Astronomy
- Physics
Vela’s exploded star is the highest-energy pulsar ever seen
A spinning dead star about 1,000 light-years away, in the constellation Vela, raises questions about how pulsars can emit such extreme radiation.
- Astronomy
This ‘polar ring’ galaxy looks like an eye. Others might be hiding in plain sight
New images of two galaxies reveal what look like rarely seen rings of hydrogen gas nearly perpendicular to the galaxies’ starry disks.
- Astronomy
Astronomers call for renaming the Magellanic Clouds
Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is not a fitting namesake for the pair of satellite galaxies of the Milky Way, a group of scientists argues.
- Astronomy
Active supermassive black holes may be rarer than previously thought
A dearth of rapidly growing black holes in new James Webb telescope data raises questions about how these behemoths grow and influence their galaxies.
- Astronomy
This extreme star might have huge tidal waves
Gravitational forces between two orbiting stars might be creating huge waves of plasma on one of the stars that break and crash to the surface.
- Astronomy
JWST’s hunt for distant galaxies keeps turning up surprises
In its first year, the James Webb Space Telescope has found many galaxies from the early universe that are bigger, brighter and more mature than expected.
- Astronomy
Meet Jane Rigby, senior project scientist for JWST and advocate for LGBTQ+ astronomers
Rigby, senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, believes being part of the LGBTQ+ community has made her a better astronomer.
- Astronomy
Spiral galaxies might have been lentil-shaped before becoming starry whirls
By using black holes to track how galaxies merge and grow, an astronomer has proposed an update to the prevailing story of how galaxy shapes evolve.
- Space
The James Webb telescope may have spotted stars powered by dark matter
Three objects in the distant universe bear signs of hypothesized “dark stars,” researchers claim, though others say more definitive data are needed.
- Archaeology
How an ancient solar flare illuminated the start of the Viking Age
Improved radiocarbon dating aided by a solar flare in the year 775 sheds light on the early days of Vikings and global trading in medieval times.
- Astronomy
Ryugu asteroid samples are sprinkled with stardust older than the solar system
Slivers of the asteroid appear to be from the fringes of the solar system and could reveal bits of the history of the sun and its planets.
- Astronomy
Coronal rain has been seen splashing on the sun
New images of the solar corona, taken by the Solar Orbiter probe, reveal bright fireball effects and upwelling induced by falling plasma droplets.
