At the center of most galaxies lies a supermassive black hole, with a mass millions to billions of times that of our sun and some of the most extreme gravity in the universe.
Astronomy
Aug 21, 2026
0
30
Hundreds of Venus-like planets could soon help determine why some worlds become sweltering greenhouse hellscapes while others remain capable of supporting life. But before answering that question, scientists first need to ...
Astronomy
Aug 10, 2026
1
28
A new paper has put hard numbers on a plan that's been rattling around the astronomy community for a while now—a California company called Reflect Orbital wants to put giant mirrors in orbit and beam sunlight down to Earth ...
Astronomy
Aug 17, 2026
0
28
The infrared-sensitive James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has conducted multiple surveys of the very distant universe, digging into what was happening in the first billion years after the Big Bang. As part of these deep surveys, ...
Astronomy
Jul 29, 2026
0
26
One of the challenges of searching for technosignatures (i.e., signs that intelligent life somewhere in the universe has created technology) is understanding what to look for. Technology is a very broad area, and different ...
Astronomy
Jul 27, 2026
0
26
Like a collage made of layered sheets of colored cellophane, a vibrant new image layers observations of a famous star-forming nebula from NASA's space telescopes. The resulting cosmic "craft" reveals new details about the ...
Astronomy
Aug 11, 2026
0
26
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 ...
Astronomy
Aug 18, 2026
0
25
The formation and evolution of individual stars in a galaxy shape the evolution of the galaxy itself. Stars and stellar remnants make up the vast majority of a galaxy's mass, so it's not surprising that the stellar population ...
Astronomy
Jul 30, 2026
0
25
Welcome back to our series on interstellar travel! In our first installment, we examined attempts to realize nuclear propulsion and how the technology could be used to reach the nearest star. In our second, we examined how ...
Astronomy
Aug 20, 2026
0
25
Amina Helmi's passion for the Milky Way is clear as soon as one steps into her small office at the University of Groningen, in the north of the Netherlands.
Astronomy
Jul 30, 2026
0
24
