Surprising Trove of Gamma-Ray Pulsars
Pulsars flash in radio, but some of them flash a lot more powerfully in gamma rays, due to different processes happening in different places around them.
Fast-Forming Planets
Around newborn stars, Jupiters seem to grow quicker than expected.
Fly Through a Supernova Remnant in 3-D
Astronomers have figured out the three-dimensional structure of Cassiopeia A, an expanding supernova remnant. From this, it looks like the star blew up in two parts.
The Mystery of the Missing Brown Dwarfs
Fewer of these dim, glowing coals exist than astronomers once expected. And in particular, they shy away from associating with normal stars.
Tycho's Supernova in Reruns
436-year-old light echoes give a look today at a blast in the Renaissance past. The catch? They're only a twenty-billionth as bright as the original.
Betelgeuse is Making Waves
The famously red supergiant star that marks Orion's shoulder is creating an enormous shock wave as it plows through the interstellar medium. New infrared views from a Japanese space observatory called Akari show what's going on with unprecedented clarity.
NASA Satellite Spots New Type of Pulsar
The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has made its first major discovery.
The Sun Goes Round and (Less) Round
Incredibly precise measurements of the solar surface show that our star isn't quite as spherical as once thought.
Is This an Alien Planet?
Last April a trio of astronomers spotted something dim, warm, and perplexing next to a not-too-distant star in northern Scorpius.
Eta Carinae: A Supermassive Showoff
An enormous and famously erratic star in the southern sky might have demonstrated a new kind of stellar explosion during its dazzling eruption in the 1840s.
Double-Barrel Blast
A gamma-ray burst detected on March 19th was so bright it could be seen with the naked eye. And now astronomers think they know why.
Eta Carinae Prepares for X-ray Crash
Known for its mysteriousness, one of the galaxy's most massive stars gears up for its periodic pundit-perplexing event. Will Eta Carinae finally reveal its secrets?
Artificial Intelligence Aids Astronomers
Astronomers have designed a neural network that can determine the particulars of binary star systems by just examining their light curves — and it can do it really, really fast.
Faint Supernovae Remain Unexplained
A subclass of supernovae that fades much faster than expected reveals possible kinks in astronomers' theories of what causes these explosions.
Brown-Dwarf Binary Tests Theories
Recent calculations for a pair of failed stars add to astronomers' scant knowledge of brown dwarfs and will help set a reference point for future studies.
Regulus’s Secret Companion
Astronomers confirm a low-mass star orbits the Lion’s heart, the bright blue star imaged here to the lower right. But what exactly is it?
The Most Massive Star Yet?
Searching the core of one of the densest young star clusters in the Milky Way, scientists may have beat out primetime TV in the search for the newest big star.
Predicting a Stellar Catastrophe
Observations made by professional and amateur astronomers during the upcoming, once-in-a-generation eclipse of Epsilon Aurigae may reveal whether or not the star is heading for extinction.
Puny Star's Big Flare Wows Astronomers
While a NASA satellite looked on, last month a red dwarf in Lacerta erupted with a titanic — and unexpected — burst of energy.
Supernova Caught at its Very Start
By an unbelievable stroke of luck, X-ray astronomers catch the first minutes of a supernova explosion. You wouldn't have wanted to be there.