Cosmic Backyard

Cosmic Backyard is an Inverse series that explores cutting-edge research looking into the depths of the cosmos. This work is pushing the boundaries of our understanding of the universe, and our place in it.

Webb Space Telescope image
NASA
cosmic backyard

Future Telescopes With Liquid Mirrors Could Peer at Alien Worlds in Detail

By Charles Q. Choi

A project called FLUTE is looking into self-healing space telescopes.

Cosmic Backyard

This Mysterious Interstellar Object Could Contain The Universe's Darkest Secrets

By Charles Q. Choi

Fragments of extinct solar systems and planets could be visiting us regularly — these scientists think they know how to find them.

Go deeper 🚀

Science

How Pseudoscience Obscures The Real Dangers Found In Meteor Showers

By Mark Boslough and The Conversation

How a meteor shower could, one day, pose a troubling scenario.

Space

The Webb Telescope Found A Planet Orbiting A Star 35 Light Years Away — Its Data Is Just Plain Odd

By Kiona Smith

A recent study suggests an exoplanet orbiting daringly close to its small star may have a thick atmosphere, but there's reason to be skeptical.

Science

A NASA Psychologist Reveals 3 Mental Health Hacks Astronauts Use In Space

By Doris ElĂ­n Urrutia

Here’s how astronauts maintain their mental mettle.

Space

The International Space Station Has A Pesky Leak — Not Even NASA Has A Solid Plan For It

By Kiona Smith

NASA can keep the station in orbit until 2030, but it's not going to be easy.

Space

Aurora Alert! These 9 Northern States Could See the Aurora Borealis Tonight

By Kiona Smith

The Solar Maximum is really lighting up the skies.

Science

The World’s First Wooden Satellite Could Be the Key To Solving the Space Debris Problem

By Doris ElĂ­n Urrutia

Welcome to space, LignoSat!

Science

Webb Telescope Discovered An Ancient Black Hole With A Voracious Appetite

By Doris ElĂ­n Urrutia

How did galaxies get their hearts?

Space

The Debris From An Ancient Space Catastrophe Will Pelt Earth This Entire Week

By Kiona Smith

Its Taurid Season!

Science

The Most Powerful Telescopes Suggest the Cosmos Is Surprisingly Simple

By Neil Turok and The Conversation

The universe may actually be far less complex than we thought.

Space

Voyager 1 Spacecraft Just Shut Off Its Main Transmitter And Switched To A Long-Abandoned Signal

By Kiona Smith

The old transmitter sends home a faint, almost ghostly signal from 15 billion miles away in the dark.