BriefGlo

When stars like our Sun exhaust their nuclear fuel, they do not necessarily explode. Many leave behind extraordinarily dense stellar remnants called white dwarfs, which can continue glowing for billions of years.

Not every planet belongs to a solar system. Some wander through interstellar space without a parent star, raising fascinating questions about planetary formation, hidden oceans and the number of worlds in our galaxy.

Some planetary systems display remarkably precise orbital patterns. Their planets repeatedly return to similar positions, revealing how gravity can organise entire systems over billions of years.

Volcanoes are usually associated with molten rock and extreme heat. Yet some of the coldest worlds in the Solar System display eruptions involving water, gas and ice. These processes reveal how surprisingly active frozen moons can be.

Reiner Gamma looks almost painted across the Moon. It has no mountain or crater structure matching its strange shape, yet it sits above one of the Moon’s strongest magnetic anomalies. Scientists are getting closer to explaining why.

Astronomers have reported temporary flashes, glows and colour changes on the Moon for centuries. Some have natural explanations, while the origin of other transient lunar phenomena remains debated.

The Sun has powered Earth for billions of years. Discover what happens inside its core, how its energy reaches us and what its distant future will look like.

Stars are born inside clouds of gas and dust, shine through nuclear fusion and can live for millions to trillions of years. Here’s how their remarkable life cycle works.

Space is filled with radio signals. Scientists use enormous telescopes and powerful computers to determine which are natural, human-made or worth investigating further.

Scientists cannot collect air from distant exoplanets, but they can read their atmospheres in starlight. Here’s how spectroscopy reveals gases across light-years.