A cosmic chameleon reveals its true colors in stunning infrared image (photo) By Samantha Mathewson published 24 July 23 A cosmic chameleon shows off its bright colors in a new image from the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
Unusual galaxy cluster is an island of tranquility in the chaotic early universe By Robert Lea published 24 July 23 Seen by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, this peaceful galaxy cluster existed when the universe was just 5.8 billion years old and brimming with chaos.
Massive galaxy with no dark matter is a cosmic puzzle By Robert Lea published 23 July 23 Astronomers have discovered a massive galaxy that does not seem to contain dark matter, a cosmic puzzle that could challenge theories surrounding the evolution of the universe.
The Milky Way sparkles like fireworks in this desert view of our galaxy (photo) By Miguel Claro published 22 July 23 Astrophotographer Miguel Claro captured an incredible panoramic image of the Milky Way from the Lut (Dasht-e Lut) desert in Iran.
Strange two-faced dying star 'Janus' baffles scientists in cosmic oddity By Monisha Ravisetti published 20 July 23 While routinely scanning the sky for the burnt-out remnants of dying stars, scientists stumbled upon a strange cosmic signal.
Bizarre 'slow' neutron star challenges our theories about dead stars By Robert Lea published 19 July 23 Astronomers have observed a 'slow' magnetar releasing bursts of radio waves every 22 minutes. The strange neutron star could change our perception of these extreme stellar corpses.
1st evidence found for 'Trojan planet' worlds occupying same orbit By Robert Lea published 19 July 23 Astronomers have found the first evidence of a so-called 'Trojan planet,' in the form of a young Jupiter-like world that's being tailed by a cloud of dust twice as massive as Earth's moon.
Scientists discover 'glitched' neutron star that obliterated an asteroid, then fired off a brilliant explosion By Robert Lea published 19 July 23 A powerful magnetic neutron star, or magnetar, "glitched" when it destroyed an asteroid, causing it to blast out a fast radio burst and change rotational speed.
An ancient red giant star created a rare 'bipolar' nebula as it died (photo) By Robert Lea published 18 July 23 A dying red giant star and the remains of a stellar companion it shredded long ago have created a rare and short-lived planetary nebula that resembles an overflowing cosmic jug.
'Ghost stars' haunt the center of the Milky Way galaxy. Now we know why By Robert Lea published 18 July 23 The galactic bulge at the heart of the Milky Way is haunted by the ghosts of dead stars spread out as a mysterious arrangement of planetary nebulas.
Super-close supernova captivates record number of citizen scientists By Robert Lea published 16 July 23 Data from the closest cosmic supernova explosion to Earth for 10 years was collected by a record number of observers for SETI, showing what the collective power of citizen scientists can achieve.
Hubble telescope captures stunning shot of spiral galaxy (photo) By Samantha Mathewson published 16 July 23 A dazzling new photo from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a distant galaxy that hosted a supernova explosion not long ago.
Do fabled 'dark stars' actually exist? James Webb Space Telescope spots 3 candidates By Elizabeth Howell published 14 July 23 The James Webb Space Telescope spotted three objects that may be 'dark stars,' or stars that are powered by dark matter. But follow-up work is needed to learn their nature.
'Failed star' is the coldest radio wave source ever discovered By Robert Lea published 14 July 23 Astronomers have discovered an ultracold brown dwarf, a "failed star" smaller than Jupiter and colder than a campfire that is emitting radio waves.
Hubble telescope captures the making of a 'cosmic monster' (photo) By Samantha Mathewson published 13 July 23 The Hubble Space Telescope captured massive galaxy clusters in the process of merging to form one big 'cosmic monster' eight billion light-years from Earth.
Exotic 'stripped stars' may be missing link on path to powerful kilonova explosions By Robert Lea published 11 July 23 Astronomers have found a missing link in the evolution from stars in binary systems to colliding neutron stars, in the form of stripped, intermediate-mass 'helium stars.'
See the Red Planet Mars shine beside the blue star Regulus tonight By Brett Tingley published 10 July 23 Look to the western skies on Monday evening (July 10) to see the Red Planet, Mars, shining steadily above the twinkling blueish star Regulus.
Is the puzzling star Betelgeuse going to explode in our lifetime after all? By Tereza Pultarova published 10 July 23 A new unpublished study is making waves on the internet, claiming that one of the brightest stars in the night sky might die in a spectacular explosion within our lifetime.
Cosmic 'sandwich' theory could explain how smaller planets are formed By Robert Lea published 5 July 23 Do you want that toasted? A newly suggested planet formation process suggests smaller worlds could be created when a gas and dust filling is squeezed between two larger planets.
Alien's-eye view of the Milky Way: Our galaxy is unusual but not unique By Charles Q. Choi published 5 July 23 Astronomers have now deduced what alien scientists might see when they gaze at the Milky Way from afar. Our home galaxy is unusual but not unique, at least when it comes to chemistry.