SUNSET: 
Did the Milky Way Form Faster Than We Thought?
New research suggests that our galaxy’s first stars might have come together within a billion years after the Big Bang.
Astronomers Trace the Family Tree of Stars Clustered in the Solar Neighborhood
Astronomers have pressed rewind on a cosmic video of the solar neighborhood, tracing the origins of young star clusters within 3,000 light-years of the Sun.
Dwarf Star Caught Speeding; Could Escape the Galaxy
Citizen scientists discovered a star speeding through the Milky Way. Now, astronomers are trying to track down its origins.
Are These Baby Pictures of the Milky Way?
Newly detected stellar aggregations in the Milky Way could be the remnants of protogalaxies from its formation — or just resonances with the galaxy's bar.
Rethinking the Milky Way’s “Galactic Fountain”
The Milky Way recycles gas from dying stars to make new ones — but new observations show pristine gas also comes in from outside our galaxy.
Astronomers Find Stars Cast Away from Galactic Neighbors
After decades of searching, scientists have found stars accompanying the gas streaming from two smaller galaxies that orbit our Milky Way.
Astronomy in Pictures: Saturn and the Milky Way
The James Webb Space Telescope offers a new view of Saturn, while the IceCube Observatory creates a neutrino-painted picture of the Milky Way.
Explore the Night with Bob King
See Summer's Best “Gobbled” Globulars
Mergers between the Milky Way and long-ago dwarf galaxies have enriched our skies with dozens of iconic globular clusters. Many are visible in small telescopes.
Watch the Milky Way’s Black Hole Spaghettify a Cloud
Two decades of observations show a dusty gas cloud elongating as it approaches our galaxy's supermassive black hole.
Amateur Astronomers Find Glowing Gas Arc Near Andromeda
An arc that glows green thanks to doubly ionized oxygen appears near the Andromeda Galaxy in a photo obtained by amateur astronomers.
A 3D Magnetic Map of the Local Bubble
Astronomers have mapped the magnetic field along the "bubble" of gas 1,000 light-years wide around the Sun.
Speeding Cloud Might Come from Recent, Nearby Supernova
Hypervelocity clouds, generally thought to be falling fast into the Milky Way, might have an alternative explanation that places them near us.
Astronomers Map the Milky Way's "Underworld"
A simulated map of the Milky Way shows the location of our galaxy's stellar corpses — and they're not where you might think they'd be.
Supernovae Swept Out Barnard's Loop in Orion
Astronomers have mapped Orion in 3D to understand the origin of the large arc of Barnard’s Loop — and you can interact with the 3D image!
Have We Found the First Rogue Black Hole in the Milky Way?
Hubble observations have revealed a stellar-mass compact object — a black hole or possibly a neutron star — wandering our galaxy.
Hundreds of Thousands of Stars Reveal the Milky Way’s “Teenage” Years
A census of hundreds of thousands of subgiant stars in our galaxy provides a window into the Milky Way's early history.
A Star Where It Shouldn't Be
There’s a massive star in our galaxy’s halo, far away from the usual star-forming haunts. How did it get there?
Astonishing Radio View of the Milky Way’s Heart
A new radio survey reveals a complex and chaotic galactic center teeming with supernova remnants, star-forming regions, and mysterious filaments.
1,000-light-year "Bubble" Is the Source of All Nearby Baby Stars
Supernovae that carved out the Local Bubble, a cavity around the Sun, have also triggered star formation at the bubble's edges.
Stellar Streams Are Revealing Their Secrets
A detailed study of 12 streams of stars swirling in and around the Milky Way will ultimately help shed light on our galaxy's dark matter halo.
