SUNSET: 
The Hidden Face of M83
The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy is already famous as a gorgeous deep-sky showpiece. Now astronomers have probed its structure with a high-resolution infrared view.
Herschel's Cold, Wonderful Universe
European astronomers are ecstatic about the results they're getting from an infrared space observatory launched a year ago.
One Supernova, Many Camera Angles
"Light echoes" off dust clouds far from an old supernova are still providing replays of the explosion — as seen from different directions. They show that the explosion was asymmetric.
Mystery Eclipse Caught in the Act
After struggling for decades to understand why Epsilon Aurigae's partial eclipses last so long, astronomers are finally watching the event as it happens.
Catch a Star's Unprecedented Eruption
At first observers thought they'd discovered a nova — a "new star" erupting from obscurity. But astronomers quickly realized that it was a well-known, formerly well-behaved variable star suddenly gone bonkers.
The Milky Way's Killer Instincts
Don't let its graceful spiral form fool you: our home galaxy is a cannibal. It's long been accused of having gobbled up smaller dwarf galaxies in its vicinity — and two new observations make an ironclad case for the prosecution.
Fastest Known Binary Star
In the time it takes you to read this news story, the ultra-tightly paired stars known as HM Cancri will have completely spun around each other.
Supernova Mystery Remains Just That
Despite a recent claim, astronomers still don't understand an important class of exploding stars.
A "Treasure Map" of Millisecond Pulsars
The gamma-ray sky map assembled by the Fermi satellite points the way to finding natural, high-precision "clocks." These could be used in a cosmic GPS-like system to look for flexings of spacetime.
Big News in Epsilon Aurigae Mystery
What's really eclipsing this naked-eye star? Astronomers using the Spitzer Space Telescope think they've finally solved a nearly two-century-old puzzle.
The Big Dipper Adds a Star
Using a technique envisioned by Galileo, astronomers have discovered a new companion to Alcor in the handle of the world's most famous star pattern.
A Super-Duper Supernova
A much anticipated new type of exploding star lights up a distant galaxy.
A Rogue Star Going Wild?
Is Eta Carinae, the famously erratic star in the southern sky, tipping off astronomers that its demise might come sooner than later?
Stellar Mystery Solved, Einstein Safe
Astronomers have resolved a long-standing discrepancy with general relativity.
Why Does Exoplanet WASP-18b Exist?
Observers have found a massive planet so close to its star that it orbits in less than a day. Either they were very, very lucky — or theorists really don't understand the inner workings of stars as well as they thought.
Betelgeuse: A Hotheaded Superstar
New, ultrahigh-resolution observations reveal that the red supergiant marking Orion's shoulder is throbbing, churning, and spewing shells of its outer layers into the space around it.
Mapping Starspots by Exoplanet Transits
Astronomers have detected individual starspots by watching exoplanets cross in front of them. New advances may enable extensive mapping of stars' spottedness by this technique, filling gaps left by other methods.
Solar Sleuths Tackle the "Quiet Sun"
New insights, announced this week, help explain why solar activity has been in the doldrums for an unexpectedly long time.
New York Teen Finds Wimpiest Supernova
On November 7, 2008, 14-year-old Caroline Moore of Warwick, New York, discovered a supernova in the galaxy UGC 12682, making her the youngest person ever to find an exploding star.
How Did the Brown Dwarf Get Its Spots?
A binary pair of brown dwarfs, measured with high precision, seems to defy models of star formation — unless one of them is covered with starspots.
