astrophysics

Nature study finds cosmic structures ten times larger than models predict

A study published in Nature on Wednesday challenges one of the foundational assumptions of modern cosmology, reporting the detection of anisotropic structures in the cosmic web on scales of up to a gigaparsec — roughly 3.26 billion light-years — well…

Plutonium from ancient cosmic explosion found on Pacific Ocean floor

Debris from a cataclysmic cosmic explosion more than 100 million years ago is still falling on Earth today. An international team of researchers has detected hundreds of atoms of plutonium-244 — a radioactive isotope that can only form in the…

Yale team finds third galaxy with no dark matter

A Yale-led team of astronomers has confirmed that a faint dwarf galaxy 67 million light-years from Earth contains no dark matter, making it the third such galaxy found along an unusual linear trail — and offering some of the strongest…

Study reaffirms universe’s expansion is accelerating

The expansion of the universe is still accelerating, according to a new study that rebuts claims made late last year suggesting the cosmos had entered a phase of deceleration. The paper, published on June 11 in the Monthly Notices of…

Two galaxies with almost no dark matter found in Fornax Cluster

A team of astronomers has identified two ghostlike galaxies in the Fornax Cluster that appear to contain almost no dark matter, marking only the second known case of such a twin pair and adding fresh tension to standard models of…

10 scientists win 2026 Kavli Prizes for work on dark matter, twistronics, and neurons

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters on Wednesday named ten scientists as recipients of the 2026 Kavli Prize, honoring breakthroughs in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience. Each prize carries a $1 million award shared among its laureates.

Scientists praise ‘Project Hail Mary’ for getting most of its science right

Two weeks after its theatrical debut, scientists continue to weigh in on "Project Hail Mary," the Ryan Gosling-led adaptation of Andy Weir's best-selling novel, and the consensus is that the film gets most of its science right — with a…