Milky Way’s Dark Side Revealed by Measurements of Pulsar Acceleration
It is well known that the expansion of the universe is accelerating due to a mysterious dark energy. Within galaxies, stars also experience an acceleration,…
Astronomy
“Galaxy-Sized” Observatory Sees Hints of a Unique Signal From Gravitational Waves That Warp the Fabric of Space and Time Itself
Scientists have used a “galaxy-sized” space observatory to find possible hints of a unique signal from gravitational waves, or the powerful ripples that course through…
“This Galaxy Is Witnessing a Truly Extreme Event” – Galaxy Mergers Could Limit Star Formation
Astronomers have looked nine billion years into the past to find evidence that galaxy mergers in the early universe could shut down star formation and…
Cosmic Neon Lights: Strange New Type of Star Revealed in X-ray Light
This image shows a new type of star that has never been seen before in X-ray light. This strange star formed after two white dwarfs…
Sculpted in Sculptor: An Incredibly Beautiful Barred Spiral Galaxy
First discovered in 1798 by German-English astronomer William Hershel, NGC 613 is a galaxy that lies in the southern constellation of Sculptor 67 million light-years…
Striped or Spotted? Planetary Scientists Solve a Brown Dwarf Mystery
Planetary scientists wondered if bands of winds or swirling storms dominated the atmospheres of brown dwarfs. University of Arizona-led research has solved the mystery. A…
Chandra Studies Extraordinary Magnetar: Fastest Spinning and Possibly the Youngest Magnetar Known
Astronomers have recently found the fastest spinning and possibly the youngest magnetar known. This object, known as J1818.0-1607, is located about 21,000 light years away…
Deepening Astronomical Mystery: On the Hunt for a Missing Giant Black Hole
Astronomers are searching for signs of a supermassive black hole in the galaxy cluster Abell 2261. Nearly all large galaxies contain central black holes, and…
Graduate Student’s BADASS Code Has Astronomical Benefits
An astro-statistics course University of California, Riverside, graduate student Remington O. Sexton took three years ago taught him techniques that led him to develop free,…
NASA Selects 4 Astrophysics Missions to Study Universe’s Secrets
NASA has chosen four small-scale astrophysics missions for further concept development in a new program called Pioneers. Through small satellites and scientific balloons, these selections…
Pareidolia: Seeing Recognizable Shapes in the Cosmos
What is pareidolia? It is the psychological phenomenon where we see recognizable shapes in clouds, rock formations, or otherwise unrelated objects or data. When an image…
The Sun in 2020: 366 Daily Images by ESA’s Proba-2 Satellite
These 366 images of the Sun were made by ESA’s Proba-2 satellite in 2020. This satellite is continuously monitoring the changing activity of the Sun….
When Galaxies Collide: Hubble Showcases 6 Magnificent Galaxy Mergers
To celebrate a new year, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has published a montage of six beautiful galaxy mergers. Each of these merging systems was…
SPHEREx: A New NASA Space Telescope Will Help Unravel the Mysteries of the Big Bang
The observatory will map the entire sky to study the rapid expansion of the universe after the big bang, the composition of young planetary systems,…
The Giant Magellan Telescope Will Revolutionize Our View and Understanding of the Universe
The Giant Magellan Telescope will be one of the few super giant earth-based telescopes that promises to revolutionize our view and understanding of the universe….
Astronomers Agree on Universe’s Birthday – 13.77 Billion Years Old
From an observatory high above Chile’s Atacama Desert, astronomers have taken a new look at the oldest light in the universe. Their observations, plus a…
Exoplanet Found by Hubble Resembles Reputed “Planet Nine” in Our Solar System
Astronomers confirm bound orbit for planet far from its star, showing that far-flung planets exist. Astronomers are still searching for a hypothetical “Planet Nine” in…
Chinese Astronomers Discover 591 High Velocity Stars – 43 of Them Can Even Escape From the Galaxy
A research team, led by astronomers from National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), has discovered 591 high velocity stars from the Large…