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The planetary nebula known as the Ring Nebula with its central iron bar marked in red

Astronomers discover an enormous iron bar in the famous Ring Nebula: 'We definitely need to know more'

By Robert Lea published

"One thing popped out as clear as anything, this previously unknown 'bar' of ionized iron atoms, in the middle of the familiar and iconic ring."

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Outbursts from an infant star light up the interstellar clouds HH 80 and HH 81

Hubble Telescope watches star blast out jet of hot gas 32 light-years long

By Robert Lea published

The protostar is launching the longest outburst ever seen at 32 light-years long.

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Clouds of blue and gold are mixed with bright twinkling blue and white lights against a dark background

Hubble Telescope sees baby stars hard at work | Space photo of the day for Jan. 16, 2025

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

Ba-by stars, doo doo doo doo doo doo.

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A glowing ball of white light representing a red giant is surrounded by rings of red gas against a black background

We may be witnessing the messy death of a star in real time

By Paul Sutter published

For over two centuries, we have watched the red giant R Leonis dim and brighten with regularity, but this 'heartbeat' is beginning to speed up near the end of the star's life.

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The central square image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows shock waves around the dead star RXJ0528+2838.

Mystery shockwave around dead star stuns astronomers: 'We found something never seen before and entirely unexpected.'

By Robert Lea published

"The surprise that a supposedly quiet, discless system could drive such a spectacular nebula was one of those rare 'wow' moments."

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This artist’s concept shows the red supergiant star Betelgeuse and an orbiting companion star. The companion, which is orbiting clockwise from this point of view, generates a dense wake of gas that expands outward.

Hubble Telescope spies 'wake' of supergiant Beutelgeuse's hidden companion star

By Julian Dossett published

Using new observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and observatories on Earth, scientists have confirmed the existence of Betelgeuse's elusive companion star, named Siwarha.

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The location of Cloud 9, a "failed galaxy" packed with gas and dark matter but absent of stars

Hubble telescope discovers a new type of cosmic object and astronomers are on 'Cloud 9'

By Robert Lea published

"This is a tale of a failed galaxy."

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A cluster of stars inside a large nebula. The clouds of gas and dust are predominantly bright red in colour and wispy, akin to flames. They are clumped in the bottom-left corner. Other clouds, deeper in the cluster behind many of the stars, appear pale pink. The stars are concentrated in the top half of the image and are mostly small, bright white and six-pointed. They cast blue light over the nebula. Other stars with very long spikes surrounding them lie in the foreground.

Carina Nebula shines with white-blue stars | Space photo of the day for Jan. 5, 2026

By Kenna Hughes-Castleberry published

The Westerlund 2 star cluster is home to some of the Milky Way's brightest stars.

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A glowing ball of blue light stands out against a black background

What old, dying stars teach us about axions as a candidate for dark matter

By Paul Sutter published

The axion could be a contender to explain the mystery of dark matter.

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A Hubble image of Dracula’s Chivito, the largest protoplanetary disk ever seen

'Dracula's Chivito' looks stunning in this tasty Christmas photo from the Hubble Telescope

By Robert Lea published

Using the Hubble space telescope, astronomers have imaged "'Dracula’s Chivito" the largest site of planetary birth ever seen.

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