Space

A team including Northwestern researchers has proposed a revolutionary approach toward terraforming Mars using engineered dust particles. Image by NASA/JPL/MSSS

How we could warm Mars

A new idea among a rich history of proposals to make the surface of the cold planet habitable

Ever since learning the surface of the planet Mars is cold and dead, scientists have wondered if there was a way to





First supernova detected, confirmed, classified and shared by AI

New artificial intelligence tool removes humans from entire search, discovery process

A fully automated process, including a brand-new artificial intelligence (AI) tool, has successfully detected, identified and classified its first supernova.

Developed by an international collaboration led by Northwestern University, …



Black hole

Black holes eat faster than previously expected

New finding might explain why quasars flare and fade so quickly

A new Northwestern University-led study is changing the way astrophysicists understand the eating habits of supermassive black holes.

While previous researchers have hypothesized that black holes eat slowly, new …



Artist’s impression of the planet Beta Pictoris b orbiting its star.

Watch an exoplanet’s 17-year journey around its star

Longest time-lapse footage of an exoplanet to date was assembled from real data

A Northwestern University astrophysicist has created the longest time-lapse video of an exoplanet to date.

Constructed from real data, the footage shows Beta Pictoris b — a …