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This is a mosaic image, one of the largest ever taken by Hubble of the Crab Nebula, a 6-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star’s supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers recorded this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054, as did, almost certainly, Native Americans. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Hester / A. Loll, Arizona State University.

Interstellar Iron Found on Moon’s Surface: Confirmation of Supernovae in Solar Neighborhood

Apr 19, 2016 by Natali Anderson

An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Gunther Korschinek from the Technical University of Munich, has detected radioactive iron-60 in samples...

This infrared image shows IC 417, an emission nebula that is energized by hot, massive blue stars. A cluster of young stars called ‘Stock 8’ can be seen at center right; the light from this cluster carves out a bowl in the nearby dust clouds, seen here as green fluff. Along the sinuous tail in the center and to the left, groupings of red point sources are also young stars. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / 2MASS.

Astronomers Snap Incredible Image of Spider Nebula

Apr 18, 2016 by News Staff

This infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) shows an emission nebula known as IC 417. This infrared...

Composite image of the gravitational lens SDP.81 showing the distorted ALMA image of the more distant galaxy (red arcs) and the Hubble optical image of the nearby lensing galaxy (blue center object). By analyzing the distortions in the ring, astronomers have determined that a dark dwarf galaxy (data indicated by white dot near left lower arc segment) is lurking nearly 4 billion light-years away. Image credit: Y. Hezaveh, Stanford University / ALMA / NRAO / ESO / NAOJ / NASA / ESA / Hubble Space Telescope.

Astronomers Spot Dwarf Dark-Matter Dominated Galaxy 4 Billion Light-Years Away

Apr 15, 2016 by News Staff

Analysis of the very high resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the gravitational lens SDP.81 reveals a dwarf...

This is an artist’s impression of PSO J318.5-22. Image credit: MPIA / V. Ch. Quetz.

Free-Floating Giant Planet Analog Found 95 Light-Years Away

Apr 14, 2016 by Natali Anderson

An international team of astronomers has discovered one of the youngest and brightest free-floating, planet-like objects within relatively close proximity...

This image shows the Fornax Galaxy Cluster. The brightest galaxies are labeled. Image credit: ESO / Aniello Grado / Luca Limatola.

ESO’s VST Telescope Takes Stunning Image of Fornax Galaxy Cluster

Apr 13, 2016 by News Staff

ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) at Paranal Observatory in Chile has taken the best ever photo of a concentration of galaxies known as the Fornax Cluster. This...

This Hubble image shows the low surface brightness galaxy UGC 477, which lies in the constellation of Pisces, about 115 million light-years away. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Astronomers Take Stunning Image of UGC 477

Apr 11, 2016 by News Staff

Hubble astronomers provide a beautiful look inside UGC 477, a type of galaxy known as a low surface brightness galaxy. This Hubble image shows the low...

In this artist’s conception a hot terrestrial exoplanet circles its host star. Image credit: Dana Berry.

Hot Super-Earths: Astronomers Identify New Class of Exoplanet

Apr 11, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler mission have identified a new type of exoplanet called ‘hot super-Earths.’ In this artist’s conception...

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the nearby irregular dwarf galaxy Leo A. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Space Telescope Photographs Nearby Dwarf Galaxy Leo A

Apr 11, 2016 by Natali Anderson

NASA has released a beautiful photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of an irregular dwarf galaxy known as Leo A. This image from the NASA/ESA...

This false color image shows Cassiopeia A, a remnant of a Type IIb supernova. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Nearby Supernovae Showered Earth with Radioactive Debris 2 to 8 Million Years Ago

Apr 8, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Two international research teams have found evidence of a series of ‘near-Earth’ supernova explosions, which showered our planet with radioactive debris....

Simulated structure of Planet Nine. Image credit: Esther Linder / Christoph Mordasini.

Planet Nine: Ice Giant Roughly Four Times Bigger than Earth?

Apr 8, 2016 by News Staff

A duo of scientists at the University of Bern has estimated that the suspected Planet Nine is a smaller version of Uranus and Neptune with a surface temperature...

The elliptical galaxy NGC 1600, approximately 200 million light-years away - shown in the center of the Hubble image and highlighted in the box - hosts in its centre one of the biggest supermassive black holes known. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Digital Sky Survey 2.

Astronomers Find Extremely Massive Black Hole in NGC 1600

Apr 7, 2016 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a supermassive black hole with a mass of 17 billion Suns in the center of the relatively...

This artist’s concept depicts a super-Earth. Image credit: NASA / Ames / JPL-Caltech.

Salt Levels of Oceans on Earth-Like Exoplanets Could Have Major Effect on Their Climates

Apr 4, 2016 by News Staff

A new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that the circulation in fresh water or salty oceans on terrestrial...

This artist’s impression shows the view from a terrestrial exoplanet towards the planet’s host star in a triple stellar system. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

KELT-4Ab: Hot Jupiter Exoplanet Found in Triple Stellar System

Apr 4, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of astronomers has announced the discovery of a transiting hot Jupiter in a rare triple-star system. This artist’s impression shows...

This infrared image from Hubble shows Milky Way’s nuclear star cluster, the densest and most massive star cluster in our Galaxy. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / T. Do & A. Ghez, UCLA / V. Bajaj, STScI.

Hubble Focuses on Milky Way’s Nuclear Star Cluster

Apr 2, 2016 by News Staff

The infrared vision of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope pierced the dusty heart of our Milky Way Galaxy to reveal more than half a million stars at...

SDSS J1240+6710 (arrow). Image credit: S.O. Kepler et al / Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Astronomers Discover White Dwarf Star with Oxygen Atmosphere

Apr 1, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of astronomers led by Dr. Souza Oliveira Kepler from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, is reporting the discovery of a white...

This ALMA image shows the planet-forming disc around TW Hydrae. The inset image zooms in on the gap nearest to the star, which is at the same distance as the Earth is from the Sun, suggesting an infant version of an Earth-like exoplanet could be emerging from the dust and gas. The additional concentric light and dark features represent other planet-forming regions farther out in the disc. Image credit: S. Andrews, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics / ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO.

ALMA Captures Detailed Images of Planet-Forming Disk around Sun-Like Star TW Hydrae

Apr 1, 2016 by News Staff

New images from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) reveal finest details in the protoplanetary disk around the young, Sun-like star...

Artist’s impression of the super-Earth 55 Cancri e orbiting its host star. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Create Thermal Map of Super-Earth 55 Cancri e

Mar 31, 2016 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have mapped how conditions on 55 Cancri e – a ‘nearby’ super-Earth exoplanet –...

Scientist Links Earth’s Periodic Mass Extinctions to Planet Nine

Mar 31, 2016 by News Staff

According to Prof. Daniel P. Whitmire from the University of Arkansas, the suspected Planet Nine triggers comet showers linked to mass extinctions on Earth...

HD 80606b: Weird Gaseous Exoplanet Raises Questions about Origins of hot Jupiters

Mar 29, 2016 by News Staff

New observations of HD 80606b raise questions about origins of so-called hot Jupiters, a class of short-period gas giants with a mass similar to Jupiter’s,...