Scientists believe the Milky Way contains up to 400 billion stars and at least as many planets. The largest galaxy known, IC 1101, has more than 100 trillion stars. Step outside on a clear night and ...

A fascinating glimpse into how a solar system like our own is born has been revealed with the detection of planet-forming ...

The oldest terrestrial materials ever dated by scientists are extremely rare zircon minerals that were discovered in western ...

Rocks from the Hadean Eon, the first period in the geological timescale, have been dated in Québec. These are some of the ...

High in the Andes Mountains of northern Chile, something extraordinary is happening. Perched on the peak of Cerro Pachón at ...

Right now, Earth is about 3.1 million miles farther from the sun than it is in early January when it reaches perihelion, its ...

Scientists uncover signs that Earth’s resilience to carbon emissions may be unraveling faster than climate models suggest. A ...

A study of fossils from the Permian-Triassic extinction event 252 million years ago shows that forests in many parts of the world were wiped out, disrupting the carbon cycle and ensuring that Earth re ...

Scientists have long agreed this event was triggered by a sudden surge in greenhouse gases which resulted in an intense and ...

Our planet has been asteroid-smashed, melted and eroded, enough that most of its original armor has been long buried. Except ...

Since Kepler's laws of motion dictate that celestial bodies orbit more slowly when farther from the sun, we are now moving at ...