University of Hawaii

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.

Our home galaxy is right on the border of a void so vast it’s hard to picture. To get a better idea of its shape and size, a team of astronomers has mapped out the edges of this extragalactic emptiness, and calculated just how much gravitational influence it has on the Milky Way.

In these times of coral reef die-offs, it's vitally important to monitor the abundance and variety of corals on the reefs that remain. This is currently performed visually by scuba divers, but there may soon be a quicker, cheaper and easier method – just check the water for coral DNA.

A NASA team has found definitive evidence of water ice at the poles of the Moon. Using data from NASA's Moon Mineralogy Mapper aboard the Indian Chandrayaan-1 lunar orbiter, the new discovery indicates that not only is water present on the Moon, but it is readily accessible from the surface.

​At least half of the oxygen in our atmosphere is created by ocean microbes, which also form the basis of marine food webs that support global fisheries. Scientists are now attempting to better understand the microorganisms, utilizing a new type of autonomous underwater vehicle.

An object originating from outside the Solar System has been detected passing through the Sun's real estate. Temporarily designated as A/2017 U1, the extrasolar asteroid or comet was recorded after approaching from interstellar space and heading out again on a parabolic trajectory.

​​For many people, coral bleaching may seem like one of those things that's only happening in distant lands. The truth is, however, that's no longer the case. A recent study has recorded significant coral bleaching in what is likely Hawaii's most popular snorkelling area.

The Lambda Cold Dark Matter model suggests that 68 percent of the universe is made up of dark energy. But a new study has questioned whether dark energy exists, citing simulations that found that accounting for the structure of the cosmos, the gap in the theory, which dark energy fills, vanishes.