Star Formation
ALMA Spots a Nascent Stellar Monster
Even though it comprises over 99% of the mass of the Solar System (with Jupiter taking up most of the…
Astronomers Spy Early Galaxies Caught In A Cosmic Spiderweb
Once upon a time, when the Universe was just about three billion years old, galaxies started to form. Now astronomers…
Space Observatories Watch a Black Hole Go Dormant
The Chandra X-ray Observatory has been keeping an eye on a black hole actively munching away on gas at the…
How do Hypervelocity Stars End up Breaking The Speed Limit?
The Sun is racing through the Galaxy at a speed that is 30 times greater than a space shuttle in…
An Amazing Anniversary Image from the VLT
This Saturday will mark 15 years that the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) first opened its eyes on…
Orion’s Secret Fire Dance
The Great Orion Nebula has captivated observers for at least four hundred years, but the ancient Mayans may have known…
Anarchic Star Formation Found In Dust Cloud
If you think that breaking all the rules is cool, then you'll appreciate one of the latest observations submitted by…
NGC 6240: Gigantic Hot Gas Cloud Sheaths Colliding Galaxies
Looking almost like a cosmic hyacinth, this image is anything but a cool, Spring flower... it's a portrait of an…
Entire Galaxies Feel The Heat Of Newborn Stars
If you think that star-formation only has an impact within the confines of a host galaxy, then think again. Thanks…
Cosmic C.S.I.: Searching for the Origins of the Solar System in Two Grains of Sand
"The total number of stars in the Universe is larger than all the grains of sand on all the beaches…