Galaxy winds as a research area investigates large-scale gaseous outflows driven by processes within galaxies, such as stellar feedback from massive stars and supernovae or energy and momentum injection from active galactic nuclei. This field focuses on the multi-phase structure, kinematics, and energetics of these winds, their impact on galaxy evolution, star formation regulation, metal enrichment of the circumgalactic and intergalactic media, and the closing of the baryon cycle. Research combines observational diagnostics across the electromagnetic spectrum with theoretical modeling and simulations to quantify mass-loading factors, escape fractions, and the coupling between radiation, cosmic rays, magnetic fields, and outflowing gas.
When the universe was still in its infancy—only 500 million years after the Big Bang, or about 3% of its current age—some of the universe's earliest stars and galaxies had already formed. Astronomers have long predicted that ...
Astrobiology
21 hours ago
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Astronomers using the James Webb Space Telescope have measured the most powerful gas outflow ever recorded from a "dead" galaxy outside our cosmic neighborhood and found that even outflows this extreme may not be enough to ...
Astronomers have found that a nearby galaxy's black hole is blasting out a far more powerful and hidden gas outflow than previously realized. Studying NGC 1068, a well-known galaxy with an actively feeding black hole at its ...
A new study of nine nearby galaxies has shown that actively growing supermassive black holes may contribute to, rather than prevent, star formation in their host galaxies.
Astronomy
Sep 14, 2026
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Intense, brief flashes of radio light called fast radio bursts (FRBs) travel across billions of light-years to reach Earth, passing through a fog of matter along the way. The bursts' origins are unclear but may originate ...
Astronomy
Sep 8, 2026
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Galaxies are like cosmic gems, each with characteristics including size and shape that make them distinct. A new gallery released today from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes displays a collection of galactic ...
Astronomy
Aug 25, 2026
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Using observations from multiple powerful telescopes, a team of astronomers studied a red quasar nicknamed "the Hatchling" at redshift 3.7. They may have identified one of the clearest examples yet of a quasar caught in transition ...
Stars and galaxies make up much of the universe's ordinary, observable matter. But for decades, scientists have wrestled with a cosmic conflict: There should be much more.
Astronomy
Jul 21, 2026
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Located 12 million light-years away and undergoing rapid star formation, edge-on spiral galaxy Messier 82 (M82) is a scientifically unique sight to behold, and now NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has revealed previously ...
Astronomy
Jun 23, 2026
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Thanks to the X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission, or XRISM, University of Michigan researchers are helping chip away at one of astronomy's cosmic mysteries: The universe's most massive galaxies appear to be missing stars.
Astronomy
Jun 16, 2026
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