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Veil of fiery gas revealed around the disk of Milky Way

Scientists may have finally hit upon the possible mysterious sources that have pumped heat and kept alive the fiery hot gas that has recently been detected surrounding the Milky Way but has so far remained unexplained.

Ring around Tabby's star

This illustration shows a hypothetical uneven ring of dust orbiting KIC 8462852, also known as Boyajian's Star or Tabby's Star. The star has experienced unusual dips in brightness over a matter of days, as well as much subtler ...

Video: Our sun is the star in a new simulation

NASA supercomputers are shedding light on what causes some of the sun's most complex behaviors. Using data from the suite of active sun-watching spacecraft currently observing the star at the heart of our solar system, researchers ...

Hubble finds sizzling details about young star FU Orionis

In 1936, astronomers saw a puzzling event in the constellation Orion: the young star FU Orionis (FU Ori) became a hundred times brighter in a matter of months. At its peak, FU Ori was intrinsically 100 times brighter than ...

A nearby supernova could end the search for dark matter

The search for the universe's dark matter could end tomorrow—given a nearby supernova and a little luck. The nature of dark matter has eluded astronomers for 90 years, since the realization that 85% of the matter in the ...

Introducing 'UFO' galaxies—the Milky Way's dustier cousins

In a new study, a team of astrophysicists led by CU Boulder has set out to unravel the mysteries of UFOs—not the alien spacecraft, but a class of unusually large and red galaxies that researchers have nicknamed Ultra-red ...

Chandra and Hubble tune into 'flame-throwing' Guitar Nebula

Normally found only in heavy metal bands or certain post-apocalyptic films, a "flame-throwing guitar" has now been spotted moving through space. Astronomers have captured movies of this extreme cosmic object using NASA's ...

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Astronomy
The Milky Way represents an outlier among similar galaxies, universe survey data shows
Astronomy
Observations inspect double-lined spectroscopic binary HD 34736
Astronomy
Unlocking the secrets of the first quasars: How they defy the laws of physics to grow
Astronomy
New DESI data shed light on gravity's pull in the universe
Astronomy
New giant radio galaxy discovered with MeerKAT
Astronomy
First pairs of white dwarf–main sequence binaries discovered in clusters shine new light on stellar evolution
Astronomy
Simulations reveal black holes inherit magnetic fields from parent stars
Astronomy
New study reveals possible origins of dark matter in 'Dark Big Bang' scenario
Astronomy
Theoretical astrophysicist proposes solution to enigma of Crab Nebula's 'zebra' pattern
Astronomy
Astronomers discover a unique quasi-stellar object–dusty star-forming galaxy system
Astronomy
Egg-shaped galaxies may be aligned to the black holes at their hearts, astronomers find
Astronomy
Hubble takes a look at tangled galaxies MCG+05-31-045
Astronomy
The best way to find planet nine might be hundreds of tiny telescopes
Astronomy
As Taurid meteor shower passes Earth, pseudoscience rains down—obscuring potential real threat from space
Astronomy
It takes very special conditions to create the bizarre stellar spectacle known as R Aquarii
Astronomy
Astronomers discover two galaxies aligned in a way where their gravity acts as a compound lens
Astronomy
Survey captures image sequence of galactic neighbors in the local universe
Astronomy
Astronomers inspect the nature of an X-ray binary with a red supergiant
Astronomy
Hubble sees aftermath of galaxy's scrape with Milky Way
Astronomy
Latest findings from the South Pole Telescope bolster standard cosmological model

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General Physics
Extending classical black hole inequalities into the quantum realm
Plants & Animals
First successful test of wild minke whales reveals they have ultrasonic hearing
Analytical Chemistry
Sustainable method can electrosynthesize important chemical for synthetic rubber production
Archaeology
Healthy elbow room: Social distancing in Neolithic mega-settlements
Other
Saturday Citations: Sweaty, remarkable humans; ocean level rise projections; closeup of a star in another galaxy
Astrobiology
Ryugu asteroid sample rapidly colonized by terrestrial life despite strict contamination control
Astrobiology
Oldest direct evidence of hot water activity on Mars found
Evolution
Gene regulation study reports surprising results: Extensive regions of DNA belong to multiple gene switches
Archaeology
Peaches spread across North America through Indigenous networks, radiocarbon dating and document analysis show
Archaeology
Earliest fish-trapping facility in Central America discovered in Maya lowlands
Biochemistry
Natural substance from edible cyanobacterium could combat skin aging by enhancing collagen
Molecular & Computational biology
'e-Drive': New gene drive reverses insecticide resistance in pests... then disappears
General Physics
Accessing the lesser known nucleon: New neutron measurement can help physicists learn about nucleon structure and spin
Analytical Chemistry
Exploring new liquid organic hydrogen carrier materials for a safer, more transportable energy source
Planetary Sciences
Niagara fireball event leads to discovery of tiniest known asteroid
Paleontology & Fossils
Fossil discovery reveals giant worm lizard with snail-cracking jaws
Optics & Photonics
Prototype lenses can block epileptic-seizure causing wavelengths
Condensed Matter
Discovery of van Hove singularities could lead to novel materials with desirable quantum properties
Biochemistry
Next-generation, nature-inspired sunscreens have a new molecular scaffold
Optics & Photonics
Improved ultrasound technique produces previously unattainable images inside live cells

Hubble captures a new view of galaxy M90

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the striking spiral galaxy Messier 90 (M90, also NGC 4569), located in the constellation Virgo. In 2019, Hubble released an image of M90 created with Wide Field and Planetary ...

Astronomers detect ancient lonely quasars with murky origins

A quasar is the extremely bright core of a galaxy that hosts an active supermassive black hole at its center. As the black hole draws in surrounding gas and dust, it blasts out an enormous amount of energy, making quasars ...

Rare ultra-luminous nova spotted in the Small Magellanic Cloud

A rare, extremely luminous X-ray outburst has been observed in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that is a close neighbor of our own Milky Way galaxy. The observations, made by the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory ...