Explore astronomy articles organized by topics and themes
Beautiful space images with explanations
Recent research papers and scientific studies
Updates from space missions and explorations
Beautiful space images with explanations
In the vast Orion Molecular Cloud complex, several bright blue nebulas are particularly apparent. Pictured here in the center are two of the most prominent reflection nebulas - dust clouds lit by the reflecting light of bright embedded stars. The more famous nebula is M78, in the image center, cat...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
Rising over a frozen valley in the Tatra Mountains, the familiar stars and nebulas of Orion dominate this wide-field nightscape. The featured deep photo was taken in southern Poland's highest mountain range last month, where dark skies and alpine terrain combined to reveal both Earth's rugged beaut...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
Can you see nebulas in other galaxies? Yes, some nebulas shine brightly enough -- if you know how to look. Clouds of hydrogen and oxygen emit light at very specific colors, and by isolating them, astronomers and astrophotographers can reveal structures that would otherwise be too faint to notice. ...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
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This moon is doomed. Mars, the red planet named for the Roman god of war, has two tiny moons, Phobos and Deimos, whose names are derived from the Greek for Fear and Panic. These Martian moons may well be captured asteroids originating in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter or perhaps fro...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
ght billion people are about to disappear in this snapshot from space taken on 2022 November 21. On the sixth day of the Artemis I mission, their home world is setting behind the Moon's bright edge as viewed by an external camera on the outbound Orion spacecraft. Orion was headed for a powered flyby...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
Very faint planetary nebula Abell 7 is about 1,800 light-years distant. It lies just south of Orion in planet Earth's skies toward the constellation Lepus, The Hare. Posing with scattered Milky Way stars, its generally simple spherical shape about 8 light-years in diameter is revealed in this deep t...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
Recent research papers and scientific studies
Astronomers have discovered a strange planetary system featuring a hot, small planet close to its star and a giant, cold planet much further away. This unusual arrangement challenges our understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve, suggesting that planets can migrate significantly over time.
💡 Imagine a family with one kid living in the kitchen, always near the oven, and another living in the backyard, only seeing the house from far away. This star system is similarly set up with planets in very different conditions.
Why it matters: This discovery helps us understand how diverse planetary systems can be and offers clues about the processes that shape them, potentially leading to a better understanding of our own solar system's origins and the possibilities for life elsewhere.
New simulations show red supergiants, massive dying stars, don't fade away quietly. Instead, they pulsate and shed their outer layers in a complex, uneven wind. This helps explain why some supernovas, the violent deaths of these stars, interact with a surprising amount of nearby material.
💡 Imagine a baker kneading dough. Sometimes, bits of flour fly off to the side. These simulations show that dying stars behave similarly, but instead of flour, they're shedding layers of gas and dust.
Why it matters: Understanding how massive stars die helps us understand where elements like iron and oxygen come from and how they seed the universe with the building blocks for new stars and planets. It helps us piece together the cosmic story of our existence.
Scientists are using the bending of gravitational waves, caused by massive objects, to hunt for small clumps of dark matter called subhalos. These subhalos, invisible to telescopes, leave subtle fingerprints on the gravitational waves, offering a new way to understand the mysterious substance that makes up most of the universe.
💡 Imagine looking at a distant light through a magnifying glass. Imperfections in the glass (like dark matter subhalos) will distort the light in unique ways, revealing information about the glass itself.
Why it matters: Dark matter makes up about 85% of the universe's mass, yet we can't directly see it. Understanding its distribution is key to understanding how galaxies form and evolve.
Neil deGrasse Tyson's bestselling introduction to the universe. Essential reading for anyone curious about space.
Check Price on Amazon Scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to study the atmosphere of a planet-like object floating alone in space. They found evidence of patchy clouds, chemical changes, and possibly even auroras, similar to the Northern Lights, all driven by the planet's own internal weather system.
💡 Imagine studying Earth's weather without the influence of the Sun – that's similar to what scientists are doing with this isolated planet-like object!
Why it matters: This helps us understand how planets form and evolve, even those that aren't orbiting a star. Studying these isolated objects is like looking at a planet in a simplified setting, making it easier to understand the fundamental processes at play.
Scientists are exploring the possibility of a new, extremely light particle called the 'eta-w' within the Standard Model of particle physics. Astrophysical observations are putting strong limits on how this particle interacts with other matter, suggesting it's much more elusive than previously thought. This could force us to rethink our understanding of fundamental forces and particles.
💡 Imagine searching for a single, nearly invisible grain of sand on a beach. The beach is the universe, and finding (or proving the absence of) this grain could unlock secrets about how the beach was formed.
Why it matters: This research explores the fundamental building blocks of the universe. Finding or disproving the existence of this particle could revolutionize our understanding of physics, potentially leading to new technologies and a deeper understanding of the cosmos.
Scientists used the James Webb Space Telescope to study the atmosphere of a young, isolated planetary object called SIMP J0136. They found repeating patterns in its light, revealing details about its swirling clouds and atmospheric chemistry, much like studying weather patterns on Earth.
💡 Imagine tracking weather patterns on a faraway planet by observing how the light reflecting off its clouds changes over time. That's essentially what scientists are doing here, but instead of rain and sunshine, they're looking at clouds made of different exotic chemicals.
Why it matters: This helps us understand the atmospheres of planets beyond our solar system, even those that aren't orbiting a star. It also gives us clues about how planets, including our own, form and evolve.
Updates from space missions and explorations
Two days of intense discussions and exchanges came to an end at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels on Wednesday....
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
Video: 00:08:37 Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher on the second day of the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.The European Space Conference is a key strategic event bringing together representatives from ESA, the European Commission, industry, nationa...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has topped itself once again, delivering on its promise to push the boundaries of its observations closer to cosmic dawn with the confirmation of a bright galaxy that existed 280 million years after the Big Bang....
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
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A team of astronomers have used a new AI-assisted method to search for rare astronomical objects in the Hubble Legacy Archive. The team sifted through nearly 100 million image cutouts in just two and a half days, uncovering nearly 1400 anomalous objects, more than 800 of which had never been documen...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
Video: 00:13:24 Watch the keynote address by ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher at the 18th European Space Conference in Brussels.The European Space Conference is a key strategic event bringing together representatives from ESA, the European Commission, industry, national space agencies a...
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy
The European Space Agency discussed plans for its record budget as the 18th European Space Conference began in Brussels, Belgium on 27 January....
Why it matters: Important advance in astronomy