New Estimate Suggests Only 36 Active Extraterrestrial Civilizations May Exist in Our Galaxy TL;DR New research suggests there could be as few as 36 active extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy. Based on the idea that intelligent life evolves over 5 billion years, scientists from the University of Nottingham estimate that the nearest alien…

All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike – and yet it is the most precious thing we have. – Albert Einstein (1879-1955) TL;DR Astronomers have observed light bending around a black hole, a phenomenon predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. By studying X-rays from a black hole in the Zwicky 1…

Earth Officially Captures Second Moon, Transforming Asteroid 2024 PT5 into a Temporary Mini-Moon TL;DR Earth has officially captured a new temporary moon, the small asteroid 2024 PT5, on September 29, 2024. This intriguing mini-moon will orbit our planet for a limited time before escaping back into space, highlighting the dynamic nature of our solar system….

Discover How Saturn’s Rings Are Vanishing Rapidly, Potentially Leaving the Planet Ringless in Just 100 Million Years TL;DR NASA’s latest research shows that Saturn’s iconic rings are losing material at an alarming rate, filling an Olympic-sized swimming pool with water products every half hour. This “ring rain” is driven by Saturn’s gravity, which pulls icy…

Accidentally Discovered Giant Arc of Galaxies Spans 3.3 Billion Light-Years, Shaking Cosmological Beliefs TL;DR The Giant Arc, a newly identified crescent of galaxies spanning 3.3 billion light-years, is one of the largest known cosmic structures. Discovered by analyzing light from 120,000 quasars, this vast arc challenges the cosmological principle, which asserts that matter is uniformly…

In the cosmos, 16,000 mph is very very close to 0. Key Takeaways A Japanese radio astronomy project revealed Earth is 2,000 light years closer to the supermassive black hole at the Milky Way’s center. The data also showed the planet is moving 7 km/s or 16,000 mph faster in orbit around the Galactic Center….

Despite challenges, Maggie Aderin-Pocock’s passion for space science propelled her to the heights of astronomy. TL;DR Maggie Aderin-Pocock grew up in a challenging environment, but her love for space science never wavered. Dyslexic and from government housing, she defied the odds to become one of the UK’s most recognized space scientists, contributing to the James…

Exciting new findings reveal a tightly packed triple star system that could transform our understanding of stellar evolution. TL;DR This discovery highlights the stability of the TIC 290061484 star system, which stays aligned due to nearly identical orbital planes. The twin stars at its center are set to merge, potentially resulting in a supernova explosion…

Even light-speed signals can’t reach galaxies beyond 18 billion light-years due to space expanding too fast. TL;DR In an expanding Universe, galaxies beyond 18 billion light-years are unreachable, even if we send a light-speed signal today. The expansion of space, not objects themselves, causes these galaxies to appear as though they’re moving faster than light….

By measuring stars’ distance, scientists get closer to revealing the true shape of the Milky Way’s far side. TL;DR Using a precise parallax method, scientists measured the distance to a star-forming region 66,000 light-years away on the far side of the Milky Way. This discovery, using the Very Long Baseline Array, confirmed the existence of…