Artist's concept of disk wind, looks like exploding donut

Astronomy & Observing News

Webb Telescope Images Planet-Shaping Winds Around Young Stars

Astronomers have obtained the first sharp images of winds blowing from gaseous disks around young stars, paving the way for improved models of planet formation.

Illustration of Starlink satellites in grid-like orbits over radio receiver array

Astronomy & Observing News

Astronomers and Starlink Partner for Quieter Radio Sky

Astronomers and Starlink engineers have developed a technique to significantly reduce satellite radio pollution affecting astronomical observations.

X-ray image of galactic center

Astronomy & Observing News

Milky Way's Central Black Hole Flared 200 Years Ago

A glowing molecular cloud shines today because of a 200-year-old flare let out by our galaxy’s supermassive black hole, scientists say.

Small white dwarf at left pulls gas in a spiral pattern from a larger star at right

Astronomy & Observing News

Radio Waves Unveil Supernova Origin

Astronomers have observed an unusual supernova, in which a helium star fed a white dwarf until it exploded.

A pair of bright AGN couple at the center of two merged galaxies

Astronomy & Observing News

Massive Black Hole Duo Spotted at Cosmic Noon

The most distant pair of supermassive black holes discovered offers a unique insight into how galaxies merge.

Runaway black hole (art)

Astronomy & Observing News

Have Scientists Found a Rogue Supermassive Black Hole?

An unusual stellar streak emerging from a distant galaxy might be a sign of a runaway supermassive black hole, scientists suggest.

torn-apart star's innards spiral around black hole

Astronomy & Observing News

Shredded Star Reveals a Dwarf Galaxy’s Central Black Hole

A luminous flare provides astronomers with a rare opportunity to measure the mass of an otherwise quiescent black hole at the center of a dwarf galaxy.

Gamma-ray burst

Astronomy & Observing News

Brightest Gamma-Ray Burst Yet Lights Up the Sky

A recently detected gamma-ray burst GRB 221009A was so intense that it temporarily blinded instruments and disturbed Earth’s atmosphere.

Black sphere near a glowing sphere

Astronomy & Observing News

Wobbly Star Reveals the Closest Black Hole Yet

The most compelling dormant stellar-mass black hole candidate in the Milky Way orbits a Sun-like star only 1,570 light-years away.

The quartet of stars that became a triple

Astronomy & Observing News

This Triplet of Stars Was Once a Quartet

Stellar mergers in quadruple systems might be common, a new study shows.

Uranus and Neptune

Astronomy & Observing News

Where Did the Ice Giants Form?

Conventional planet formation scenarios have Neptune and Uranus forming closer to the Sun. But a new study shows that the ice giant planets could have formed right where they are now.

Artist's impression of AGN

Astronomy & Observing News

Supermassive Black Hole Hides Behind a Ring of Dust

A high-resolution infrared image has revealed a dust screen obscuring a gas-devouring supermassive black hole in the center of the galaxy NGC 1068, confirming 30-year-old predictions.

Spectral view of galactic center

Astronomy & Observing News

Astonishing Radio View of the Milky Way’s Heart

A new radio survey reveals a complex and chaotic galactic center teeming with supernova remnants, star-forming regions, and mysterious filaments.

Stellar companion strips outer layers from massive star (art)

Astronomy & Observing News

Close Companions Help Stars Make More Carbon

Massive stars can produce twice as much carbon when they have a close binary companion, according to a new study. The result is a small but important step in understanding the cosmic origin of elements.

Astronomy & Observing News

Misfit Meteorite Sheds Light on Solar System History

Scientists have discovered the first meteorite that doesn't fall into one of two fundamental groups. The meteorite provides a unique glimpse into the era of asteroid formation and migration.

Near-Earth asteroid

Astronomy & Observing News

How Often Do Chicxulub-level Asteroids Hit Earth?

Asteroids of different sizes crashing on Earth originated from different parts of the main asteroid belt, researchers say; the finding has implications for how often such collisions happen.

Neutron star mergers produce r-process elements

Astronomy & Observing News

Metal-poor Stars Shed Light on the Origin of Gold

Explosions of massive stars might have produced gold and other rare heavy elements observed in metal-poor stars in our galaxy’s halo.

Earth's magnetic field

Astronomy & Observing News

The Hubble Space Telescope As Cosmic-Ray Detector

Astronomers, using Hubble Space Telescope as a particle detector, have traced cosmic rays flowing in Earth's geomagnetic field.

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