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Anticipating the dangers of space

Researchers use supercomputers to estimate radiation risks for low Earth orbits.

Apr 3rd, 2018

Researchers uncover the farthest star ever seen

More than halfway across the universe, researchers have spotted an enormous blue star, nicknamed Icarus. It is the farthest individual star ever seen.

Apr 2nd, 2018

First age-map of the heart of the Milky Way

The first large-scale age-map of the Milky Way shows that a period of star formation lasting around 4 billion years created the complex structure at the heart of our galaxy.

Apr 2nd, 2018

Decades of research identify source of galaxy-sized stream of gas

By identifying the chemical makeup of the gas, known as the Leading Arm of the Magellanic Stream, the researchers identified one branch as coming from the Small Magellanic Cloud.

Mar 23rd, 2018

Hubble solves cosmic 'whodunit' with interstellar forensics

On the outskirts of our galaxy, a cosmic tug-of-war is unfolding-and only the Hubble Space Telescope can see who's winning.

Mar 22nd, 2018

TRAPPIST-1 planets provide clues to the nature of habitable worlds

New software, called ExoPlex, allowed researchers to combine all of the available information about the TRAPPIST-1 system, including the chemical makeup of the star, rather than being limited to just the mass and radius of individual planets.

Mar 20th, 2018

Cosmologists create largest simulation of galaxy formation

A multi-institutional team gives the cosmology community a world-class simulation to study how the universe formed.

Mar 19th, 2018

'Oumuamua likely came from a binary star system

New research finds that 'Oumuamua, the rocky object identified as the first confirmed interstellar asteroid, very likely came from a binary star system.

Mar 19th, 2018

Scientists detect radio echoes of a black hole feeding on a star

Signals suggest black hole emits a jet of energy proportional to the stellar material it gobbles up.

Mar 19th, 2018

The limit on the radii of neutron stars tightened

The observation of gravitational waves and light from a merging neutron-star binary system has allowed scientists to tighten constraints on the radius of a neutron star.

Mar 16th, 2018

Double or nothing: Astronomers rethink quasar environment

Astronomers found that quasars don't tend to reside in protoclusters; but if there is one quasar in a protocluster, there is likely a second nearby. This result raises doubts about the relation between protoclusters and quasars.

Mar 13th, 2018

The occurrence of magnetism in the universe

Precession sufficient to generate a magnetic field.

Mar 12th, 2018

Arrested development: Hubble finds relic galaxy close to home

Astronomers have put NASA's Hubble Space Telescope on an Indiana Jones-type quest to uncover an ancient 'relic galaxy' in our own cosmic backyard.

Mar 12th, 2018

15 new planets confirmed around cool dwarf stars

A new planet near the habitable zone around a bright cool star.

Mar 12th, 2018

NASA's Webb Telescope to make a splash in search for interstellar water

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope will peer into molecular clouds to gain new insights into the origin and evolution of water and other key building blocks for habitable planets.

Mar 9th, 2018

Unveiling the depths of Jupiter's winds

Three papers answer a question that scientists have been asking ever since Galileo first observed the famous stripes of Jupiter: Are the colorful bands just a pretty surface phenomenon, or are they a significant stratum of the planet?

Mar 8th, 2018

A new kind of star

Together with gravity, the polarization of the quantum vacuum may allow stars to exist in unconventional configurations.

Mar 8th, 2018

A peculiar galactic clash

Galaxies are not static islands of stars -- they are dynamic and ever-changing, constantly on the move through the darkness of the Universe. Sometimes, as seen in this spectacular Hubble image of Arp 256, galaxies can collide in a crash of cosmic proportions.

Mar 8th, 2018