According to a new study, our Milky Way galaxy may have already begun colliding with the closest giant galaxy, Andromeda. Published in Nature Astronomy, the study reveals that there may be a shroud of gas around every galaxy that stretches up to a million light years. If that’s the ...

Where did the water on Earth come from? About 71% of Earth's surface area is oceans, which contain 97% of Earth’s water. Human bodies are 55-60% water. Its origin is a missing link in scientists' understanding of our planet's history and life upon it. A new paper published earlier this ...

  Look at any image of Jupiter and one feature is hard to ignore—its “Great Red Spot,” a massive storm raging close to its equator. It’s so iconic that it’s unusual to see an image of Jupiter without it, despite the fact that Jupiter rotates once in just under 10 hours. That spot, ...

The melting of Earth’s ice caps in Greenland and Antarctica is causing the oceans to swell near the equator, altering the speed at which Earth rotates. According to a new paper published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, climate change is causing Earth to spin more ...

"Interplanetary shocks" that hit Earth's magnetic field head-on are what scientists need to forecast to protect any infrastructure that conducts electricity, according to a new study published today in Frontiers in Astronomy and Space Sciences. The appearance of magnificent displays of ...

Scientists have found evidence for the so-called Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis that a comet exploded in Earth’s atmosphere 12,800 years ago, causing temperatures on Earth to dip. A paper published in the journal Airbursts and Cratering reveals hints of an ancient cosmic airburst in three ...

NASA’s Juno mission captured these views of Jupiter during its 59th close flyby of the giant planet ... on March 7, 2024. They provide a good look at Jupiter’s colorful belts and swirling storms, including the Great Red Spot. Close examination reveals something more: two glimpses of the tiny ...

The strongest solar flare since 2017 exploded on the sun late on Friday as a massive display of aurora took place on Earth. This latest solar flare came from a sunspot region called 3664, activity from which produced incredible displays of aurora across the world on Friday through ...

This high-res processed image of the April 8 eclipse shows the Sun’s corona, its outermost ... atmosphere, in artificial colors that indicate the polarization or orientation of the light. Citizen scientists in Dallas collected these data through the SwRI-led Citizen Continental-America ...

The Eta Aquariids, slated to be one of the best meteor showers during 2024, have begun. The Eta Aquariid meteor shower runs from April 15 through May 27, peaking on the night of May 4-5. The absolute maximum number of “shooting stars” per hour is 50, according to the American Meteor Society, ...

Solar eclipse glasses are so important, but on April 8, some people in the path of totality will wear them when they absolutely should not—and lose a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see one of nature’s most beautiful sights. Let’s be clear: eclipse glasses are an essential tool for ...

The second diamond ring during the total eclipse of the Sun, November 14, 2012, from a site near ... Lakeland Downs, Queensland, Australia. Shot through the Astro-Physics 105mm Traveler f/5.8 refractor scope, tracked on the AP 400 mount, and with the Canon 60Da. 1/400th sec at ISO 100. ...