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5 times the James Webb telescope rewrote physics in 2024The James Webb space telescope had several stunning findings this year that changed how we understand the universe.
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Black hole paradox that stumped Stephen Hawking may have a solution, new paper claimsAs black holes slowly vanish through Hawking radiation, their information may be preserved in subtle space-time ripples, a new theory suggests.
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'Impossible' black holes discovered by the James Webb telescope may finally have an explanationPeculiar James Webb Space Telescope observations seem to show gargantuan black holes in the earliest moments of the universe. New research may explain how they formed, thanks to primordial "seeds".
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Could a supernova ever destroy Earth?When stars explode as supernovas, they can cause serious cosmic carnage. Is Earth in any danger from any nearby stars?
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The fastest-moving stars in the galaxy may be piloted by intelligent aliens, new paper suggestsTo explore the galaxy and hunt for resources, intelligent aliens might need to turn their home stars into natural spaceships, a new paper suggests. A few known star systems might fit the bill.
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Does alien life need a planet to survive? Scientists propose intriguing possibilityWhile such organisms may or may not exist in the universe, the research has important implications for future human endeavors in space.
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Black holes from the universe's infancy could reveal invisible matterNew theoretical research suggests primordial black holes could one day help researchers locate invisible dark matter.
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The universe may end in a 'Big Freeze,' holographic model of the universe suggestsNew research suggests holographic dark energy could stop the universe's expansion.
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Mysterious, ultraheavy stars are gobbling up atmospheres like carrion, new study hintsStrange, ultraheavy stars that are rich in barium grow massive by cannibalizing their companions, scientists discover after finally catching these stellar leeches in the act.
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Could we turn the sun into a gigantic telescope?Using a phenomenon known as gravitational lensing, it might be possible to use the sun as a gigantic telescope to peer deep into space.
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Scientists finally know why ultraviolent superstorms flare up on Uranus and Neptune -
A long-lost moon could explain Mars' weird shape and extreme terrainUnlike the other planets in the solar system, Mars is distinctly triaxial, meaning it is an ellipsoid with different sizes along all three axes.
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Astronomers discover oldest known eclipse reference in 6,000-year-old Hindu textA flowery passage in a 6,000-year-old Hindu text may be the earliest known reference to a solar eclipse, describing the sun as being "pierced" with darkness and gloom and proposing that evil beings had caused the sun's "magic arts to vanish."
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Supercharged 'cocoon of energy' may power the brightest supernovas in the universeEvery so often, astronomers detect a supernova explosion that's 100 times brighter than it should be. A new paper may reveal the strange source of these "superluminous" supernovas.
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Some black holes have a 'heartbeat' — and astronomers may finally know whyA tiny fraction of known black holes emit X-ray signals that resemble a human "heartbeat." Now, new research may finally explain the strange phenomenon.
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Is the James Webb Space Telescope really 'breaking' cosmology?While headlines around the world claimed that ancient galaxies discovered by the James Webb Space Telescope were "breaking" our understanding of the Big Bang, the truth is much more nuanced — and much more interesting.
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Dead stars sometimes shine again — and gravity itself may be responsibleDo dead stars glow? A strange gravitational phenomenon could be generating enormous amounts of light around neutron stars, new research suggests.
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'Dark comets' may be a much bigger threat to Earth than we thought, new study warnsA strange class of space rock known as a "dark comet" has qualities of both asteroids and comets — and the hard-to-spot objects may pose a larger threat to Earth than we thought, according to new research.
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7 potential 'alien megastructures' spotted in our galaxy are not what they seemScientists recently identified seven stars in the Milky Way that could potentially be gigantic alien structures called Dyson spheres. New research proposes an alternative explanation: Those are just cosmic "hot DOGs" in disguise.
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Earth's upper atmosphere could hold a missing piece of the universe, new study hintsMysterious dark matter could slosh over our planet like a wave. If it does, it may produce telltale radio waves in Earth's atmosphere, new theoretical research suggests.
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Giant 'rogue waves' of invisible matter might be disrupting the orbits of stars, new study hintsNew research shows how disruptions to binary star systems could be the key to detecting space's most confounding substance — dark matter.
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Cosmic 'superbubbles' might be throwing entire galaxies into chaos, theoretical study hintsWhen there are multiple supernovas in the same galaxy, they can leave enormous voids that tamper with the balance between dark matter and regular matter. Over time, this can throw entire galaxies into chaos.
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What would happen if the moon disappeared tomorrow?The moon controls the tides, impacts marine ecosystems, and subtly influences time on Earth. So what would happen if the moon suddenly disappeared?
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Aliens may be hitching rides on meteors to colonize the cosmos, study suggests. Here's how we could spot them.A fringe theory called "panspermia" suggests that lifeforms can spread to new planets by hitching rides on meteors. New research lays out a roadmap for finding where these hypothetical, planet-hopping aliens may reside.
