Astronomy

Physics

Gravitational waves confirm a black hole law predicted by Stephen Hawking

The first black hole merger detected by LIGO affirms that the surface area of a black hole can increase over time, but not decrease.

Space

Most planets on tilted orbits pass over the poles of their suns

Nearly all of the worlds on misaligned trajectories in other solar systems orbit at nearly 90 degrees to their stars’ equators.

Astronomy

An arc of galaxies 3 billion light-years long may challenge cosmology

Dubbed “the Giant Arc,” the purported structure is much larger than expected in a cosmos where matter is thought to be evenly distributed.

Astronomy

Some fast radio bursts come from the spiral arms of other galaxies

Tracking five brief, bright blasts of cosmic radio waves to their origins suggests their sources form quickly in regions with lots of star formation.

Astronomy

Record-breaking light has more than a quadrillion electron volts of energy

Hundreds of newly detected gamma rays hint at cosmic environments that accelerate particles to extremes.

Astronomy

Watch this beautiful, high-resolution simulation of how stars are born

The STARFORGE simulation follows a giant gas cloud as it collapses into new stars, accounting for all the phenomena thought to influence the outcome.

Astronomy

The Milky Way may have grown up faster than astronomers suspected

Most of the galaxy’s disk was in place before a merger 10 billion years ago with a dwarf galaxy called Gaia-Enceladus/Sausage, a new study suggests.

Astronomy

A study of Earth’s crust hints that supernovas aren’t gold mines

Supernovas aren’t the main source of gold, silver and other heavy elements, a study of deep-sea crust suggests.

Space

Planet-forming disks around stars may come preloaded with ingredients for life

Methanol spotted around a hot, young star probably originated in interstellar space, suggesting some chemistry for life may start before stars form.

Astronomy

Saturn has a fuzzy core, spread over more than half the planet’s diameter

Analysis of a wave in one of Saturn’s rings has revealed that the planet’s core is diffuse and bloated with lots of hydrogen and helium.

Space

A rare glimpse of a star before it went supernova defies expectations

A hydrogen-free supernova in a nearby galaxy appears to have come from an unusual source.

Space

Stars made of antimatter could lurk in the Milky Way

Fourteen celestial sources of gamma rays provide preliminary hints of matter colliding with “antistars” in our galaxy.