you can print could actually be useful in sending secret messages that are revealed by a special salt mixture
We may have found 20 habitable worlds hiding in plain sight
30 October 2017
After taking another look at data from the Kepler space telescope’s original mission we have spotted 20 possible Earth-like worlds that could host life
Boiling water on Mars could make the planet's sand levitate
26 October 2017
In Martian summer, the combination of warm temperatures and a thin atmosphere make any liquid water on the surface boil, which can let dust hover across the ground
Volcanoes that spew stretchy ice could make dwarf planets bright
20 October 2017
Something strange is happening on dwarf planets Eris and Makemake. They’re tiny and cold, but they still show surprising signs of geologic activity, like real planets
Hot ice could have seeded life on Earth
19 July 2017
Ice created by lasers mimics that found in the deepest layers of Neptune and Uranus. When combined with salts, this type of ice could have made Earth's primordial soup
