Universe Today

16 hours ago | universetoday.com | Evan Gough

The discovery of a Saturn-sized gas giant orbiting a small red dwarf is urging astronomers to reconsider their theories of planet formation. Typically, astronomers find larger planets around larger stars, but this discovery breaks that connection. The finding puts pressure on the core-accretion theory, the leading explanation for planet formation. Core accretion theory is the most widely accepted explanation for planetary formation.

18 hours ago | universetoday.com | Matt Williams

It's official. NASA's Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request (FY 2026) has been released, and the news is decidedly mixed. In a previous article, we examined the FY 2026 Budget Request (released on May 2nd) and its recommendations for the coming year. With the release of the FY 2026 Budget, what was previewed and the anxiety it caused for many have been confirmed.

19 hours ago | universetoday.com | Evan Gough

Astronomers have found another super-Earth. It's about 10 times more massive than Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star 2475 light-years away. These massive Earth-like planets hold key information about how planets form and evolve. The planet is named Kepler-725c, and despite being 10 times more massive than Earth, it's still considered a low-mass exoplanet.

2 days ago | universetoday.com | Evan Gough

The idea that the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) will collide emerged after decades of observations by a host of astronomers. The Hubble played a decisive role in the determination during the early 2000s. It was a triumph of precision astronomy and space telescopes. Now, the Hubble has played an equally important role in cancelling the collision. A galaxy collision is a colossal event. The MW and M31 contain as many as 1.5 trillion stars combined.

2 days ago | universetoday.com | Paul Sutter

On the surface (you’re welcome for the joke), Venus is not even close to being hospitable to life. But that's not the end of the story. This planet has by far the hottest surface temperatures in the solar system, beating out even Mercury, even though Venus is twice as far away from the Sun. That’s because of a runaway greenhouse effect which unfolded…eh, we’re not exactly sure, but somewhere between a few hundred million and a few billion years ago – there’s a debate here.