1+ day, 21+ hour ago   (699+ words) Scientists have discovered that Mercury’s surface contains far less silicon dioxide than previously thought, pointing to an unexpectedly hot volcanic past. The finding suggests ancient lava may have originated from deeper, more extensively melted parts of the planet’s mantle....

5+ day, 10+ hour ago   (365+ words) Physicists have directly observed a long-predicted quantum effect of gravity, putting one of Einstein’s foundational ideas to a striking new test. Using ultracold atoms, researchers split an atom’s quantum wave so that one part was held in place while the…...

1+ week, 6+ day ago   (252+ words) Rocky planets may have been able to start forming just 100 million years after the Big Bang, thanks to enormous early supernovae that scattered planet-building elements across space. Simulations found enough solid material and water around a young star to suggest…...

2+ week, 19+ hour ago   (294+ words) Quantum mechanics and Einstein’s theory of gravity explain almost everything we see in nature, yet physicists still do not know how to unite them. A new theoretical framework suggests that some experiments that appear to show gravity behaving quantum mechanically…...

3+ week, 9+ hour ago   (840+ words) What was the Universe like before stars, planets, atoms, and the other familiar forms of matter existed? At CERN in Switzerland, physicists are trying to answer that question by reproducing some of the extreme conditions that existed in the Universe…...

3+ week, 18+ hour ago   (764+ words) Astronomers have found stars that repeatedly skim past supermassive black holes, surviving each encounter while producing a new burst of light. In some systems, those flares mysteriously fade with every return. Researchers now think the key may be stars that…...

3+ week, 5+ day ago   (689+ words) Gravity was the natural place to start. On average, the universe is electrically neutral, which means electromagnetism does not dominate its large-scale behavior. Einstein also knew nothing about the strong and weak nuclear forces (to be fair, nobody did), but those…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago   (634+ words) Astronomers may finally have a clue to what happens to the mysterious “little red dots” that crowded the early universe. By studying a spiral galaxy nicknamed the “Saguaro,” researchers found a compact, bright red center that closely resembles these distant…...

4+ week, 19+ hour ago   (674+ words) A massive star has been torn apart and gradually consumed by a black hole in a spectacular event that scientists compared to "preparing a snack for lunch." Astronomers around the world observed the extreme encounter, and the event was presented…...