SUNSET: 
Century of Amateur Observations Shed Light on Star's Evolution
The amateurs of the AAVSO monitored the star T Ursae Minoris for a century. Now, astronomers think they can explain the star's recent change in behavior.
A Nearby Stellar Stream Gets Carded
The stellar stream Pisces–Eridanus may try to pass itself off as a billion years old, but scientists are calling its bluff.
Beta Pic's New Planet, Jupiter’s Fuzzy Core & An Ancient Star
Astronomers announce another planet around Beta Pictoris, simulations explain Jupiter's large and fuzzy core, and observations reveal an ancient star.
An “Impossible” White Dwarf Identified in Kepler Data
Meet the white dwarf that defies all expectations.
Astronomers Identify Host Galaxy of a Third Radio Flash
Astronomers have narrowed down the location of a third "fast radio burst" to a galaxy very like the Milky Way.
Astronomers Pinpoint New Fast Radio Burst
A next-gen Australian radio array has enabled astronomers to home in on the source of a mysterious fast radio burst — and the source is not what they expected.
A Link Between Fast Radio Bursts, Magnetars, and Supernovae?
What causes the bizarre, extragalactic fast radio bursts we’ve detected over the last decade? An unusually bright supernova may hold the answer.
How Astronomers Used Asteroids to Measure Stars
Astronomers have used a unique method and an extraordinary telescope array to reveal the diameters of distant stars.
The Beginning of the End for the Hyades Star Cluster
New measurements from the European Space Agency’s Gaia satellite show that the young stars of the Hyades cluster are beginning to drift apart.
Scientists Find Stellar Flare 10 Billion Times More Powerful Than Those on the Sun
Scientists have caught a powerful flare of submillimeter-wavelength radiation from a young star in the Orion Nebula.
New Astro Camera Spots Thousands of Celestial Flare-ups
A vision from 70 years ago, the Zwicky Transient Facility has produced a wave of discoveries — but it’s only a hint of what’s to come.
Celestial Event Dubbed "The Cow" Puzzles Astronomers
Astronomers can't agree on what kind of strange stellar death created a brilliant source dubbed "the Cow."
The Dragon in Orion's Nebula
NASA's planebound SOFIA observatory has captured a far-infrared view of the Orion Nebula that reveals the actions of the region's stars — and the striking illusion of a dragon at the nebula's core.
Glowing Serpent Found in the Sky
Astronomers have discovered a star generating a pinwheel of dust 8,000 lightyears away, which may shed some light on the last stages of massive star evolution.
Explore the Night with Bob King
Ducks in Disguise or How Stars Hide Their True Colors
Do star clusters form all at once or over several generations? A team of astronomers finds an answer among the spinning stars of an amateur favorite, the Wild Duck Cluster.
Puny Star Might Be Specimen from Early Universe
A low-mass sun with few elements heavier than helium provides hope that the Galaxy might contain survivors from the very first generation of stars.
Speeding White Dwarfs May Point to Past Explosions
A recent study has discovered three of the fastest stars — white dwarfs — known in the Milky Way. But these stars may be more than just speeders — they might also be evidence of how Type Ia supernovae occur.
Two Explosions with Similar Quirks
High-energy radiation released during the merger of two neutron stars last year has left astronomers puzzled. Could a burst of gamma rays from 2015 help us to piece together a coherent picture of both explosions?
A New Look at the Solar Corona
The hot, tenuous solar corona is visible during a total solar eclipse, and astronomers have long studied the structure and dynamics of the ghostly coronal streamers. Now, a special observing campaign has allowed us to see the corona in unprecedented detail.
Surprise Discovery of a 14-Year-Old Supernova
Much of today’s astronomy happens via methodical searches, but sometimes serendipitous discoveries still surprise us. Such is the case with the transient CGS2004A, a possible supernova recently detected in a galaxy nearly 50 million light-years away.