1–20 of 378 results
dense ball of bright pinpricks, which are stars in the globular NGC 1851

Stellar Science

Mystery Objects Uncovered in Globular Clusters

Astronomers have found two different star clusters with an enigmatic source inside. Are these objects neutron stars or black holes?

comparison of two images of an orange circle with a dark center, no labels

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

The Black Hole Shadow in M87: One Year Later

The Event Horizon Telescope collaboration has released the image from its second major campaign, confirming the existence of a persistent black hole shadow and a potentially turbulent environment.

a fuzzy orb with rainbow stripes of red, yellow, green, and blue, against a dark background with white dots

Galaxies

Astronomers Discover “Invisible” Galaxy

A radio survey has serendipitously uncovered a galaxy with no visible stars.

a dark circle with a spiral galaxy inside of it and spiral arms coming off it; the right side more detailed and colorful than the left

Black Holes

Black Holes in Early Universe Are Too Big

JWST observations of the universe as it was 12 to 13 billion years ago indicate that the black holes at the centers of small, early galaxies were more massive than expected.

round, expanding shell with intricate, knotty filaments

Stellar Science

Cassiopeia A: A Festive Supernova Remnant

New near-infrared observations from the Webb telescope reveal intricate strands of debris from the exploded star.

An artist’s impression of the collision of two black holes

Black Holes

Black Hole Rain

The planned LISA gravitational-wave detector might discover a shower of hundreds of small black holes falling in galactic centers.

group of people standing beneath huge telescope

People, Places, and Events

Travel Diary: Astronomical Adventures in the Canaries

The week of September’s new Moon, a passel of astro-enthused passengers explored one of the world’s premier observing locations.

series of images of blue Neptune with bright clouds appearing and disappearing over nearly 30 years

Solar System

Solar Cycle May Trigger Clouds on Neptune

Nearly 30 years of observations indicate that Neptune’s clouds and brightness vary with the Sun’s activity.

dark hole surrounded by hot disk of swirling gas and shooting out a jet from its rotation axis

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Black Hole May Have Formed by Direct Collapse

Astronomers may have spotted a supermassive black hole in the early universe that formed when a gargantuan gas cloud imploded.

hot blue ball, one side brighter than the other

Stellar Science

A Jekyll-Hyde White Dwarf

The white dwarf J2033 seems to switch rapidly between two compositions.

hot and swollen star eating a planet much smaller than it

Exoplanets

Star Caught Swallowing a Planet

For the first time, astronomers have witnessed a star eat an exoplanet.

bright dot with stream with bright edges and mostly empty interior shooting out from it, with a zoom on the bright dot showing it's a ring

Black Holes

First Image of Black Hole Shadow and Jet Together

For the first time, astronomers have seen how the big plasma jet shot out by a supermassive black hole connects to the material falling into the black hole.

two glowing orange rings, one thick, one thin

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

The First Black Hole Image, Take Two

A new analysis of Event Horizon Telescope data sharpens our view of the glowing gas encircling the black hole.

cluster of various galaxies

Cosmology

The Universe Is Too Smooth By Half

Results from a complex new analysis support cosmologists’ suspicions that something is missing from our understanding of the universe.

swirl with many arms

Galaxies

Familiar Fluffy Triangulum Galaxy Has Hidden, Two-Armed Pattern

Astronomers have discovered that one of the Milky Way’s nearest galactic neighbors has dramatically changed its looks in the recent past.

Gravitational waves from GW190521

Black Holes

The Challenge of Weird Black Hole Mergers

When spacetime shivers last only a fraction of a second — as in the case of the massive-black-hole merger GW190521 — astronomers struggle to uncover their origins.

Orange ring around dark center, with a hot bubble circling it

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Hotspot Zooms Around Our Galaxy’s Black Hole

Astronomers have detected a bubble of hot gas circling our galaxy’s central black hole soon after seeing a flare, suggesting both arose from the same process.

diffuse glow surrounding a bright core

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

Monstrous Black Holes Spin More Slowly — But Why?

X-ray observations add to growing evidence that the most massive black holes have a different past than their lightweight peers.

black hole surrounded by a glowing orange ring

Black Holes

Astronomers Unveil Image of the Milky Way’s Central Black Hole

Using a worldwide array of telescopes, the Event Horizon Telescope team has given us our first look at Sagittarius A*.

The merger of a black-hole binary

The Black Hole Files with Camille Carlisle

10 New Merger Events in Gravitational-Wave Data

An independent team has found additional black hole mergers in LIGO data.

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