Odd Radio Circle (ORC) 1

Galaxies

Odd Radio Circles: The Remnants of Furious Galactic Winds

New evidence suggests extreme starbursts and furious galactic winds are at the heart of odd radio circles (ORCs).

Artist's impression of AGN

Galaxies

Even Lonely Black Holes Need to Eat

Astronomers have found supermassive black holes in smaller galaxies are actually more likely to light up when they’re isolated in vast, cosmic voids.

Webb's first deep field

Professional Telescopes

What the James Webb Space Telescope's First Year Will Reveal

The James Webb Space Telescope's first year of observations promises to reveal exoplanet atmospheres and surfaces, infant galaxies, and maybe even the first black holes.

M94

Galaxies

Life and Death in Nearby Galaxies

New images of nearby galaxies and their surroundings reveal details in galactic formation and evolution — and puzzles that remain to be solved.

Odd Radio Circle (ORC) 1

Galaxies

New Image Reveals Possible Origins of “Odd Radio Circles”

This faint ring of radio emission might signal a momentous event in galactic evolution. Then again, it might be something else entirely.

Early Milky Way look-alike

Galaxies

"Dead Ringer" for the Milky Way Found in Early Universe

A cosmic magnifying glass has revealed a Milky Way-like galaxy in the early universe that doesn’t conform to cosmologists’ expectations.

Cygnus A in radio

Black Holes

Odd Jets Might Signal Dual Black Holes

Off-kilter, curved, and otherwise unusual beams of plasma from galaxies’ cores might track the dueling dances of two supermassive black holes.

Herschel Sprint: NGC 4911

Milky Way

Milky Way May Be Made with Swapped Gas

High-powered simulations suggest that half of the material in the Milky Way could come from other galaxies.

Galaxies

The Making of a “Frankenstein” Galaxy

Astronomers take a second look at UGC 1382 — previously considered a typical elliptical galaxy — and reassess everything they know about its size, age, and formation.

super spiral and normal galaxies

Galaxies

Super Spiral Galaxies

Astronomers have identified 53 “super spirals” — spiral galaxies that are huge and incredibly luminous — as part of a project exploring archived observations.

An artist's impression of a damped-lyman alpha system

Galaxies

Seeing Shadows of Ancient Galaxies

A new technique lets astronomers measure nearly invisible clouds of hydrogen gas from across the universe.

massive galaxy evolution

Cosmology

Ancient Galaxies Seen Dying Inside-Out

Astronomers have found massive galaxies 3 billion years after the Big Bang that are dying from the inside out.

Galaxies

Question Reopened: How do Galaxies Grow?

Evidence from observations sheds doubt on cosmic cannibalism as a source for galaxy growth, suggesting that instead galaxies grow by pulling in gas from the intergalactic medium.