Every so often, a social media post goes viral claiming that a young “astronaut-in-training” named Alyssa Carson is destined for Mars — and that she will never return. The reality, however, is far less sensational. While Alyssa Carson is a committed space advocate and has built an impressive résumé for her age, she is not ...
Imagine waking up to headlines that a skyscraper-sized asteroid once thought to be on a collision course with Earth is now racing past us at breakneck speed. That’s the case with asteroid 2025 FA22, a massive space rock that had astronomers buzzing earlier this year when calculations suggested it could smash into our planet in ...
A new visitor from beyond our solar system is hurtling towards us. Larger and older than ‘Oumuamua, it’s unlike anything we’ve… What 3I/ATLAS Is and Why Astronomers Are Excited Only two interstellar visitors have ever been confirmed, and now a third candidate, 3I/ATLAS, has jumped onto the scene with the kind of drama that makes ...
For decades, astronomers have speculated about the upper limits of black hole size. Now, a new discovery has brought us closer to that theoretical ceiling. Deep within the galaxy SDSS J1148+1930, also known as the Cosmic Horseshoe, researchers have confirmed the presence of an ultramassive black hole weighing in at 36.3 billion solar masses—nearly brushing ...
Imagine stepping aboard a colossal spacecraft stretching nearly forty miles through the darkness of space, knowing that your great-great-grandchildren might be the first to see its destination. This isn’t the plot of the latest sci-fi blockbuster – it’s the winning design from an international competition that’s making scientists and dreamers alike wonder if humanity’s next ...
Asteroid 2024 YR4, which used to be thought to be on a collision course with Earth and could “kill a city,” has changed course and is now 4.3% likely to hit the Moon in December 2032 instead of hurting our planet. If it hits, it could send a lot of lunar debris flying, some of ...
Astronomers have been narrating a dramatic tale about the fate of our galaxy for more than a century: the Milky Way is relentlessly on collision with Andromeda, its enormous neighbor. Once judged unavoidable within 4–5 billion years, the cosmic smash-up would destroy spiral galaxies and create a new, shapeless elliptical galaxy known as “Milkomeda.” But ...
