Stories by Adam Mann

Slow-moving stars at the Milky Way’s outskirts suggest our galaxy may be far lighter than previously believed, with profound implications for dark matter

This enormous structure could help explain processes close to the dawn of time—or it could be a random cosmic fluke

Particle by particle, all matter may eventually disappear, according to new calculations

A lab-made black hole is beyond current technology but could be possible one day

Gargantuan lasers induce a fusion reaction to test the U.S. nuclear stockpile

Although modest in scope, a NASA research project reflects shifting attitudes toward the formerly taboo subject of UFOs

E-mailed exchanges show the space agency’s internal struggle to address pleas to change the controversial name of its latest, greatest observatory

Twenty years after their initial detection, enigmatic blasts from the sky are starting to deliver tentative answers, as well as plenty of science

With nearly $2 million in private funding, the controversial new initiative is targeting unidentified phenomena in Earth’s skies and beyond

Recent results from a pulsar timing array, which uses dead stars to hunt for gravitational waves, has scientists speculating about cosmic strings and primordial black holes

The unexpected atmospheric detection of phosphine, a smelly gas made by microbes on Earth, could spark a revolution in astrobiology

The unexpected finding gives astronomers their first good look at previously missing “intermediate”-size black holes

Finding cosmic civilizations might require a more innovative approach than listening for radio transmissions

A new experiment places limits on the smallest possible increment of time

Space observations are poised to reveal more about the centre of one of the Universe’s most enigmatic objects

Astronomers are struggling to explain the repeated, milliseconds-long chirps from a mysterious source

This new detection—the second of its kind—raises new questions about the nature of these mysterious objects

A rocky world devoid of atmosphere arouses debate over the habitability of the Milky Way’s most common star systems

Unusual dips of light observed by the Kepler space telescope have so far confounded attempts at an explanation

A new race could be heating up to claim valuable moon terrain amid uncertain laws

Experts argue that more than 85 percent of the solar system should be left untouched so that we can sustainably move off-world

Data from the Gaia spacecraft are radically transforming how we see the evolution of our galaxy

A blue-ribbon committee finds the science of astrobiology is worthy of deep integration into the space agency’s exploration efforts

Linguist Sheri Wells-Jensen explains the pitfalls in our assumptions about extraterrestrials