Astrophysics

The universe might not be the same all over

The cosmological principle holds that the universe has the same structure and basic properties wherever you go. It’s been a fundamental part of physics since Copernicus, and all available evidence has supported it…until now. The principle tells us that the universe is both homogenous and isotropic. This means that, on large enough scale, all apparent…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 8

Thousands of white dwarf stars could theoretically explode at any moment

The whole point of white dwarfs is that they’re the remains of stars not big enough to go supernova. Or so we thought. Many of these stars are held together by their super-fast spins… and slowing down could mean an explosion. Yes, it’s pretty much the plot of the movie Speed, except with thousands of…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Sep 6

What happens when one black hole eats another black hole?

It’s cannibalism…in space! You’re looking at an image of two recently discovered, absolutely colossal black holes currently battling it out at the heart of a galaxy named NGC3393. Well, “battling” may not be the right word — because one of them is eating the other. The two black holes in question are both believed to…

io9 Robbie Gonzalez Sep 1

Strange alien planet is impossibly black

TrES-2b is a Jupiter-sized planet located about 750 light-years from Earth. It reflects just 1% of the sunlight that reaches it, making it essentially one vast black sphere. In fact, it’s darker than just about any substance found on Earth. We’ve never observed anything remotely like this before. The key concept here is albedo, also…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 11

Earth doesn’t need the Moon

The Moon was long considered an essential stabilizing presence in the development of life on Earth. Without its satellite, the Earth would have tilted too much on its axis, making life impossible. But maybe the Moon wasn’t needed after all. The scientific consensus has held that, without the Moon to stabilize the tilt of Earth’s…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 10

Three Potential New Dwarf Planets Discovered Near Pluto

The Kuiper Belt, the vast asteroid belt of ice and rock that lies beyond Neptune, is home to three objects big enough to be considered dwarf planets: Haumea, Makemake, and our old friend Pluto. And now, we might have found three more. Astronomers used the Warsaw Telescope at Chile’s Las Campanas Observatory to sweep the…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 8

Thin belt of antimatter discovered above Earth

Cosmic rays bring our planet a steady stream of protons, electrons, and other particles. As these collide with nuclei in the upper atmosphere, they create new particles, including antiprotons. And some of this antimatter is sticking around above our world. The process that creates these antiprotons is pretty much exactly the same as how we…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Aug 7

New discovery might explain the origins of water and/or bleach the galaxy’s hair blonde

Near the star Rho Ophiuchi, there are thick cosmic dust clouds from which new suns are born. While the vast majority of particles in the clouds are hydrogen, a newly discovered molecule could explain where water came from. Specifically, astronomers at the European Southern Observatory have found evidence for hydrogen peroxide in those cosmic clouds.…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 10

The universe probably isn’t a giant hologram after all

One of the strangest and most exotic theories to come out of theoretical physics is that the entire universe is a projection of a two-dimensional shell. But the latest evidence suggests the cosmic hologram really is just a crazy theory. While the notion of a holographic universe opens itself up to all sorts of fanciful…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 5

What does dark energy mean for the end of the universe?

Dark energy is perhaps the most mysterious thing in the cosmos, and yet it accounts for 73% of the observable universe. What’s more, the amount of dark energy seems to be increasing…and that could ultimately rip apart the entire universe. For the purposes of this post, we’re going to be treating dark energy in much…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jul 4

Galactic hyperclusters are too big for the universe

Gravity forces galaxies that are relatively close together to form clusters, which in turn form superclusters between vast stretches of cosmic void. But now there’s an even bigger level of organization…and we have no idea how to explain it. In the immediate aftermath of the Big Bang, the universe was basically flat, with only small…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jun 22

The universe’s most powerful electric current is like a trillion bolts of lightning

About two billion light-years from Earth, there’s a huge jet of matter emanating from the core of galaxy 3C303. The jet carries a current of 10^18 amps, making it by far the highest electric current ever seen. Researchers at the University of Toronto made the find as they observed the interaction between the jet and…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins Jun 22

Black holes may have been fundamental building blocks of the early universe

Most astronomers agree that at the center of every galaxy lies a supermassive black hole. But how did these gravitational monsters form? Now it seems that they may have been here since the beginning of time. At least, they’ve been here as long as the galaxies they inhabit, which places them very near the origin…

io9 Annalee Newitz Jun 15

Why doesn’t our solar system have any gas giants close to the sun?

As we learn more about far distant solar systems, it becomes clear just how weird the universe really is. And, more disconcertingly, how unusual our own solar system is. And that starts with our curious lack of so-called “hot Neptunes.” Hot Neptunes- and their even bigger counterparts, known as hot Jupiters – are gas giant…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 29

Is it possible we’ve found the first white hole?

White holes are the opposite of black holes, objects into which nothing can enter but are constantly spewing out matter. They were thought to be completely hypothetical, more a mathematical oddity than a real thing…but we may have seen one. We’ve talked about white holes before in some detail here and here, but the basic…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 25

Feuding white dwarf stars have been destroying each other for millions of years

Over a thousand light-years from Earth, there are two white dwarfs, the ghostly remnants of stars much like our Sun. But these stars aren’t ordinary white dwarfs, and their bizarre composition reveals a long, passive-aggressive history of mutually assured destruction. Most white dwarfs are composed of carbon and oxygen, the result of billions of years…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 24

Why the black hole at the center of our galaxy is spinning faster and faster

Here are three unsettling facts: Every galaxy has a black hole at its center; the black hole is spinning; and the black hole’s spin is speeding up. The dense centers of galaxies usually harbor enough matter, pushed densely enough together, to create black holes. The black holes at the center of galaxies are often gigantic,…

io9 Esther Inglis-Arkell May 24

Deep inside the biggest storm we’ve ever seen on Saturn

Last year, Saturn’s ordinarily serene surface was torn apart by a storm that grew within a month to cover an entire hemisphere with howling winds, enormous “beacons” of infrared light, and even icier cold than usual. Now scientists take us inside that storm for the first time, using satellite images. The storm affected several layers…

io9 Annalee Newitz May 20

Colliding white dwarfs give each other a new lease on life

White dwarfs are the ultra-dense husks of stars like our own, dying remnants that are just a pale shadow of their former glory. But when two white dwarfs come together, they can create something very special: a brand new star. About 90% of all stars eventually become white dwarfs, which have nearly the mass of…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 15

The universe’s very first black holes might be even older than the Big Bang itself

Some black holes may be so ancient that they predate the stars themselves, forming instead in the chaotic first moments after the Big Bang. There might even be some black holes out there from the universe before the Big Bang. This is one of those stories with a ton of “ifs” and some fairly daring…

io9 Alasdair Wilkins May 8

The universe might not be the same all over

Thousands of white dwarf stars could theoretically explode at any moment

What happens when one black hole eats another black hole?

Strange alien planet is impossibly black

Earth doesn’t need the Moon

Three Potential New Dwarf Planets Discovered Near Pluto

Thin belt of antimatter discovered above Earth

New discovery might explain the origins of water and/or bleach the galaxy’s hair blonde

The universe probably isn’t a giant hologram after all

What does dark energy mean for the end of the universe?

Galactic hyperclusters are too big for the universe

The universe’s most powerful electric current is like a trillion bolts of lightning

Black holes may have been fundamental building blocks of the early universe

Why doesn’t our solar system have any gas giants close to the sun?

Is it possible we’ve found the first white hole?

Feuding white dwarf stars have been destroying each other for millions of years

Why the black hole at the center of our galaxy is spinning faster and faster

Deep inside the biggest storm we’ve ever seen on Saturn

Colliding white dwarfs give each other a new lease on life

The universe’s very first black holes might be even older than the Big Bang itself

No Fooling, ‘Spaceballs 2’ Will Hit Theaters April 2027

I Regret to Inform You That the Artemis II Astronauts Are Having Lots of Screen Time

The First ‘Maul: Shadow Lord’ Reactions Are Most Solid

‘Daredevil: Born Again’ Season 3 Is Doing What You Hoped

Wearables Are Getting Very Messy

Trump Wants to Start Privatizing TSA in Latest Budget Proposal

Lost Warship From Battle of Copenhagen Found After 225 Years

These One-of-a-Kind Objects Are in the Wrong Museums

AirPods Max 2 vs. Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen): Which ANC Headphones Win?

The Best Gadgets of March 2026

AirPods Max 2 Review: Still Ridiculously Expensive and Ridiculously Nice

DJI Osmo 360 Review: The Best 360 Camera for the DJI-Pilled

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Let us help find what you are looking for...