Astronomy

More Stories in Astronomy

  1. Two photos of the same black hole in M87 side by side. The image on the left is the original and appears to be a fuzzy black center with a ring of orange around it. The image on the right is similar but clearly a dark circle in the middle with an orange ring around it.
    Astronomy

    The first black hole portrait got sharper thanks to machine learning

    A machine learning technique filled in data gaps in the image of M87’s black hole, resulting in a thinner ring.

    By Emily Conover
  2. A photo of a dark room with a projector screen showing a film about the origin of a star cluster. The outlines of people and stars are on the screen frozen while stars light up the ceiling.
    Science & Society

    The Smithsonian’s ‘Lights Out’ inspires visitors to save the fading night sky

    The exhibition examines how light pollution harms astronomy, ecosystems and human cultures. But it also offers hope.

    By McKenzie Prillaman
  3. A telescope image of a long stream of cold cosmic gas seen as a blue line coming off a big purple circle on a dark background.
    Astronomy

    A stream of cold gas is unexpectedly feeding the far-off Anthill Galaxy

    The finding suggests that early galaxies might have gained more of their bulk from streams of cold gas instead of in violent galaxy collisions.

    By Lisa Grossman
  4. illustration of two merging neutron stars in blue
    Astronomy

    A neutron star collision may have emitted a fast radio burst

    Astronomers spotted both a fast radio burst and gravitational waves from a cosmic smashup in the same part of the sky and at about the same time.

    By Lisa Grossman
  5. An illustration of an orange planet with dark orange and red spots scattered across its surface.
    Astronomy

    The biggest planet orbiting TRAPPIST-1 doesn’t appear to have an atmosphere

    TRAPPIST-1b is hotter than astronomers expected, suggesting there’s no atmosphere to transport heat around the planet.

    By Sid Perkins
  6. A collection of lens set up in front of a drawn portrait of Christiaan Huygens.
    Astronomy

    The mystery of Christiaan Huygens’ flawed telescopes may have been solved

    The discovery of Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, may have come despite its discoverer, Christiaan Huygens, needing eyeglasses.

    By Emily Conover
  7. An illustration of a black hole.
    Astronomy

    A runaway black hole has been spotted fleeing a distant galaxy

    A bright streak stretching away from a remote galaxy might be the light from stolen gas and new stars caught in the wake of an escaping black hole.

    By Lisa Grossman
  8. An image from the James Webb Space Telecope showing face-on spiral galaxy, NGC 628, with its whorls of colored gas and dust, pockmarked with dark areas.
    Astronomy

    Newborn stars sculpt their galaxies in new James Webb telescope images

    Dark voids riddle the galaxies’ faces, highlighting previously invisible details about how new stars alter their locales.

    By Lisa Grossman
  9. A simulation image of filaments and clusters shown in blue lines and pink dots.
    Cosmology

    Astronomers spotted shock waves shaking the web of the universe for the first time

    Studying these elusive shock waves could give scientists a better look at the mysterious magnetic fields that permeate the cosmic web.

    By Elise Cutts