Rich galaxy clusters as a research area focus on the most massive, densely populated bound structures in the universe, typically hosting hundreds to thousands of galaxies embedded in a deep dark matter potential well and permeated by hot intracluster gas. Studies emphasize cluster mass assembly, baryon–dark matter distribution, intracluster medium thermodynamics, and galaxy evolution under extreme environmental effects such as ram-pressure stripping and tidal interactions. Rich clusters are also key cosmological probes, constraining structure formation, dark matter properties, and cosmological parameters through observations of their abundance, scaling relations, gravitational lensing, and X-ray and Sunyaev–Zel’dovich signatures.
What happens when a solar superstorm hits Mars? Thanks to the European Space Agency's Mars orbiters, we now know: glitching spacecraft and a supercharged upper atmosphere.
Astronomy
Mar 5, 2026
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Every winter, thousands of tourists travel to high-latitude regions like Scandinavia, Canada, and Alaska hoping to see the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. Vincent Ledvina, an aurora guide and Ph.D. student in space physics ...
Astronomy
Feb 24, 2026
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In the vast tapestry of the universe, most galaxies shine brightly across cosmic time and space. Yet a rare class of galaxies remains nearly invisible—low-surface-brightness galaxies dominated by dark matter and containing ...
Astronomy
Feb 18, 2026
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Astrophysicists from the University of Waterloo have observed a new jellyfish galaxy, the most distant one of its kind ever captured. Jellyfish galaxies are named for the long, tentacle-like streams that trail behind them. ...
Astronomy
Feb 17, 2026
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Researchers at The University of Manchester have developed a new way to design Earth-observation satellite missions that could help protect the space environment while continuing to deliver vital data for tackling global ...
Space Exploration
Feb 16, 2026
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Under the leadership of the University of Bonn, a research team led by Prof. Dr. Pavel Kroupa from the Helmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics has discovered that galaxy clusters are about twice as heavy as ...
Astronomy
Feb 9, 2026
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Gigantic black holes lurk at the center of virtually every galaxy, including ours, but we've lacked a precise picture of what impact they have on their surroundings. However, a University of Chicago-led group of scientists ...
Astronomy
Feb 3, 2026
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This NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope Picture of the Month brings us a scene from the distant universe. Pictured here is the galaxy cluster MACS J1149.5+2223, or MACS J1149 for short, which is located about 5 billion ...
Astronomy
Jan 22, 2026
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160
Astronomers have discovered a vast, dense cluster of massive galaxies just 1 billion years after the Big Bang, each forming stars at an intense rate from collapsing clouds of dust. Reported in Astronomy & Astrophysics by ...
The sun's inner corona, the hottest part of our star's atmosphere, appears faint yellow in a time-lapse made from images taken by the ASPIICS coronagraph aboard Proba-3.
Planetary Sciences
Jan 19, 2026
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