Gamma Rays Point to Pulsars, Not Dark Matter

Gamma rays are the most powerful form of electromagnetic radiation in the universe.  With wavelengths as small at atoms, they usually result from the most powerful interactions known, such as the collision of two particles, or the release of energy from the accretion disk of a black hole.  But there is another potential source of gamma rays that has not yet been confirmed: Dark Matter. The leading candidate for dark matter is the theorized Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMP), though it is not as wimpy as its namesake suggests, making up 5 times as much mass as the visible matter...

Most Earth-Like Planets Don’t Exist Yet

The Earth, along with the rest of the solar system, was born around 4.6 Billion years ago.  At that time, Earth was part of the early group of habitable planets to form in the Universe.  According to a new theoretical study from the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), the vast majority of Earth-like planets has yet to form. Using data from the Hubble space Telescope (HST) and the Kepler Space Telescope (KST), astronomers were able to come up with a theoretical model of cosmic evolution, detailing how planets will form over the entire lifespan of the Universe. “Our main motivation was...