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Swift mission maps a star's 'death spiral' into a black hole (w/video)

Some 290 million years ago, a star much like the sun wandered too close to the central black hole of its galaxy. Intense tides tore the star apart, which produced an eruption of optical, ultraviolet and X-ray light that first reached Earth in 2014.

Mar 21st, 2017

Does Mars have rings? Not right now, but maybe one day

Scientists have developed a model that suggests that debris that was pushed into space from an asteroid or other body slamming into Mars around 4.3 billion years ago and alternates between becoming a planetary ring and clumping up to form a moon.

Mar 21st, 2017

Astronomers to peer into a black hole for first time with new Event Horizon Telescope

On April 5-14 2017, the team behind the Event Horizon Telescope hopes to test the fundamental theories of black-hole physics by attempting to take the first ever image of a black hole's event horizon (the point at which theory predicts nothing can escape).

Mar 20th, 2017

Less dark matter in distant galaxies?

Milky Way systems in the early universe consist mainly of gas and stars.

Mar 16th, 2017

The rotation axes of stars tell us about how they were born

Using asteroseismology, an international research team discovered a surprising alignment of the rotation axes of stars in open clusters, shedding light on the conditions in which stars are formed in our galaxy.

Mar 16th, 2017

Relativistic electrons uncovered with Van Allen Probes (w/video)

New observations from NASA's Van Allen Probes mission show that the fastest, most energetic electrons in the inner radiation belt are not present as much of the time as previously thought.

Mar 15th, 2017

Scientists identify a black hole choking on stardust

Data suggest black holes swallow stellar debris in bursts.

Mar 15th, 2017

Star in closest orbit ever seen around black hole

Astronomers have found evidence of a star that whips around a likely black hole twice an hour. This could be the tightest orbital dance ever seen by a black hole and a companion star in our own Milky Way galaxy.

Mar 13th, 2017

Hubble hones in on a hypergiant's home

A beautiful Hubble image reveals a young super star cluster known as Westerlund 1, only 15,000 light-years away in our Milky Way neighborhood, yet home to one of the largest stars ever discovered.

Mar 10th, 2017

Iota Orionis: Pulsating beacon of a constellation

Using the world's smallest astronomical satellites, researchers detect the biggest stellar heartbeat ever.

Mar 8th, 2017

Research uncovers potential health risks of travel to Mars

Researchers are using human stem cells to measure the effects of deep space radiation.

Mar 8th, 2017

Cosmic environments and their influence in star formation

Astronomers have performed an extensive study of the properties of galaxies within filaments formed at different times during the age of the universe.

Mar 6th, 2017

Volcanic hydrogen spurs chances of finding exoplanet life

Astronomers report that hydrogen pouring from volcanic sources on planets throughout the universe could improve the chances of locating life in the cosmos.

Mar 3rd, 2017

Is anything tough enough to survive on Mars?

Scientists recently took a step toward answering a question for the ages: Is there life on Mars? Answer: they can't rule it out.

Mar 2nd, 2017

Ultracool dwarf and the seven planets

Temperate earth-sized worlds found in extraordinarily rich planetary system.

Feb 22nd, 2017

Tune your radio: Galaxies sing when forming stars

Astronomers found the most precise way ever to measure the rate at which stars form in galaxies using their radio emission at 1-10 Gigahertz frequency range.

Feb 21st, 2017