SUNSET: 
Stars Map Dark Matter in Dwarf Galaxy
A combo of Hubble and Gaia data reveal the distribution of dark matter in a tiny galaxy by tracking the galaxy’s stars.
Most Distant Black Hole Yet
Astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole scarfing down gas just 690 million years after the Big Bang.
New Telescope Sees Galaxy Down to Its Atoms
Astronomers have obtained the most detailed radio image of hydrogen gas in a neighboring galaxy, revealing its structures with more precision than ever before.
A Deeper View of Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field
The iconic image of faraway galaxies, and one of the most-observed regions of space, has just received a spectroscopic upgrade.
Putting the Brakes on the Stellar Baby Boom
Two studies of distant galaxy clusters point to different mechanisms of stopping the baby boom that reigned in the early universe.
Globular Clusters for Faint Galaxies
The origin of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) has posed a long-standing mystery for astronomers. New observations of several of these faint giants with the Hubble Space Telescope are now lending support to one theory.
Milky Way May Be Made with Swapped Gas
High-powered simulations suggest that half of the material in the Milky Way could come from other galaxies.
Incredible Resolution: Reconstructed Galaxy Pushes Hubble’s Limits
Thanks to the effects of gravitational lensing, a team of astronomers was able to reconstruct a distant galaxy and study its unexpectedly clumpy star forming regions.
Ring Found Around a Galaxy’s “Hidden” Black Hole
A team of astronomers has taken a close look at a nearby galaxy — and discovered an unusual structure that sheds light on supermassive black holes’ relationships with their host galaxies.
Homing in on the Source of a Mysterious Fast Radio Burst
Ground- and space-based observations have now shed intriguing new light on a mysterious radio source more than 3 billion light-years away.
Astronomers Discover Magnetic Bridge Between Magellanic Clouds
A magnetic field appears to span the space between the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, the two dwarf galaxies being consumed by our Milky Way Galaxy.
Bright Supernova Discovered in "Fireworks Galaxy" NGC 6946
A brand new supernova in NGC 6946 is bright enough to see in modest-sized telescopes. Here's how to find it.
Stars Born in Galactic Wind
Astronomers have found newborn stars in gas pouring out of a galactic nucleus.
Active Black Hole Encourages Starbirth
Astronomers have discovered long filaments of cold gas — the ingredient for making stars — cocooning giant bubbles inflated by a black hole.
Hubble Spies Faint Galaxies, Bountiful in Early Universe
Hubble has spotted more than 100 small, faint galaxies in the young universe, common as dust bunnies but previously out of reach of even the best telescopes.
Cosmic Void “Pushes” Milky Way
Astronomers have discovered a giant cosmic void that explains why our Local Group of galaxies is moving through the universe as fast as it is.
Mystery Object in Cygnus A Galaxy
Astronomers have discovered an object in the active galaxy Cygnus A that wasn’t there before.
1,000 Black Holes in Deepest-Ever X-ray Image
The Chandra X-ray Observatory has gazed at a small patch of sky for almost 12 weeks, revealing 1,008 X-ray-emitting sources — most of them supermassive black holes.
Fast Radio Burst has a Surprising Source
For the first time, a team of astronomers has placed a fast radio burst on the cosmic map, allowing them to better pinpoint its mysterious origin.
Top 12 Astronomy News Stories of 2016
From the discovery of gravitational waves to the building evidence that a massive planet could exist beyond Pluto, it has been a thrilling year for astronomy research. We recap.
