Carolyn Collins Petersen
Three Baby Stars Found at the Heart of the Milky Way
The core of our Milky Way is buzzing with stars. Recently astronomers reported that it contains at least one ancient…
A Star Near the Center of the Milky Way is a Visitor from Beyond
There's an alien red giant star orbiting in the center of our galaxy. It's called S0-6 and has chemical fingerprints…
In 1872, a Solar Storm Hit the Earth Generating Auroras from the Tropics to the Poles
Imagine a solar storm generating auroral displays across the entire sky. No, we haven't quite seen them that strong in…
A Gamma-ray Burst Disturbed the Earth’s Ionosphere
You'd think that something happening billions of light-years away wouldn't affect Earth, right? Well, in 2002, a burst of gamma…
The Early Universe Had No Problem Making Barred Spiral Galaxies
Spiral galaxies like the Milky Way are like cosmic snowflakes—no two are exactly alike. For many years, astronomers thought spirals…
It’s Time for the Mars Rovers to Hunker Down and Wait for the Earth to Return
If you've noticed a slowdown in Mars news lately, it's because of the Sun. Or, rather, it's because the Sun…
The Lunar Swirl Mystery Deepens
For years, people noticed strange features on the Moon dubbed "Lunar Swirls." They're bright regions that appear to be concentrations…
Virgin Galactic Flies Science Experiments to the Edge of Space
On November 2, Virgin Galactic flew Unity 2 on the Galactic 05 mission. It carried two scientists, a private tourist,…
Growing Black Hole Seen Only 470 Million Years After the Big Bang
One of the big questions in cosmology asks when black holes first showed up in the early Universe. Recently astronomers…
What? Wow! That New Asteroid Image from Lucy Just Got Even More Interesting
Lucy's images of asteroid Dinkinesh are the gift that keeps on giving. First, it was the discovery of a smaller…