astronomy and space sciences

a fluffy blue sphere of gas with 3 small galaxies at the center, set against a black background

Research

Half of the universe’s hydrogen gas, long unaccounted for, has been found

New measurements of the diffuse ionized hydrogen surrounding galaxies account for missing mass.

Alex Filippenko and Pat Joseph talk onstage

Campus & community

The Edge: Life, the universe and everything with Berkeley astrophysicist Alex Filippenko

Mars depicted as a brown and blue orb

Research

Ancient beaches testify to long-ago ocean on Mars

looping steel structure lit up against a starry sky

Research

Astronomers thought they understood fast radio bursts. A recent one calls that into question.

a bright yellow spot amid stars, with a blue background of stars

The Andromeda galaxy struts its stuff

A round shaped yellow flame burns in front of a green background.

Engineers from UC Berkeley and NASA team up to study fire in space

the southern portion of a blue Jupiter with a dark blue spot and a chocolate-brown cap at the bottom

Magnetic tornado is stirring up the haze at Jupiter’s poles

a planet against a blue background is exploded in layered hemispheres resembling clouds, an ocean, an amber layer and a core

A clue to what lies beneath the bland surfaces of Uranus and Neptune

a mottled purple ball surrounded by white lines against a black background

A nearby supernova could end the search for dark matter

a silvery Earth in the foreground with a bright white ball in the distance

This rocky planet around a white dwarf resembles Earth — 8 billion years from now

man seated in office wearing jacket and tie

Physicist Paul Richards, a pioneer in studies of the cosmic microwave background, dies at 90

a small white and black tube sits on pebbly red ground in the shade of the Insight lander on Mars

Rocks collected on Mars hold key to water and perhaps life on the planet. Bring them back to Earth.

the bridk-red planet Mars with white caps at poles

Scientists find oceans of water on Mars. It’s just too deep to tap.

a silver ring surrounds a pink and blue stack of disk representing clusters of atoms

With a new, incredibly precise instrument, Berkeley researchers narrow search for dark energy

a mottled reddish blue disk

With new, sharper optics, Arizona telescope captures rare images of Jupiter’s moon Io

spiral galaxy with diffuse star glow next to bright areas emitting UV

UC Berkeley will manage $300 million NASA mission to map the UV universe

All astronomy and space sciences