SUNSET: 
Are Moons Growing Around Exoplanet PDS 70c?
New research suggests that the circumplanetary disk surrounding the exoplanet PDS 70c contains a ring of dense dust, and the conditions within this ring may allow baby moons to form.
Spying on a Split Comet
Traversing through the solar system, a comet split in two, and a recent study used six months of observations to investigate when and why.
"Rogue" Neptunes Are Detached But Not Alone
"Rogue" Neptune-size worlds might not roam the galaxy totally on their own, just very far away from their parent stars.
Into the Void: Investigating the Heart of a Giant Elliptical Galaxy
The core of the brightest galaxy in the cluster Abell 402 contains a curious void. New observations suggest that an ultra-massive black hole could have excavated this feature.
A Black Hole’s Puzzling X-Ray Bursts
In 2019, a supermassive black hole in a galaxy 300 million light-years away woke up. Now, it’s puzzling astronomers with an unexpected slowdown in its X-ray bursts.
How Tilted Orbits Impact Supermassive Black Hole Collisions
What factors impact how long it takes for a supermassive black hole binary to merge?
Dwarf Galaxy Has "Too Many" Satellites
While small galaxies are expected to have even smaller satellite galaxies, astronomers have found a surprising number of tiny companions around one dwarf galaxy.
We Have Visitors: Interstellar Material from Nearby Debris Disks
Traversing the galaxy from places yet known, a few interstellar objects have taken a quick dip into our solar system. Astronomers look to nearby planet-forming stellar systems as possible launching posts.
Boosting the Gravitational Wave Background
Why is the gravitational-wave background — the hum made by supermassive black holes colliding across the universe — stronger than expected?
The Sun Left Home in a Hurry
By exploring the edge of the solar system, astronomers have estimated how long our star stuck around its siblings after birth.
Gravitational Wave Detectors Spot Merging Black Holes That Have Merged Before
Two recent discoveries of black hole mergers add to the evidence that such mergers happen over and over again.
Distant Little Red Dot Hosts a Huge (and Growing) Black Hole
A "little red dot" galaxy from when the universe was roughly half a billion years old shows signs of the most distant black hole known.
A Candidate Direct-Collapse Black Hole in the Infinity Galaxy
Researchers have discovered a rare ring-galaxy duo that appears to harbor a supermassive black hole formed through direct collapse
Plumes from Saturn's Moon Enceladus Might Come Straight from Its Hidden Ocean
Researchers reanalyzing Cassini data think the plumes from Enceladus might provide direct access to the Saturnian moon's underground ocean.
Flame Nebula Images Show Star Formation Turnover for the First Time
For the first time, researchers have identified a turnover in the initial mass function of a star cluster.
Confirmed at Last: Barnard’s Star Hosts Four Tiny Planets
Following decades of disproven claims, four small exoplanets have been confirmed to orbit Barnard’s Star, the second-closest star system.
Cracking Crusts Might Set Neutron Star Speed Limit
New research explores how the cracking of a neutron star’s crust might determine how fast these extreme stellar remnants can spin.
Charting the Cosmic Shoreline: Which Planets Have Atmospheres?
Which of the nearly 6,000 known exoplanets have atmospheres? With help from the James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers are inching closer to an answer.
A Bubbly Origin for Odd Radio Circles
Discovered in 2019, odd radio circles (ORCs) are among the newest and most mysterious astrophysical phenomena. New research examines how bubbles blown by black hole jets could create these striking features.
Searching Five Million Stars for Disks, Debris, and Dyson Spheres
Stars with more infrared emission than expected might host planet-forming disks, rubble from planetary collisions, or maybe even signs of technologically advanced civilizations.