JWST Accidentally Found 21 Brown Dwarfs
When you launch humanity's most powerful telescope, you expect results. The JWST has delivered excellent results by detecting ancient galaxies,…
JWST Might Have Imaged a Hycean World for the First Time, With a Hydrogen-Rich Atmosphere and a Deep Planet-Wide Water Ocean
Astronomers have directed JWST to examine the atmosphere of an exoplanet called K2-18 b, which orbits a cool dwarf star…
Polaris is the Closest, Brightest Cepheid Variable. Very Recently, Something Changed.
A new study has revealed that Polaris' pulsating behavior may be caused by its binary companion, resolving a long-standing mystery…
The Closest Black Holes to Earth are Probably Hidden in This Nearby Star Cluster
The Hyades cluster is the closest open star cluster to Earth, located at a distance of about 150 light-years. Although…
The Case for a Small Universe
Astronomers don't know if the Universe is finite or infinite. Whatever the case, it's larger than the Observable Universe, which…
Every Night and Every Morning, the Moon Rumbles With Tiny Quakes
A new study from Caltech shows that the moon experiences "moonquakes" with precise regularity, like a "lunar alarm clock."
The Outer Space Treaty was Signed in 1967. Can it Handle the Future of Space Exploration?
In a recent study submitted to the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society for the 8th Interstellar Symposium special issue,…
A Black Hole Nibbles on a Star Every 22 Days, Slowly Consuming it
Astronomers working with NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory have spotted something unusual. The observatory's X-Ray Telescope (XRT) has captured emissions…
A Medieval Manuscript Likely Hides a Record of an Impending Recurrent Nova
Approximately every 80 years, a faint 10th magnitude star in the constellation of Corona Borealis dramatically increases its brightness. This…
Should the Next Big Observatories Be Built on the Moon?
As the next round of giant observatories nears completion, astronomers are starting to ponder what comes next. One exciting location…