University of Hawaii

The discovery of extraterrestrial life is most likely to come from tiny fossils on Mars. To aid that search, scientists have developed a portable device called the Biofinder that can highlight organic residue in fossils tens of millions of years old.

Astronomers have proposed a novel solution to one of the many mysteries of black holes – why do so many seem to be more massive than expected? A new model suggests that their growth may be “cosmologically coupled” to the expansion of the universe.

Restoring post-agricultural land to tropical forest can be challenging, as the pasture grasses tend to choke out the native trees. A new study, however, indicates that waste from the coffee industry gives those trees a fighting chance.

For a long time, Pluto was the farthest object we knew in the solar system, but it’s a cosmic stone’s-throw away compared to more recent discoveries. Now astronomers have confirmed the most distant world of all – the appropriately-named Farfarout.

A team of scientists from three notable oceanographic institutions has discovered the largest-ever aggregations of fish to be seen in the abyssal deep-sea region of between 9,800 and 19,600 feet beneath the ocean surface.

Asteroid Apophis has attracted its share of attention, with several projected close shaves with Earth in the coming decades. While most have been ruled out, a previously-overlooked factor has opened a small window for a possible collision in 2068.

Scientists in Europe and Hawaii have scored a world's first by detecting a "super-planet," also known as a cold brown dwarf, using a radio telescope. Located 212 light-years away, BDR J1750+3809 may help in the search for habitable exoplanets.

Exactly why and how the expansion of the universe is accelerating remains unknown. One hypothesis blames strange black-hole-like objects made of dark energy, and now astrophysicists have theorized how these objects work and where they all went.

Scientists using the Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System telescope have discovered an asteroid that shows the property of a comet. Designated 2019 LD2, the Trojan asteroid shares the same orbit with Jupiter, yet exhibits a comet-like tail.

The discovery of 20 new moons around Saturn brings its total to 82 – three more than Jupiter, which was previously thought to hold the record.

Researchers from the US and South Korea have run climate simulations that include the “iceberg effect” and found that melting icebergs could play a significant role in slowing warming in the Southern Hemisphere.

Of all the things you don’t want to lose, an asteroid with a chance of striking Earth is pretty high up the list. A potentially dangerous space rock called 2006 QV89 has been missing in action for 13 years, but now astronomers have finally found it, and ruled out an impact within the next century.