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How flare ribbons reveal hidden solar explosions on the sun

Many topics in astronomy and astrophysics are esoteric. There's not much of a relationship between something like the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way and the life of a regular person going about their ...

NASA's Hubble charts path for Roman with gravitational lenses

A sweeping barred spiral galaxy marks the spot in this image, but the real treasure is the gravitational lens in the lower-right corner, where a distant background galaxy is being magnified and distorted by the gravity of ...

Webb image reveals young stars brewing in a nebulous cauldron

In this Picture of the Month from the NASA/ESA James Webb Space Telescope, we visit a turbulent cauldron of star formation to see what is brewing inside dense clumps of gas. This is a star-forming region named LHA 120-N 159, ...

A magnetar can be born when two neutron stars touch

All neutron stars have intense magnetic fields. The typical magnetic field of a neutron star is about 100,000 times stronger than the strongest magnetic fields we can create on Earth. But about 1% of neutron stars have even ...

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Astronomy
The sun may have stripped away meters of interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS
Astronomy
Webb reveals metal-rich gas around Milky Way's central black hole
Astronomy
Lone, starless cloud may be a 'dark' galaxy
Astronomy
Shredded star reveals a massive black hole wandering far from its galaxy's center
Astronomy
Astronomer leads global team on NASA mission to create unprecedented view of the early universe
Astronomy
New 3D model reveals how shadows reshape chemistry in stellar nurseries
Astronomy
A distant supercluster of galaxies points to self-interacting dark matter
Astronomy
NASA's Hubble spies spiral's edge
Astronomy
Chandra breaks down 'Treble Clef's' galaxy cluster collision
Astronomy
New evidence points to two feeding black holes just 175 parsecs apart lurking in the early universe
Astronomy
Green, pink and purple: Astronomers reveal the surprising true colors of white dwarf stars
Astronomy
Astronomical nanosatellite VERTECS completes initial operations and begins scientific observations
Astronomy
Webb spots possible early-universe supernova just days after it happened
Astronomy
Vera Rubin Observatory spots the largest ultra-fast spinning asteroid yet
Astronomy
Planetary systems reveal two distinct families tied to their host stars
Astronomy
Structure in the unstructured: New phenomenon discovered in the solar wind
Astronomy
NASA's SpaceX CRS-35 mission to launch health research
Astronomy
ALMA catches a dying star mid-transformation, with a ring from its last outburst
Astronomy
Alternative gravity theory offers possible explanation for dark energy changing over time
Astronomy
Physics Nobel highlights Antarctica's role in exploring the cosmos

Other news

Condensed Matter
Patterns of polar vortices discovered in lead-free superlattices on silicon
Social Sciences
A few seconds of loading time can push online learners off track
Archaeology
Southern Africa's first known stenciled rock art found hiding in plain sight
Biotechnology
Sea cucumber–inspired gel could help heal damaged tissue in humans
General Physics
'One-positron cyclotron' could test a key prediction of the Standard Model
Analytical Chemistry
Tests reveal why titanium additions do not fully prevent pitting corrosion in stainless steel
Plasma Physics
Single X-ray pulse reveals plasma nanostructures across scales with one camera
Earth Sciences
Ancient stalagmites reveal exceptions to Asia–South America monsoon seesaw over the past 450,000 years
Plants & Animals
Seabird family tree predicts which species accumulate plastic better than diet, global analysis finds
Environment
Cleaner brick kilns cut pollution, but gains did not reach workers, research finds
Cell & Microbiology
Newly identified protein pathway helps HIV stay hidden despite treatment
Education
Swinging virtual lightsabers and punching improve pattern-based learning in VR tests
Space Exploration
Everyday Mylar turned into a promising insulator for lunar habitats
Paleontology & Fossils
Rare fossils reveal what ancient Denisovans may have looked like
Biotechnology
DNA programs a cell-free material to build its own motors and move
Quantum Physics
Experiment shows when quantum 'cat' states stop bouncing back
Earth Sciences
Sinking Antarctic ice reveals a hidden lake's massive water loss
Evolution
An ancient virus in chimpanzee DNA switches off a gene that is active in humans
Political science
AI agents can form political camps—and changing their conversation partners does little to soften their views
Earth Sciences
El Niño then and now

Racing to build a radio telescope on the moon

Remember the "Wow!" signal? That high-energy radio signature occurred in 1977, when Earth was much "quieter" in the radio band. If it happened today, it probably wouldn't even move the needle on the background noise of human ...

Webb captures clearest image yet of the Lion Nebula

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope recently imaged NGC 2392 (also known as the Lion Nebula), named for its distinctive appearance, which resembles a lion's face seen head-on.

Nuking an asteroid on short notice could save us

Readers of a certain age will remember a golden era of asteroid films, capped by two with very different endings. "Deep Impact" drove home the devastating consequences of letting a large piece of rock hit our planet, whereas ...

Hubble solves merger mystery from Milky Way's early years

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, grew to its current size in part by consuming smaller galaxies. Now, new data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show definitive evidence of a dwarf galaxy merging with the young Milky Way ...