Astronomy
Astronomers Find the Oldest Planetary Nebula
Planetary nebulae are short-lived "leftovers" of sun-like stars. Most of these "star ghosts" only last—at most—about 25,000 years. Usually, their…
A Merger Completely Shut Down Star Formation
What's the recipe for forming stars? Yep, lots of gas and dust. Galaxies rich in these materials get to make…
Science Fiction was an Inspiration for Many Professional Astronomers
What do MINBAR, TARDIS, Cardassian Expansion, BoRG, DS9, Tatooines, and ACBAR all have in common? They're names of astronomical surveys…
With Better Communication, Astronomers and Satellites can co-Exist
SpaceX's Starlink satellite system has been in the news lately for both good and ill. The "Mega-constellation" of around 2,800…
A New Study Confirms That Gravity has Remained Constant for the Entire age of the Universe
New results from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) have shown that the force of gravity has not changed in the…
Astronomers Find a Waterworld Planet With Deep Oceans in the Habitable Zone
An international team of astronomers have found the best candidate for an "ocean world," an exoplanet covered in very deep…
Carbon Monoxide is Plentiful in Nebulae, but Then Disappears When Planets Form. Now we Know Where it Goes!
Protoplanetary disks—those nurseries around young stars where planets form—are filled with gas and dust. In particular, many show a lot…
Gaze Into the Heart of NGC 1365, Captured by Webb
Astrophotographer Judy Schmidt (aka. Geckzilla, SpaceGeck) is at it again! Earlier this month, she released a processed image of the…
Firefly, Northrop Grumman to Redesign Antares
Northrop Grumman will partner with startup Firefly Aerospace, to continue sending cargo to the International Space Station.
Webb Telescope Sees Jupiter and Its Auroras in a New Light
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope is designed to probe the farthest frontiers of the universe, but newly released images of…