Astronomy
Dark matter ‘nuggets’ could explain the Milky Way’s mysterious glow
A mysterious excess of far-ultraviolet light seen across the Milky Way could come from the annihilation of clumpy dark matter.
Astronomy
More Stories in Astronomy
- Astronomy
Early views of a supernova’s first moments reveal a lopsided blast
Some of the earliest images ever taken in the wake of massive star’s death give astronomers important clues about what triggers a supernova.
- Astronomy
See the largest, most detailed radio image of the Milky Way yet
Supernova remnants, stellar nurseries and more populate the new edge-on view of the Milky Way as seen from Earth’s southern hemisphere.
- Astronomy
Some planets might home brew their own water
Tests on olivine hint that water-rich exoplanets could generate H2O internally, possibly explaining ocean worlds and even some of Earth’s early water.
- Astronomy
Astronomers saw a rogue planet going through a rapid growth spurt
The growth spurt hints that the free-floating object evolves like a star, providing clues about rogue planets’ mysterious origins.
- Astronomy
See a 3-D map of stellar nurseries based on data from the Gaia telescope
The map, spanning 4,000 light-years from the sun in all directions, combines a chart of space dust with the effects of a rare type of young, hot star.
- Space
This black hole flipped its magnetic field
Event Horizon Telescope data reveal the magnetic field around M87* shifted, weakened and then flipped, defying theoretical expectations.
- Particle Physics
A primordial black hole may have spewed the highest energy neutrino ever found
The Big Bang may have spawned these theoretical black holes, whose lives are thought to end in a burst of extremely energetic particles.
- Space
How a Harvard maverick forever changed our concept of the stars
At just 25, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin applied quantum physics to a treasure trove of astronomical observations to show that stars are mostly hydrogen and helium.
- Astronomy
Astronomers detect the brightest ever fast radio burst
The fast radio burst came from 130 million light-years away. That proximity allowed an in-depth search for what produced the mysterious signal.
