1–20 of 37 results
Spiral galaxy NGC 5468

Cosmology

Webb Telescope Measures Universe’s Expansion

Astronomers have used the Webb telescope to observe Cepheid variable stars, ruling out one source of the prevailing "Hubble tension.”

Galaxy clusters through time

Cosmology

Largest-ever Catalog of X-ray Sources Tests Cosmology 

Results from a brand-new high-energy observatory are rocking the field of cosmology. In particular, a study of more than 5,000 galaxy clusters relieves tension in the standard cosmological model.

Supernovae discovered in the Dark Energy Survey

Cosmology

How Strong Is Dark Energy? Intriguing Findings from New Supernova Catalog

The largest sample of Type Ia supernovae ever made by a single telescope sheds light on dark energy.

Gibbous Venus from Akatsuki

Solar System

Atomic Oxygen Detected on Venus

New data provide direct evidence for the existence of atomic oxygen in Venus's upper atmosphere, enabling new science on our sister planet.

Artist's concept shows blue-streaked surface of a massive solid planet

Exoplanets

How Did Two Hot and Super-dense Neptunes Form?

Astronomers have discovered two Neptune-size planets that are denser than rock and in searingly close orbits to their star. How did these odd worlds form?

Galaxy field with blue blob in inset

Cosmology

Another Early-Universe Mystery: JWST Spies Dust at Cosmic Dawn

Dust is usually the product of generations of star formation. So what is all this dust doing in the early universe, just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang?

Field of galaxies with spiky

Cosmology

Webb Telescope Tracks Universe's First Light

New results from the James Webb Space Telescope find that radiation from ordinary galaxies cleared the primordial haze left over from the Big Bang, allowing the first light to shine through the early universe.

The center of a globular cluster with hundreds of thousands of stars colored red white and blue

Black Holes

Does This Star Cluster Host a Black Hole in Its Core?

The well-known star cluster Messier 4 might have an elusive, midsize black hole hidden at its center, but the evidence isn’t conclusive yet.

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

Stellar Science

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.”

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