Watching Stars Evolve in Real Time
A collection of more than 100 years of data has now given us a rare opportunity to watch, in real time, as a star evolves.
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When Black Holes Shred Sun-Like Stars
When a passing star gets a little too close to a massive black hole, destruction ensues. But how does the star’s age affect the outcome?
Two Eyes to Hunt Stray Planet Masses
How can we measure the masses of free-floating planets? One way is to combine the power of two upcoming missions.
Uniting Short Gamma-ray Bursts and Neutron Star Mergers
Are short gamma-ray bursts — brief flashes of high-energy emission — created by the collision of two neutron stars?
Are There More Stars Like Boyajian’s Star?
We thought that the bizarre dimming events of Boyajian’s star made it a one-of-a-kind source. But what if it isn’t?
Constraining Collisions of Dark Matter
A new study sheds some light on mysterious dark matter using faint satellite galaxies around the Milky Way.
Planetary History Written in Saturn’s Rings
Saturn’s iconic icy rings can teach us a lot. Can they tell us anything about past impacts on this distant gas giant?
Launching a Stellar Superflare
Superflares are immense stellar outbursts that are often accompanied by coronal mass ejections. What can we learn from simulations of these energetic events?
A Nearby Stellar Stream Gets Carded
The Pisces–Eridanus stellar stream may try to pass itself off as a billion years old, but scientists are calling its bluff.
Spotting Molecular Gas in the Distant Universe
A new study has discovered molecular gas, the dense fuel for star formation, farther out in our universe than ever before.