SUNSET: 
New Pulsar Explores Heart of Milky Way
A pulsar discovered last April is helping astronomers measure the magnetic field surrounding our galaxy’s central black hole.
Glimpse the X-ray Sky
Time and tide wait for no man. So the XMM-Newton space telescope is making every second count. As the telescope shifts its gaze from source to source, it's recording the X-ray sky.
Snack Starts Swinging Around Black Hole
Astronomers around the world are watching as the gaseous object called G2 heads for a close pass around the Milky Way's central supermassive black hole. Now it looks like the distended cloud is starting to swing back toward us.
Cat’s Paw Nebula: Nearby Mini-Starburst?
The Cat's Paw Nebula is home to many bright, young stars. But thousands of fainter stars concealed behind dust reveal themselves in a new infrared image.
A Cosmic Sleight of Hand
Astronomers have been waiting for our galaxy’s slumbering supermassive black hole to stir for a snack. Instead, the universe handed them a different treat.
Can Stars Form in our Galaxy's Center?
Observations of Milky Way’s chaotic center show hints of stars forming just two light-years away from our galaxy’s supermassive black hole.
Baby Black Hole Discovered
Astronomers investigating a supernova remnant see nothing but swirls of gas. The lack of stellar remains means the explosion must have birthed a black hole only 1,000 years ago.
Mapping the Milky Way
New observations of spaghetti-thin clouds, faraway star-forming regions and mysterious magnetic fields are revealing the hard-to-see structure of the galaxy we call home.
Galactic Bubbles Spark Debate
New microwave and radio observations resurrect controversy over gigantic lobes seen ballooning from the Milky Way’s center.
Cosmic Web Weeds Dwarf Galaxies
Astronomers have discovered an unexpected explanation for why they can only find a small fraction of the satellite galaxies the Milky Way is supposed to have.
The Flares from Milky Way’s Black Hole
Our galaxy’s central supermassive black hole emits regular, mysterious X-ray flares. For the first time, NASA’s newest sharp-eyed telescope has captured a high-energy view of the action.
Revisiting Orion's Stellar Membership
The Orion Nebula hosts a well studied star cluster, the gold standard by which astronomers measure all other clusters. New research suggests that this benchmark might need to be revised.
Star Zips around Black Hole
Astronomers announced that they've successfully tracked a star that takes less than 12 years to whip around the Milky Way's central black hole. The star isn't so special on its own, but combined with other observations it might help unwrap the region's mysteries.
A Black Hole in Orion?
The Orion Nebula Cluster might be home to a black hole more than 100 times the mass of the Sun, according to a recent simulation.
Milky Way Blew Bubbles
A careful analysis of Planck observations shows that there really is a mysterious haze emanating from the Milky Way’s core, mission team members say.
All-Sky Survey Sees Millions of Stars
A collaboration between professional and amateur astronomers is producing a careful map of stellar brightnesses and colors across the entire night sky. The survey should fill a hole that sometimes hampers quick, accurate measurements of events such as supernovae.
Failed Stars Oddly Rare
Astronomers hunting for brown dwarfs in our solar neighborhood have been thrown a surprise: these star wannabes are far less common than previously thought.
M31 to Hit Milky Way Head-On
If anyone's still around 4 billion years from now, they'll have a ringside seat for a true clash of titans, as the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies smash into each other and merge.
WISE's Grand View of the Infrared Sky
In just 10 months during 2010, an orbiting observatory meticulously recorded a "heat map" of the entire celestial sphere, revealing unseen beauty in the Milky Way and providing astronomers with a catalog of more than a half billion celestial objects.
How Many Rogue Planets Are There in the Milky Way?
A new analysis suggests that "nomad" planets, ejected from their home stellar systems and now adrift in the icy dark of interstellar space., could outnumber stars by as many as 100,000 to 1.