Data: Insights and Challenges in a Time of Abundance
One of the most rapidly evolving elements of astronomy research is how we handle data. A new Special Issue of ApJ Supplements looks at related challenges and resources.
Highlights RSS
Sizes of Black Holes Throughout the Universe
Can black holes of any mass exist, or are there gaps in their possible sizes? Mergers may play a large role in the answer to this question.
A Naked-Eye Superflare Detected from Proxima Centauri
Astrobites reports on the largest flare ever detected from the Sun’s closest neighbor, Proxima Centauri.
Finding A Planet Through the Dust
Finding planets in the dusty and crowded galactic center is a difficult task! A new study demonstrates the use of infrared microlensing surveys for discovering exoplanets.
NASA InSight Is on Its Way to Mars
Get ready for future science! Fog is no match for the Mars lander InSight, whose journey to the red planet is officially underway.
New Target for an Old Method: Hubble Measures Globular Cluster Parallax
For the first time, the distance to a metal-poor globular cluster is determined using high-precision parallax measurements.
Predicting the Number of Planets from TESS
NASA’s TESS spacecraft has launched! Astrobites reports on how many exoplanets it is predicted to find.
A Breathing Comet
Rosetta’s recent visit of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko yielded a number of discoveries. Astrobites here reports on one of the comet’s intriguing features: the molecular oxygen seen in its coma.
Featured Image: Identifying a Glowing Shell
New nebulae are being discovered and classified every day — and this false-color image reveals one of the more recent objects of interest.
When Supermassive Black Holes Wander
Are supermassive black holes found only at the centers of galaxies? A new study suggests not — and there may be a number of them wandering through our galaxy unseen.
Where Should We Look for Life?
A recent study explores whether Sun-like stars or low-mass M dwarfs are the best target as we search for exoplanets with detectable signatures of life.
Why Jupiter Spins Fast, but Not Really Fast
Astrobites reports on a theory that could explain why Jupiter spins at the rate that it does.