The discovery of ultramassive black holes has raised questions about how these celestial objects first formed in the Universe, how they can grow to such immense sizes.

The discovery of giant superclusters of galaxies are challenging our very understanding of the Universe.

The Starship spacecraft's fiery end soon after launch – not once but twice – was a major moment in a year filled with landmark space missions.

They are the most intense lasers ever built, and their beams are helping scientists probe the fabric of the Universe.

Alien life could take many different forms, but one possibility is captivating scientists: alien "plants". What would they look like? And how could we find them?

Alien astronomers might be looking in our direction from distant planets. What would they see?

Alien life may one day be found not from radio signals beamed across the cosmos but from an all-too-familiar side-effect of civilisation: pollution.

In the first few hundred thousand years of our Universe, strange soundwaves ripped through a cloud of superheated particles. It may offer new insights about dark energy.