SCIENCE
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Ask Ethan: Can we solve the mysteries of the largest black holes?
Back in 2004, a supermassive black hole from 10.8 billion years ago was found, weighing in at 66 billion solar…
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Ask Ethan: Could we spot an extinction-level asteroid?
65 million years ago, a massive asteroid struck Earth, causing a mass extinction. Without advance warning, could anyone have spotted…
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How to not overestimate the number of stars in the Universe
With ~400 billion stars in the Milky Way and 6–20 trillion galaxies overall, that makes for a lot of stars.…
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Could nearby relic galaxy NGC 1277 lead to the first stars?
At 240 million light-years away, galaxy NGC 1277 hasn’t formed new stars in over 10 billion years. Could it contain…
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Ask Ethan: What super-galactic structures are we a part of?
We live on Earth, orbiting the Sun, part of our Solar System, within the Milky Way. But what’s our membership…
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Yes, interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS is older than the Solar System
Interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS has an ancient age, but not for the reason most commonly touted. These three lines of evidence…
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Ask Ethan: How do space telescopes stay focused?
With targets from all across the Universe, focusing a space telescope — with so many moving parts — is challenging,…
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Rarest elements reveal planets eaten by white dwarfs
Despite their rarity, boron and beryllium can both be detected within white dwarf atmospheres. What does their presence and abundance……
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Ask Ethan: How are black holes active if nothing escapes from them?
Once you cross over to the inside of an event horizon, you can never come out again. But then, how…
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Move over, giant meteor. Here’s what the largest comet would do to Earth
Oort cloud object Bernardinelli–Bernstein has the largest known cometary nucleus: 119 km wide. An impact with Earth would be catastrophic.…
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