1–20 of 29 results
Faint, fuzzy dots among galaxies speckled on a black field

Galaxies

The James Webb Space Telescope May Have Spotted a Baby Galaxy Merger

New JWST images reveal that one of the most distant objects ever observed is actually two baby galaxies on a possible collision course.

Deimos, with Mars in the background

Solar System

The Moon Deimos Might Be a Piece of Mars

Surprising new results from the United Arab Emirates' Hope probe call the origin of Mars's smaller moon into question.

Giant planets around a small, red-colored star

Exoplanets

Giant Planets Around Small Stars

Leading theories say giant planets shouldn’t be able to form around very low-mass stars. But a new study finds that, nevertheless, they do.

Exoplanets

New Planets in the Neighborhood

A planet-hunting consortium is marking five successful years by releasing data on more than 50 worlds.

WASP-39b artist's illustration

Exoplanets

Webb Telescope Surveys a Hot Saturn

A collection of five research studies delve into the atmosphere of exoplanet WASP-39b as astronomers seek to better understand the chemistry of a world beyond the solar system.

Artist's concept of a first-generation star tearing itself apart

Cosmology

Tentative Evidence of the First Generation of Stars

Scientists have detected something unusual around a distant quasar — perhaps the first real evidence of a first-generation star.

NGC 7496 spiral galaxy seen in visible and infrared wavelengths

Galaxies

Thin Red Lines: Webb Space Telescope Captures Star Creation on Grand Scale

New imagery from the James Webb Space Telescope shows a nearby galaxy in a whole new light.

FRB heartbeat

Stellar Science

Radio “Heartbeat” Teases Fast Radio Burst Origins

Scientists have observed pulses from a fast radio burst, suggesting the flash might have come from a neutron star.

Meteoroids deliver organics

Astrobiology

Scientists Wonder: Is the Origin of Life Extraterrestrial?

A new analysis method has revealed DNA building blocks in meteorites, suggesting that these prebiotic molecules might have formed during the solar system's earliest years.

Taurine in HL Tau

Astronomy and Society

Floofy Objects and Other Tales of Astronomical Impossibility

Astronomers aren't holding back this year, with brand-new submissions to this year's highly prestigious (and fictitious) Acta Prima Aprilia.

Venus (radar image vs artist's concept of oceans)

Solar System

The History of Venus in Air, Rock, and Water

Forty years ago, NASA's Magellan mission “closed the book” on Venus. Now, a new generation of astronomers think the planet next door deserves a second chance.

Exoplanets

Exoplanet Hunter Racks up 5,000 “Objects of Interest”

Since its 2018 launch, the unassuming TESS satellite has found 175 confirmed exoplanets (so far) among 5,000 “objects of interest.”

Concept of the universe's expansion

Cosmology

No Release for the Hubble Tension

New data and analysis show that a long-standing discrepancy in the measurement of the current expansion rate of the universe is real — even as the reason for it remains a mystery.

Exo-Neptune AU Mic b (art)

Exoplanets

Infant “Hot Neptune” Provides Clues to Its Birth

How’d a nice young ice giant end up in such a hot orbit? Scientists investigate the mysterious exoplanet AU Microscopii b.

Artist's illustration of merger-triggered supernova

Stellar Science

New Kind of Supernova Implodes Stars Before Their Time

Astronomers have found the first circumstantial evidence for a supernova triggered by a merger with a neutron star or maybe even a black hole.

Venus

Solar System

Venus: Thin-skinned and Likely to Blow

Scientists found a strange little volcanic feature on the edge of a Venusian corona, giving further credence to the theory that the planet has a thin outer layer and an active interior.

Gale Crater

Solar System

Gale Crater on Mars: An Ancient Lake or Just Puddles?

A new study suggests that wind, not water, created the rock layers in Gale Crater, where the Curiosity rover roams.

Radar view of Venus

Solar System

Venus Surface Is Fragmented Like “Pack Ice”

A new analysis of old data suggests that some of our sister planet’s unique surface formations are due to a “squishy” crust and an active interior.

CATegories of Floofs

People, Places, and Events

Cakes, Cats, and Stars — Astro April Fools

Astronomers turn their attention to the true puzzles of the universe: cats, Jaffa Cakes, and the coming planet–black hole apocalypse.

Elliptical galaxy NGC 1453

Cosmology

New Studies Agree: The Universe Is Expanding Faster Than Expected

Measurements of elliptical galaxies provide a new way of calculating the current expansion rate of the universe. And the results are adding to a growing controversy.

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