SUNSET: 
Star Caught Swallowing a Planet
For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a star eat an exoplanet.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
First Image of Black Hole Shadow and Jet Together
For the first time, astronomers have seen how the big plasma jet shot out by a supermassive black hole connects to the material falling into the black hole.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
The First Black Hole Image, Take Two
A new analysis of Event Horizon Telescope data sharpens our view of the glowing gas encircling the black hole.
The Universe Is Too Smooth By Half
Results from a complex new analysis support cosmologists’ suspicions that something is missing from our understanding of the universe.
Familiar Fluffy Triangulum Galaxy Has Hidden, Two-Armed Pattern
Astronomers have discovered that one of the Milky Way’s nearest galactic neighbors has dramatically changed its looks in the recent past.
The Challenge of Weird Black Hole Mergers
When spacetime shivers last only a fraction of a second — as in the case of the massive-black-hole merger GW190521 — astronomers struggle to uncover their origins.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
Hotspot Zooms Around Our Galaxy’s Black Hole
Astronomers have detected a bubble of hot gas circling our galaxy’s central black hole soon after seeing a flare, suggesting both arose from the same process.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
Monstrous Black Holes Spin More Slowly — But Why?
X-ray observations add to growing evidence that the most massive black holes have a different past than their lightweight peers.
Astronomers Unveil Image of the Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
Using a worldwide array of telescopes, the Event Horizon Telescope team has given us our first look at Sagittarius A*.
10 New Merger Events in Gravitational-Wave Data
An independent team has found additional black hole mergers in LIGO data.
Are These the Most Distant Galaxies Yet Seen?
Two fuzzy red objects in the early universe may be galaxies shining at us from only a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.
“Closest Black Hole” Doesn’t Exist, After All
Astronomers combined forces to confirm that a black hole proposed to lie a mere 1,000 light-years away isn’t really there.
Black Hole Spins Crookedly
Astronomers have found a black hole leaning decidedly askew in its orbit with a star.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
Third Gravitational-Wave Catalog Released
The latest results from LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA bring several key revelations, including that black holes tend to come with certain masses.
Plutonian Mounts Aren’t Ice Volcanoes
Careful study of data from the New Horizons mission indicates that an iconic, caldera-looking feature isn’t what it seems.
Shredded Star Reveals Elusive Middle-Mass Black Hole
Astronomers have used the death of a star to uncover details about a hidden intermediate-mass black hole.
Don’t Worry About Bennu (Yet)
Careful measurements using the OSIRIS-REX spacecraft have refined astronomers’ predictions for how likely it is that this potentially hazardous asteroid will strike Earth.
The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle
Event Horizon Telescope Reveals Curious Jet Structure from Black Hole
Observations of the nearest radio galaxy, Centaurus A, provide the highest-resolution look at the long jets shooting from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole.
Gravitational Waves Reveal Black Hole–Neutron Star Mergers
Two new detections give astrophysicists a novel look at how stellar remnants pair up.
Astronomers Look into the Past of Local Dwarf Galaxies
A combination of simulations and observations indicates that galaxies like the Large Magellanic Cloud control when punier dwarfs plunge into large galaxies.