On a typical afternoon in late 2017, the sun did what it has done for billions of years: it unleashed…
Category: Astronomy
Strange Celestial Oddballs Are Hiding the Secrets of Alien Space Weather
For as long as humans have looked at the night sky, we have wondered about the invisible forces that shape…
Our Galaxy’s Sleeping Giant Was Actually Screaming Just a Few Centuries Ago
At the very center of our galaxy lies a monster that, by all rights, should be screaming. This is Sagittarius…
Spacecraft Exhaust Is Racing Across the Moon and Could Erase the History of Life
For billions of years, the Moon has served as a silent witness to the chaotic history of our solar system.…
We Are Finally Watching the Ghost of a 17000 Light Year Old Explosion Breathe
In the autumn of 1604, the German astronomer Johannes Kepler looked up at the night sky and witnessed a “new…
Scientists Discovered a Massive Cloud of Gas That Forgot to Turn Into a Galaxy
In the silent, cold expanse of the nearby universe, about 94 million light years away from our own neighborhood, there…
Astronomers Solve the 850 Year Old Mystery of the Sky’s Most Bizarre Frozen Firework
In the year 1181 AD, observers on Earth looked toward the heavens and witnessed a celestial anomaly. A “guest star”…
Astronomers Discover a Flash of Blue Light Brighter Than 400 Billion Suns
In the silent, freezing reaches of the deep cosmos, a massive star once drifted in a gravitational dance with a…
James Webb Solved the Mystery of the Universe’s Little Red Dots
In the vast, silent expanse of the early universe, certain flickers of light have long puzzled the people who study…
Our Neighboring Galaxy Is Hiding Nearly 500 Giant Molecular Clouds That We Never Knew Existed
In the silent, vast expanse of the cosmos, our closest celestial neighbor hangs like a shimmering island of light. The…
Astronomers Discover a Giant Cosmic Lighthouse Flickering Deep in the Silent Universe
In the vast, silent stretches of our universe, there exist beacons of light so intense they defy easy comprehension. These…
The Sun Is Hiding a Giant Secret on Its Far Side That Could Cripple Our Power Grid
For as long as humans have looked to the sky, the sun has been a constant, predictable presence. It rises…
Scientists Discover an Ancient Star Cluster That Is Constanty Shedding Suns Into the Void
Deep within the crowded, glowing heart of our Milky Way, an ancient relic of the early universe is slowly coming…
Astronomers Solve the 800-Year-Old Mystery of the 1181 “Guest Star”
Most stars that end their lives in explosions do so with overwhelming finality. They tear themselves apart, scattering their remains…
The Ghost Planet: Astronomers Just Captured a World Wandering the Dark Without a Sun
In the vast architecture of the universe, most planets are creatures of routine. They circle their stars with dependable regularity,…
The “Ghost Particle” That Wasn’t: Scientists Finally Solve a Decades-Old Space Mystery
In a cavern of steel, electronics, and chilled liquid argon beneath the plains of Illinois, physicists have been listening for…
Dark Matter Leaves No Light — But Quantum Sensors Might Still Hear It
Dark matter moves through the universe like a silent ghost. It does not glow, it does not cast shadows, and…
Astronomers Thought This Star Was Just “Flickering.” The Reality is Much More Violent
For years, V1180 Cassiopeiae sat quietly in the catalogs of astronomy, a young star behaving much like others of its…
Astronomers Found Old Stars Moving So Fast They’re Escaping Our Galaxy
Some stars are born wanderers. Others are pushed into motion by forces so extreme that they tear them away from…
Astronomers Thought This Galaxy Was “Dead”—Then They Found Its Hidden Twin Heart
From a distance, NGC 4486B looks calm, almost unremarkable. It is a compact elliptical galaxy tucked into the crowded heart…
The Universe Was Only 700 Million Years Old When This Star Died. We Just Saw It Happen
On March 14, 2025, something ancient screamed across the cosmos and briefly touched our modern instruments. It was a burst…
This Cosmic Explosion Lasted All Night—and Scientists Still Don’t Know Why
Gamma-ray bursts usually arrive like cosmic lightning strikes. They flare brilliantly and vanish almost as quickly, leaving astronomers scrambling to…