The Sun’s twin star may have tilted the planets’ orbits
A scientist simulated the early solar system to determine how interactions between the Sun and other stars affected its planetary orbits.
Author: Ben Pauley
How many asteroids can we detect before they hit Earth?
Scientists simulated a telescope with the same specifications as the new Vera Rubin Observatory. They predicted it could detect 1 to 2…
Is Earth’s water why intelligent life evolved here?
A Columbia University scientist argued that the existence of humans provides strong evidence that intelligent life is more likely to evolve…
Characterizing galaxies at “cosmic noon”
Astronomers studied 3 galaxies that formed 2 to 3 billion years after the Big Bang to calculate how much gas, stars, and dark matter they…
Searching for planets in a galaxy far away
Researchers surveyed over 20,000 stars thought to come from a nearby galaxy and found that no more than 1% harbored close-orbiting,…
What makes ‘chemically peculiar stars’ peculiar?
Scientists used a network of satellites to measure the rotational characteristics of 85 stars previously thought to have unique chemistries.
A halo of dark matter surrounding our Galaxy
Researchers studied the motions of stars in the outer regions of the Milky Way Galaxy and found that the gravitational field of a long,…
What lies between the stars?
Astronomers simulated the clouds of material between stars. They found that regions of space with more heavy elements tend to be cooler and…
Has Earth received any radio signals from aliens?
Scientists affiliated with the SETI@home project analyzed 14 years of radio wave data collected by the Arecibo Telescope and identified 92…
“Radical mundanity” could explain why we haven’t met aliens
In response to the question, “Where are all the aliens?”, one astronomer argued that, if they are similar to humans, they may have faced…