https://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/astrophysics/RSS feed for AstrophysicsenThu, 12 Nov 2026 17:00:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-found-a-mysterious-object-orbiting-far-beyond-pluto-it-could-be-a-new-dwarf-planet-hidden-in-our-solar-system-180989857/The dwarf planet candidate, called ED138, appeared in telescope images and takes roughly 280 years to orbit the sun. Astronomers need to determine its size to properly classify itThu, 12 Nov 2026 17:00:02 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-found-a-mysterious-object-orbiting-far-beyond-pluto-it-could-be-a-new-dwarf-planet-hidden-in-our-solar-system-180989857/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-seeded-life-on-earth-new-research-challenges-the-longstanding-theory-that-comets-brought-the-ingredients-to-our-planet-180989852/Computer simulations suggest comets carrying a key precursor to many of life's building blocks would have rarely—if ever—successfully reached Earth's surface. And even if they did, only specific landing conditions would have allowed the precursor molecule to drive biologically relevant reactionsThu, 12 Nov 2026 16:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/what-seeded-life-on-earth-new-research-challenges-the-longstanding-theory-that-comets-brought-the-ingredients-to-our-planet-180989852/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/voyager-1-is-the-farthest-human-made-object-in-the-universe-and-the-spacecraft-is-about-to-reach-one-light-day-from-earth-180989845/The probe and its twin, Voyager 2, have been hurtling through space for almost 50 years, stretching humanity's reach into interstellar space. The upcoming milestone is a testament to scientific endeavor and ingenuityTue, 10 Nov 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/voyager-1-is-the-farthest-human-made-object-in-the-universe-and-the-spacecraft-is-about-to-reach-one-light-day-from-earth-180989845/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-a-stunning-simulation-of-the-early-universe-which-will-help-astronomers-shed-light-on-the-cosmic-dark-ages-180989791/The model, created by researchers at the Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, and other institutions, captures how the first stars and black holes gradually illuminated the universe after millions of years of darknessTue, 03 Nov 2026 19:08:47 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/see-a-stunning-simulation-of-the-early-universe-which-will-help-astronomers-shed-light-on-the-cosmic-dark-ages-180989791/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-observing-the-sky-for-22-years-a-beloved-nasa-space-telescope-is-expected-to-meet-a-fiery-death-this-week-180989796/The Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory launched in 2004 and detected thousands of astrophysical phenomena, leading to some huge discoveries. Earlier this year, experts attempted a first-of-its-kind rescue mission to save the falling telescope, but it failedTue, 03 Nov 2026 15:46:18 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/after-observing-the-sky-for-22-years-a-beloved-nasa-space-telescope-is-expected-to-meet-a-fiery-death-this-week-180989796/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-nasas-plan-for-artemis-3-spacex-and-blue-origin-will-compete-to-have-their-landers-take-humans-back-to-the-moons-surface-180989761/The 14-day mission, slated for mid-2027, will serve as a test to see which company's lunar lander performs better in low-Earth orbit. Both will practice docking, habitation and operational procedures essential for the return to the moon, planned for 2028Wed, 28 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-nasas-plan-for-artemis-3-spacex-and-blue-origin-will-compete-to-have-their-landers-take-humans-back-to-the-moons-surface-180989761/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-astronomers-art-historians-working-together-identify-inspiration-behind-famous-works-art-180989649/Researchers study paintings and literature to uncover untold history of the works, sometimes finding themselves trying to discern celestial bodies from dustWed, 28 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/how-astronomers-art-historians-working-together-identify-inspiration-behind-famous-works-art-180989649/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-detect-the-oldest-fast-radio-burst-spewed-from-an-ancient-galaxy-just-three-billion-years-after-the-big-bang-180989730/The universe formed 13.8 billion years ago, so this far-traveled burst of radio waves can help scientists learn more about the early cosmos. However, researchers still aren't sure what produces these strange flashesFri, 23 Oct 2026 17:17:35 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/astronomers-detect-the-oldest-fast-radio-burst-spewed-from-an-ancient-galaxy-just-three-billion-years-after-the-big-bang-180989730/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-identify-a-star-that-might-glow-green-new-research-highlights-the-strange-hues-white-dwarfs-can-take-on-180989719/White dwarf stars are too far from Earth to be observed directly. So, scientists reconstructed how they'd look to human eyes based on the wavelengths of light they emit and found a colorful array of objects that might appear yellow, purple or pinkWed, 21 Oct 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-identify-a-star-that-might-glow-green-new-research-highlights-the-strange-hues-white-dwarfs-can-take-on-180989719/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/its-official-timekeepers-have-gotten-rid-of-the-leap-second-and-introduced-the-leap-hour-instead-180989685/Since 1972, experts have added 27 seconds to Coordinated Universal Time to keep it aligned with Earth's rotation, but it has been an imperfect fixThu, 15 Oct 2026 20:43:52 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/its-official-timekeepers-have-gotten-rid-of-the-leap-second-and-introduced-the-leap-hour-instead-180989685/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/physicist-wins-nobel-prize-for-developing-a-massive-ice-embedded-observatory-that-detects-ghostly-cosmic-particles-180989627/Francis Halzen of the University of Wisconsin-Madison led the effort to build the IceCube Neutrino Observatory in Antarctica. His work birthed the field of neutrino astronomyTue, 06 Oct 2026 19:51:28 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/physicist-wins-nobel-prize-for-developing-a-massive-ice-embedded-observatory-that-detects-ghostly-cosmic-particles-180989627/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mercury-has-wrinkles-that-show-its-shrinking-now-scientists-say-the-planet-has-shriveled-far-more-than-we-previously-thought-180989532/A new study suggests that our solar system’s smallest planet has shrunk by up to 30 percent since its birth roughly 4.5 billion years agoTue, 22 Sep 2026 19:12:34 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/mercury-has-wrinkles-that-show-its-shrinking-now-scientists-say-the-planet-has-shriveled-far-more-than-we-previously-thought-180989532/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/active-supermassive-black-holes-may-be-engines-of-star-formation-not-just-destruction-study-suggests-180989517/Scientists mapped out the structure of nine bright cores of galaxies located near the Milky Way and revealed common patterns that could shed light on how the universe evolvedMon, 21 Sep 2026 17:26:26 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/active-supermassive-black-holes-may-be-engines-of-star-formation-not-just-destruction-study-suggests-180989517/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/billions-of-years-ago-venus-may-have-had-a-moon-which-the-planet-promptly-gobbled-up-study-suggests-180989510/Scientists have puzzled over why the planet dubbed "Earth's twin" doesn't have a moon. Computer simulations hint that if Venus ever did have one, it probably would've cannibalized its companionThu, 17 Sep 2026 15:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/billions-of-years-ago-venus-may-have-had-a-moon-which-the-planet-promptly-gobbled-up-study-suggests-180989510/