Astronomy
A newborn planet munches on gas and dust surrounding its host star
In a first, astronomers imaged a baby planet within a gap in the disk of material around a star, confirming predictions about how rings form.
Astronomy
More Stories in Astronomy
- Astronomy
A dying star revealed its heart
Before exploding, a star shed most of its layers, giving a glimpse at a massive star’s deep interior. The event may represent a new kind of supernova.
- Astronomy
The oldest known black hole formed more than 13.3 billion years ago
The Webb telescope found that a far-off little red dot is the oldest known black hole, shrouded by gas that could help explain the ruby color.
- Planetary Science
A giant planet may orbit our closest sunlike neighbor
Alpha Centauri A, four light-years from Earth, may host a gas giant. If confirmed, no Earthlike planets orbit in the star’s habitable zone.
- Astronomy
Seven superclouds sit just beyond the solar system
The superclouds probably produce star-forming clouds of gas, since most nearby stellar nurseries are located within the giants.
- Astronomy
The Webb space telescope spies its first black holes snacking on stars
These star-shredding black holes sit within dusty galaxies that block many telescopes’ views. That’s not an issue for JWST.
- Astronomy
Two colliding galaxies may have birthed this black hole
An infinity symbol–shaped galaxy hosts an active supermassive black hole. The growing giant may have come from the aftermath of a galactic smashup.
- Astronomy
Betelgeuse’s companion star revealed in new images
Revealed by advanced imaging, the long-sought "Betelbuddy" is much smaller and fainter than Betelgeuse and orbits within the supergiant’s atmosphere.
- Planetary Science
This star offers the earliest peek at the birth of a planetary system like ours
A young sunlike star called HOPS 315 seems to host a swirling disk of gas giving rise to minerals that kick-start the planet formation process.
- Space
In a first, an image shows a dying star exploded twice to become a supernova
The image offers the first evidence for a previously unconfirmed origin story of type 1a supernovas.
