James Webb Space Telescope spies a newborn star in its cosmic crib (image) By Robert Lea published 28 November 23 The James Webb Space Telescope stared through the gas and dust surrounding an infant star around 1,000 light-years away to see the turbulent outflows it is generating.
Hubble Space Telescope spies multiple galaxy clusters masquerading as one (image) By Samantha Mathewson published 28 November 23 The Hubble Space Telescope has observed a double whammy — two independent galaxy clusters grouped together in the same view.
Mysterious blasts of radiation might stem from our universe's most extreme stars By Robert Lea published 27 November 23 New research strengthens the connection between neutron stars with powerful magnetic fields called magnetars, and mysterious blasts of radiation called fast radio bursts.
Scientists chart the stories of young stars — from being born to moving out By Robert Lea published 27 November 23 Synchronizing two different stellar clocks helped reveal how long before adolescent stars fly the nest and leave their stellar siblings.
Best telescopes 2023: For stargazing galaxies, nebulas and more By Gemma Lavender last updated 27 November 23 Buying Guide The best telescopes on the market for exploring everything from the moon to deep space galaxies and nebulas.
Dazzling remains of star explosion revealed in new ESO image By Samantha Mathewson published 27 November 23 A new photo from the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope captures the Vela supernova remnant, the result of a stellar explosion that happened 11,000 years ago.
Our universe's smallest galaxies hold the largest star factories. Here's why By Keith Cooper published 25 November 23 Conditions within dwarf galaxies initially produce more stellar-mass black holes than supernova explosions.
The moon, Saturn and Jupiter provide a Thanksgiving skywatching feast By Joe Rao published 23 November 23 A waxing gibbous moon, Saturn and Jupiter make inviting targets for skywatchers this Thanksgiving.
What are binary stars? By Robert Lea last updated 22 November 23 Reference Binary stars are two stars that orbit a mutual center of gravity. It is the most common type of multistar system.
Our Milky Way galaxy's stunning spiral structure appears to be an anomaly. But why? By Sharmila Kuthunur published 22 November 23 A new supercomputer simulation reveals why spiral galaxies like our Milky Way are strikingly scarce in our pocket of the universe.
'Stellar vampires' may feed on hidden stars in their systems By Robert Lea published 21 November 23 New research suggests massive "vampire" stars exist in triple star systems.
Distant 'teenage galaxies' surprise astronomers with unexpected heavy elements By Conor Feehly published 20 November 23 Significant amounts of nickel observed in galaxies only two-to-three billion years after the Big Bang.
Best telescopes for seeing planets in 2023 By Tom Kerss last updated 20 November 23 Buying Guide The best telescopes for seeing planets can take you on an incredible journey through our spectacular solar system.
The universe is expanding faster than theory predicts – physicists are searching for new ideas that might explain the mismatch By Ryan Keeley published 17 November 23 The universe is not just expanding – its rate of expansion is accelerating. And that expansion rate is even faster than the leading theory predicts it should be, leaving cosmologists puzzled.
See the highest-resolution image ever snapped by ALMA radio telescope By Samantha Mathewson published 17 November 23 A new calibration technique allowed the ALMA radio telescope to capture its highest-resolution image ever, featuring a star in the final stages of its evolution.
Watch Algol, the 'Demon star of Perseus,' get eclipsed by its stellar twin this week By Joe Rao published 17 November 23 The "Demon Star" of Algol gets eclipsed this week by one of its stellar siblings. Here's what you need to know.
The Milky Way's dusty galaxy heart has a super-strange glow (photo) By Miguel Claro published 16 November 23 Astrophotographer Miguel Claro stitched together an eerie look at the core of our galaxy, the Milky Way, showing glowing lights in the dark.
This dead star is bursting back to life By Robert Lea published 15 November 23 A distant stellar corpse is coming back to life, exhibiting repeated explosive flares and representing a new type of "cosmic cataclysm."
NASA's SPHEREx mission aims to map 450 million galaxies and 100 million stars By Elizabeth Fernandez published 14 November 23 NASA has begun construction has started on SPHEREx, a new extraordinary mission that will map the sky in unprecedented detail and color.
James Webb Space Telescope finds 2 of the most distant galaxies ever seen By Keith Cooper published 14 November 23 We see these galaxies as they were over 13.45 billion years ago, just between 330 and 350 million years after the Big Bang.