Astronomy News

Two Earth-Size Worlds in TRAPPIST-1 System Reveal Stark Divide Between Day and Night

This artist’s impression shows an imagined view from the surface one of the three exoplanets orbiting the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 38.8 light-years from Earth. These alien worlds have sizes and temperatures similar to those of Venus and Earth. In this view one of the inner planets is seen in transit across the disc of TRAPPIST-1. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.
Apr 13, 2026 by News Staff

New Webb observations of two exoplanets TRAPPIST-1b and TRAPPIST-1c show blistering days and frozen nights, offering the first detailed climate maps of rocky exoplanets and dimming hopes for habitability. This artist’s impression shows an imagined view from the surface one of the three exoplanets orbiting the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 38.8 light-years from Earth. These alien worlds have sizes and temperatures similar to those of Venus and...

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The POSS I red image on July 19, 1952 at 8:52 (UT) containing the triple transient just above center. Image credit: Solano et al., doi: 10.1093/mnras/stad3422.

Mysterious Flashes in 1950s Skies Linked to Nuclear Tests and UAP Sightings: Study

Apr 10, 2026 by Natali Anderson

A new statistical analysis of archival sky surveys from the early Cold War has found that mysterious, short-lived bursts of light in the night sky were...

These composite images show protoplanetary disks Tau 042021 (left) and Oph 163131 (right). Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / Hubble / ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / G. Duchêne / M. Villenave.

Webb Captures Striking Edge-On Views of Two Planet Nurseries

Apr 8, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

New images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope reveal two young stars surrounded by planet-forming disks, Tau 042021 (left) and Oph 163131...

The Jupiter-sized planet TOI-5205b has a surface temperature of 737 K and orbits its parent star, TOI-5205, at a distance of 0.02 AU. Image credit: Sci.News.

Giant Exoplanet TOI-5205b Has Carbon-Rich, Oxygen-Poor Atmosphere, Webb Observations Show

Apr 7, 2026 by News Staff

Using the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) onboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have characterized the atmosphere of TOI-5205b,...

An enormous halo of hydrogen gas found in HETDEX data and superimposed over its location as seen in deep imaging from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope; present 11.3 billion years ago, this system glows from the combined light of many galaxies within it, with the brightest region represented in red. Image credit: Erin Mentuch Cooper, HETDEX / NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI.

Astronomers Find Vast Reservoirs of Hydrogen around Early Galaxies

Apr 6, 2026 by News Staff

Astronomers with the Hobby-Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) have detected enormous hydrogen halos, called Lyman-alpha nebulae, around more...

The Milky Way Galaxy with the position of SDSS J0715-7334 marked with a star symbol; the solid red line shows the path the star has taken through our Galaxy; the dashed blue line shows the path expected for a star born in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Image credit: Vedant Chandra / SDSS Collaboration / ESA / Gaia / A. Moitinho, A. F. Silva, M. Barros, C. Barata, University of Lisbon / H. Savietto, Fork Research.

Astronomy Students Discover Most Pristine Star Ever Found

Apr 6, 2026 by News Staff

The newly-discovered star, SDSS J0715-7334, formed in the halo of the Large Magellanic Cloud and migrated to our Milky Way Galaxy billions of years ago,...

A model of the inner Solar System showing the asteroids discovered by Rubin in light teal; known asteroids are dark blue. Image credit: NSF / DOE / Vera C. Rubin Observatory / NOIRLab / SLAC / AURA / R. Proctor / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio / ESA / Gaia / DPAC / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Vera C. Rubin Observatory Discovers Over 11,000 New Asteroids

Apr 3, 2026 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory have discovered over 11,000 new asteroids, including hundreds of trans-Neptunian objects and 33 previously...

This Hubble image shows IC 486, a barred spiral galaxy some 380 million light-years away in the constellation of Gemini. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M.J. Koss / A.J. Barth.

Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on IC 486

Apr 2, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a beautiful close-up shot of the barred spiral galaxy IC 486. This Hubble image shows IC 486, a barred spiral galaxy some...

An artist’s impression of an ultrahot Jupiter. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Ultra-Hot Jupiter WASP-189b Mirrors Its Star’s Chemistry, Astronomers Find

Apr 1, 2026 by News Staff

Using the Immersion Grating Infrared Spectrometer (IGRINS) on the Gemini South telescope at the International Gemini Observatory, astronomers have directly...

NASA’s Parker Solar Probe approaching the Sun. Image credit: NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio.

Closer Look at the Sun Reveals More Chaotic Magnetic Heart

Apr 1, 2026 by News Staff

A new analysis of data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe shows that protons and heavy ions react differently to solar magnetic reconnection events, suggesting...

These Webb (left) and Hubble (right) images reveal Saturn in infrared and visible light. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / A. Simon, NASA-GSFC / M. Wong, University of California / J. DePasquale, STScI.

Webb and Hubble Telescopes Capture Saturn in Unprecedented Detail

Mar 26, 2026 by News Staff

By combining infrared observations from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope with visible-light imagery from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope,...

These images, taken with ESO’s Very Large Telescope, show a planetary system being born around the young star WISPIT 2. Image credit: ESO / Lawlor et al.

Two Protoplanets Emerge from Dusty Disk around Nearby Young Star

Mar 24, 2026 by News Staff

Using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and VLT Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile, astronomers have directly observed two gas giants emerging from the planet-forming...

This image shows the second-generation star PicII-503, with the lowest iron content ever measured outside of the Milky Way. Image credit: CTIO / NOIRLab / DOE / NSF / AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani & D. de Martin, NSF’s NOIRLab / Anirudh Chiti / Alex Drlica-Wagner.

Astronomers Find Second-Generation Star in Pictor II

Mar 24, 2026 by News Staff

PicII-503, a primordial star located in the >10-billion-year-old ultrafaint dwarf galaxy Pictor II, appears to preserve the chemical imprint of the...

This image, captured with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 2024, shows the Crab Nebula. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / William Blair, JHU / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

Hubble Space Telescope Revisits Iconic Crab Nebula

Mar 23, 2026 by News Staff

By comparing new Hubble observations with images first taken in 1999, astronomers traced the continuing expansion of one of the sky’s most studied supernova...

This VLT/MUSE image shows part of the Triangulum galaxy, a spiral galaxy located about 3 million light-years away in the constellation of Triangulum. Image credit: ESO / Feltre et al.

VLT Zooms in on Nearby Triangulum Galaxy

Mar 23, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new close-up of the Triangulum galaxy, captured with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), traces the tangled gas and dust that shape how stars are born...

An artist’s impression of a planetary system around a slightly hotter star than our Sun. Image credit: Gillis Lowry.

Astronomers Create Catalogue of Habitable-Zone Rocky Exoplanets

Mar 19, 2026 by News Staff

Using data from ESA’s Gaia mission and the NASA Exoplanet Archive, astronomers at Cornell University have identified 45 rocky exoplanets in the empirical...

This Hubble image shows the fragmenting comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS). Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Bodewits, Auburn / J. DePasquale, STScI.

Hubble Captures Breakup of Comet C/2025 K1 (ATLAS)

Mar 18, 2026 by News Staff

The breakup of C/2025 K1 (ATLAS), captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, opens a window into how fragile comet nuclei evolve and collapse. These...

This illustration depicts Kepler-51 and its three giant planets. Image credit: NASA / ESA / L. Hustak, J. Olmsted, D. Player & F. Summers, STScI.

Kepler-51d Challenges Theories of Planetary Formation

Mar 18, 2026 by News Staff

Kepler-51 is a young G-dwarf star hosting three super-puffs and one low-mass non-transiting exoplanet. Kepler-51d, the coolest transiting planet in this...

An artist’s impression of the planetary system L 98-59. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick / markgarlick.com.

New Kind of Planet May Lurk in Milky Way: Extreme World of Magma and Sulfur

Mar 16, 2026 by News Staff

New observations of L 98-59d, a member of the five-planet system L 98-59, suggest it harbors a vast global magma ocean that traps sulfur deep inside, forming...

An artist’s reconstruction of the red supergiant WOH G64. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

Supergiant Star Makes Rare Leap to Hotter Phase, Astronomers Say

Mar 16, 2026 by News Staff

Long-term observations of WOH G64 — once considered the most extreme red supergiant star in its galaxy — reveal that the star has undergone...

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