21–40 of 87 results
A black-hole binary

Black Holes

Jumping the Gap to Probe Large Black Holes

Gravitational-wave detectors should be able to locate a population of huge black holes soon. A new study predicts when we'll find them, and what they'll teach us.

An artist’s impression of the collision of two black holes

Black Holes

Redefining a Heavy Collision

Could the biggest — literally — gravitational-wave discovery yet be something other than what it initially seemed?

An artist's impression of a gas cloud as it passes the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.

Milky Way

Flares from the Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole

The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way released an unusual number of strong flares in 2019. Now, astronomers are trying to figure out why.

Photo of an edge-on galaxy encircled by a faint stream of stars.

Milky Way

Seeking the Origins of Galactic Stellar Streams

A recent study has identified the origins of many of the long streams of stars that encircle the Milky Way. These streams may contain hints about our galaxy's past.

An Artist's impression of WASP-107b

Exoplanets

Spotting a Faint Escaping Atmosphere

Low-density exoplanets orbiting close to their host stars tend to lose their atmosphere. Now, astronomers can measure how fast it disappears.

An explosive outflow of molecular gas within the Orion Nebula

Stellar Science

A Map of a Stellar Explosion

Scientists may have discovered a clue to how massive stars form in the Orion Nebula and a stellar birthplace.

Artist’s impression of the Ulysses spacecraft

Stellar Science

Measuring Solar Eruptions with a Rare Alignment

New analysis of a coronal mass ejection detected by the alignment of two spacecraft reveals that it experienced erosion and restructuring as it traveled.

Artist’s impression of a binary neutron star and the gravitational waves the system emits.

Professional Telescopes

How to Warn of Imminent Neutron Star Collisions

What if gravitational-wave observatories could send out alerts right after — or even before — receiving signals of neutron star collisions?

Artist's impression of the outer reaches of our solar system.

Stellar Science

The Eventual Fate of Our Solar System

Have you ever wondered about the future of our solar system? Astronomers have predicted the effect of the Sun's expansion on its planets.

Artist's impression of HR 6819

Black Holes

Casting Doubt on a Nearby Black Hole

New research has shown that the recently-discovered closest black hole to Earth might not be a black hole after all but a binary star.

Artist's impression of a Y-dwarf star

Citizen Science: Projects & Collaboration

Taking Stock of Backyard Worlds

Scientists have used the Spitzer Space Telescope to confirm seventy-five new substars uncovered by the citizen science project Backyard Worlds: Planet 9.

An image of the ASKAP array under the Milky Way

Milky Way

Will Radio Bursts Reveal Hidden Baryons?

Scientists are using radio emission from pulsars and fast radio bursts to probe the circumgalactic medium around the Milky Way.

Protoplanetary disk

Solar System

Hints of Young Solar Systems

By studying the images of small young star systems, astronomers expect to learn more about the formation of our solar system.

Artist’s illustration of a magnetar

Stellar Science

An Infant Pulsar Defies Categorization

The discovery of the youngest pulsar yet has lead astronomers to question the current classification system of these objects.

Artist's impression of Beta Pictoris

Exoplanets

Alignment of a Star and a Planet

Unlike in our solar system, not all planets orbit in the same direction as their stars rotate. A nearby planetary system may reveal how these orbits form.

Asteroid illustration

Solar System

Exploring Links Between Nearby Asteroids

In preparation for the launch of Destiny+, a new study reveals that two near-Earth asteroids may share the same parent.

Artist's illustration of a possibly disintegrating planet

Exoplanets

Are We Watching a Planet Disintegrate?

Among the wealth of exoplanets we’ve discovered beyond our solar system, some are temperate, some less so. New observations have now revealed what may be a particularly inhospitable environment: a planet literally disintegrating as it orbits its host.

Black Holes

What Kinds of Black Hole Partners Merge?

New research on black hole mergers reveals that the black hole pairs tend to have similar masses — suggesting that they start out as massive stellar pairs.

Exoplanets

Rescuing an Overlooked Planet

The Kepler False Positive Working Group has identified an Earth sized planet in the habitable zone of a M-dwarf star that was marked as a false positive.

Comet Borisov

Solar System

A Detailed View of Our Second Interstellar Visitor

What do we know about the second object to visit us from another stellar system? Detailed Hubble images have given us plenty to consider!

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