astrophysics

A simulation of the formation of dark matter structures from the early universe until today.

Science

The invisible substance that structures our universe

6:45am July 09, 2024

The universe is so much bigger than what people can see. Visible matter — the ground, the Sun, the screen you're reading this on — makes up only about 4 or 5 percent of our known universe. Dark matter makes up much more of the universe. It's all around us even though we can't see it. So what is it? What's it made out of? How do we even know it exists? Host Emily Kwong and Rebecca Ramirez try to find out with the help of astrophysicist Priyamvada Natarajan.

This episode is part of our series Space Camp, all about the weird and mysterious depths of our universe. Check out the full series: https://www.npr.org/spacecamp.

Our team would love to hear your episode ideas. Email us at shortwave@npr.org.

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An illustration of our solar system, with the sun surrounded by planets. Clouds of space dust curl around the solar system, dotted by various glowing star siblings.

Science

COMIC: Our sun was born with thousands of other stars. Where did they all go?

12:25pm April 18, 2024

Our sun was born in a cosmic cradle with thousands of other stars. Astrophysicists say they want to find these siblings in order to help answer the question: Are we alone out there?

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The IceCube Lab under a starry, night sky, with the Milky Way appearing over low auroras in the background.

Science

Our own Milky Way is sending out neutrinos, the so-called 'ghost particles'

2:28pm June 29, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have detected these strange particles from outer space before, but this is the first time they've caught cosmic neutrinos from our own Milky Way

This artist's impression shows a pair of supermassive black holes circling each other and sending out gravitational waves, which affect the bright, shining pulsars.

Science

Scientists have found signs of a new kind of gravitational wave. It's really big

8:00pm June 28, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists say they've found evidence of a very long gravitational wave that could open a window onto supermassive black holes — and perhaps even other extreme, unseen objects in the universe.

Researchers used computer simulations of black holes and machine learning to generate a revised version (right) of the famous first image of a black hole that was released back in 2019 (left).

Science

Goodbye fuzzy donut: The famous first black hole photo gets sharpened up

8:07am April 13, 2023

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Scientists have created a new version of a historic black hole image that was first unveiled back in 2019. The central black nothingness now looks larger and darker.

This image of a star was taken as part of the evaluation process as the James Webb Space Telescope's mirror segments were carefully aligned.

Science

The James Webb Space Telescope is working as well as astronomers dreamed it would

7:44pm March 16, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Picture perfect: Mission managers say the telescope's mirror segments have been aligned and have focused on single stars, a critical milestone, and the telescope is working flawlessly.

The James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror is made up of 18 hexagonal segments. Now that the telescope is in space, mission managers need to perfectly align them so the segments work as one giant mirror.

Science

The first images from NASA's new space telescope show how it's coming into focus

3:03pm February 11, 2022

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The James Webb Space Telescope has seen its first starlight, but its 18 mirror segments aren't yet perfectly aligned. As a result, the pictures it's sending back now aren't exactly cosmic eye candy.

Technicians work on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, which will launch in December. Astronomers say the next big telescope should be designed to search signs of life on planets that orbit distant stars.

Science

Astronomers want NASA to build a giant space telescope to peer at alien Earths

11:53am November 04, 2021

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

NASA should work toward a new space telescope that could view small planets around distant stars with the potential to host life, expert panel says

The northern lights (aurora borealis) illuminate the sky over Reinfjorden in Reine, on Lofoten Islands in the Arctic Circle in 2017.

Science

What Causes The Northern Lights? Scientists Finally Know For Sure

9:57am June 10, 2021

by Joe Hernandez

An article suggests the natural light show starts when disturbances on the sun pull on Earth's magnetic field, creating cosmic waves that launch electrons into the atmosphere to form the aurora.

A new analysis of what were initially thought to be microbial fossils in Greenland suggests they might instead just be mineral structures created when ancient tectonic forces squeezed stone. While most of the structures point in one direction, the red arr

Science

Geologists Question 'Evidence Of Ancient Life' in 3.7 Billion-Year-Old Rocks

4:29pm October 17, 2018

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A new analysis of what were initially thought to be microbial fossils in Greenland suggests they might instead just be mineral structures created when ancient tectonic forces squeezed stone.

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