SUNSET: 
"Little Red Dot" Is a Cocooned Black Hole
A deep spectrum of a mysterious "little red dot" reveals a supermassive black hole cocooned in gas so dense it's opaque — but glowing in the infrared.
Gravitational-Wave Detections Surge with Latest Release
Astronomers have released the newest list of gravitational-wave detections, almost doubling the number of known signals from colliding black holes.
Astronomers Find Atmosphere Around a Pluto-like World
Observations — including from an amateur astronomer — show that the Plutino 2002 XV93 has a thin wisp of air around it.
Astronomers Find the Edge of the Milky Way
Astronomers have located the edge of the Milky Way’s star-forming disk for the first time, showing that star formation is focused within 40,000 light-years of our galactic center.
Brown Dwarfs Dance Unexpected Tango
Two brown dwarfs are whipping around each other in a tight tango — an unexpected dance for objects that are not-quite-stars and not-quite-planets.
The Solar Cycle Leaves Its Fingerprint on the Sun’s Interior
Astronomers have used 40 years’ worth of data to peer inside the Sun, revealing that the solar cycle can leave a distinct fingerprint beneath the visible surface.
Rubin Observatory Sends 800,000 Alerts to Astronomers — Per Night
The Vera Rubin Observatory is seeing 800,000 astronomical alerts per night — and that number will only increase.
Astronomers Witness Transformation of One of the Largest Stars
One of the largest known stars — a red supergiant — suddenly shrank and heated up, transforming into a different kind of star.
Astronomers Discover Second Failed Supernova Candidate
Astronomers might have spotted a star in the Andromeda Galaxy collapsing directly into a black hole, without the accompanying fanfare of a supernova.
The Dark Energy Survey Weighs in on Cosmic Tensions
The final release of data from the Dark Energy Survey widens tensions in our understanding of the cosmic evolution.
Did Astronomers See a Star Explode Twice?
Astronomers are trying to determine if they've witnessed a complex stellar explosion or a relatively ordinary supernova.
Scientists Map the Sun’s Magnetic “Surface”
Where does the Sun end and the solar wind begin? Scientists have mapped the dynamic magnetic edge that bounds our star.
Galaxies Spin on Vast Filament Like a Teacup Ride
Astronomers have discovered one of the largest structures in the universe — and the galaxies within it — spinning like a fairground teacup ride.
Have Astronomers Discovered the First Generation of Stars?
With the help of an intervening galaxy cluster, astronomers have found what might be the first generation of stars — but the jury's still out.
Astronomers Spot Rare Einstein Cross — and a Massive Clump of Dark Matter
The discovery of a rare Einstein Cross — five images of the same galaxy — reveals a trillion-solar-mass dark matter clump.
Celebrating 10 Years of Gravitational-Wave Discoveries
The LIGO gravitational-wave detector celebrates its 10th birthday with the clearest signal yet from a pair of merging black holes.
Alpha Centauri Might Have a Planet, Webb Telescope Finds
Direct images from the James Webb Space Telescope show what could be a Saturn-mass planet around Alpha Centauri.
Betelgeuse's Companion Has Been Found — Or Has It?
A new image from the Gemini Observatory might show a stellar companion to Betelgeuse, but the discovery is tentative.
Some Planets Are Bigger Than We Thought
More than 200 planets in the TESS catalogs may be bigger than originally estimated — putting initially Earth-size planets into the super-Earth category.
James Webb Space Telescope Discovers Its First Planet
The Saturn-mass planet candidate is probably newly formed and orbits a young star that's only 6.4 million years old.
