Scientists have created a stunning animation showing the suspected intermediate-mass black hole HLX-1 tearing apart a star, causing a bright tidal disruption event. (Image credit: NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)) Astronomers believe they have discovered an extremely rare type of…
The Sun’s gravitational pull extends out to more than 160 times farther than Neptune’s. (Image credit: Vadim Petrakov via Shutterstock) Is there a huge, undiscovered planet at the edge of the solar system? The concept has been around since Pluto…
Illustration of a giant molecular cloud (Image credit: NSF) Astronomers have discovered a colossal cloud of gas and dust that stretches for as much as 200 light years and is hidden in a poorly studied region of the Milky Way.…
(Image credit: NSF/AUI/NSF NRAO) A team of scientists led by the National Science Foundation’s Green Bank Observatory (NSF GBO) recently identified an unusually rare object known as a long-period radio transient (LPT), designated CHIME J1634+44. These objects resemble rotating radio…
These images from the Solar Dynamics Observatory show the Moon’s path across the Sun on July 25, 2025. (Image credit: NASA/SDO and the AIA, EVE, and HMI science teams) A near-Earth spacecraft has just witnessed a rare event: a lunar…
(Image credit: NASA/JPL) A small meteorite is changing researchers’ views on the origins of our solar system. New evidence from a sliver of the Northwest Africa 12264 meteorite, a 50-gram (1.8-ounce) chunk of space material thought to have formed in…
A planet forming around the young star HD 135344B, as seen using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (left), and a combined image from the VLT and ALMA radio antenna (right). (Image credit: ESO Maio et al. Stolker et al./ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) van…
Sunspots captured in 2014. Spots this size are difficult to detect on distant stars because they cause brightness variations that are too small to be interpreted as noise. However, a new approach may have just revealed a large spot on…
A false-color image of the Apep Nebula taken by the James Webb Space Telescope. (Image credit: Han et al./White et al./Dholakia; NASA/ESA) The James Webb Space Telescope has created a stunning new image of two dying stars surrounded by a…
The illustration shows a trans-Neptunian object that orbits in alignment with Neptune (Image courtesy of Robert Lee (created with Canva)). Astronomers have discovered that an unusual space rock at the edge of the solar system is in rhythmic interaction with…
Artist’s impression showing the planet-forming disk around the star V883 Orionis. (Image credit: ESO Calçada Müller (MPIA/HdA)) Astronomers have discovered vital elements that are the building blocks of life orbiting a distant young star, suggesting that life in space is…
The crescent moon and Mars will be close in the night sky on July 28. (Image credit: drcooke via Getty Images) An attractive crescent moon will appear near Mars after dark on Monday, July 28. The astronomical pair will begin…