Latest articles by Robert Lea
How fast is the universe actually expanding? Ripples in spacetime could finally solve 'Hubble tension'
Using gravitational waves as a measure of the universe's rate of expansion could solve the biggest headache in physics, the so-called "Hubble tension."
Astronomers just watched a star 1,540 times the size of our sun transform into a hypergiant. Will it go supernova?
One of our universe's biggest stars has dramatically turned into a rare, yellow 'hypergiant' star, and astronomers aren't sure when it will go supernova.
Black holes! Supernovas! Merging galaxies! Oh my! Largest radio survey of the cosmos ever reveals 13.7 million powerful cosmic objects and events
"We can study a diverse population of supermassive black holes and their radio jets at different stages of their evolution."
World's largest radio telescope array pierces heart of our Milky Way: 'This is just the beginning'
Astronomers have dived into the turbulent and chaotic heart of the Milky Way, discovering hidden chemistry around our galaxy's supermassive black hole.
The Milky Way may be hiding a big secret at its heart: an extremely magnetic dead star
Astronomers suspect the heart of the Milky Way may be hiding a big secret: a rapidly spinning, highly magnetic, neutron star-powered pulsar.
These 70 dusty galaxies at the edge of our universe could rewrite our understanding of the cosmos
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have investigated 70 dusty galaxies at the very edge of the universe that challenge our understanding of cosmic evolution.
NASA X-ray spacecraft stares into the 'eye of the storm' swirling around supermassive black holes
The NASA/JAXA X-ray spacecraft has allowed astronomers to dive into the metaphorical "eye of the storm" swirling around supermassive black holes.
Supermassive serial killers: Astronomers discover how black holes 'kill off' neighboring galaxies
Scientists have discovered that active supermassive black holes don't just kill their home galaxies, but can also eradicate star formation for their neighbors.
Hubble telescope discovers rare galaxy that is 99% dark matter
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered what seems to be a galaxy that is the most heavily dominated by dark matter ever seen.
Hubble and Chandra space telescopes hunt for rogue black holes wandering through dwarf galaxies
The investigation could solve the mystery of how supermassive black holes grew so large in the early universe.
James Webb Space Telescope spots a stunning 'cosmic jellyfish' that could help solve the mysteries of galactic evolution
"This data provides us with rare insight into how galaxies were transformed in the early universe."
Scientists may have found a 'missing-link' black hole ripping up and devouring a star
An unusual tidal disruption event spotted by astronomers may be the result of an elusive intermediate mass black hole ripping apart a star.
Scientists hunt for origins of the mysterious 'sun goddess' particle
Scientists have used a novel new approach to discover the potential origins of the sun goddess particle Amaterasu, the second most energetic cosmic ray ever to be detected striking Earth.
'The beacons were lit!' Scientists name merging supermassive black holes after 'Lord of the Rings' locations
Scientists have named two systems of colliding supermassive black holes after Lord of the Rings locations, Gondor and Rohan.
A mystery object is dimming a distant star. Could it be a massive exoplanet, or a 'failed star'?
A mysterious object has caused a long-lasting and extreme dimming of a distant star, but is this object a 'failed star' brown dwarf, or an exceptionally massive super-Jupiter exoplanet?
Could the Milky Way galaxy's supermassive black hole actually be a clump of dark matter?
New research suggests that the heart of the Milky Way may be dominated by a dense clump of dark matter rather than the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*.
James Webb Space Telescope finds precursors to 'building blocks of life' in nearby galaxy
"We found an unexpected chemical complexity, with abundances far higher than predicted by current theoretical models."
Does dark matter actually exist? New theory says it could be gravity behaving strangely
"It highlights gravity's possible hidden complexity and invites a reevaluation of where dark matter effects originate."
James Webb Space Telescope's view of 800,000 galaxies paints a detailed picture of dark matter
Astronomers used James Webb Space Telescope data to determine the density of the universe's most mysterious "stuff."
Did astronomers see a black hole explode? An 'impossible' particle that hit Earth in 2023 may tell us
"If our hypothesized dark charge is true, then we believe there could be a significant population of primordial black holes, which would be consistent with other astrophysical observations, and account for all the missing dark matter in the universe."
Watch dead neutron stars smash together in new NASA supercomputer simulation
"We studied the last several orbits before the merger, when the entwined magnetic fields undergo rapid and dramatic changes, and modeled potentially observable high-energy signals."
James Webb Space Telescope watches distant galaxies form farthest cluster ever seen in the ancient universe (image)
"JADES-ID1 is giving us new evidence that the universe was in a huge hurry to grow up."
Large Hadron Collider reveals 'primordial soup' of the early universe was surprisingly soupy
Waiter, there's a quark in my soup!
1.1 million mph cosmic winds race through 'magnetic superhighway' in colliding galaxies
Astronomers have discovered powerful magnetic fields steering gas, dust, and star formation in a dramatic galaxy merger.
Astronomers watch 1st black hole ever imaged launch a 3,000‑light‑year‑long cosmic jet from its glowing 'shadow'
"It is amazing to see that we are gradually moving towards combining these breakthrough observations across multiple frequencies and completing the picture of the jet launching region."