Grounded Eyes on Distant Watery Skies
A new view of the nearby upsilon Andromedae system has revealed a great deal about its closest-in exoplanet — including the presence of water vapor in its atmosphere.
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What Are Mars’ Moons Made Of?
How were Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars, formed? Astrobites reports on what we’ve learned from new simulations.
Featured Image: Identifying Weird Galaxies
You probably know about spirals and ellipticals, but have you heard of ring galaxies?
Throwing Icebergs at White Dwarfs
Where do the metals come from that pollute the atmospheres of many white dwarfs? Distant planet-size and icy objects could be partly at fault.
The Making of a Pre-Planetary Nebula
What forms the gas surrounding dying stars into the intricate shapes and patterns observed?
I See Skies of Blue and Clouds of White
Astrobites discusses how we can explore the cloudiness of the exoplanets we observe.
The Story of a Boring Encounter with a Black Hole
What happened when G2 encountered Sgr A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy, in 2014? Not much, but maybe that’s not surprising.
Globular Clusters for Faint Galaxies
New Hubble images of two ultra-diffuse galaxies have revealed an enormous number of globular clusters. Why do these dim galaxies host so many?
Nearby Hot Stars May Change Our View of Distant Sources
Distant quasars can appear to twinkle when material lies between them and us. A new study blames nearby hot stars for some of the extreme variability of quasars.
Strength in Numbers: A Smarter Way to Find Habitable Worlds
Astrobites discusses a new way to explore The Big Question: is there life beyond our solar system?
Featured Image: Central Black Holes in Late-Type Galaxies
Hidden black holes have been discovered lurking in the centers of nearby low-mass galaxies.
Speeding Clouds May Reveal Invisible Black Holes
Small, speeding clouds discovered at the center of our galaxy may have been formed by plunging black holes.