Astronomy

Astronomy

Planetary Picture? Criteria for planethood cloud object’s identity

Astronomers are debating whether an image of a planetary-mass object orbiting a brown dwarf qualifies as the first image of an extrasolar planet.

Astronomy

Shell of a finding

A new X-ray portrait of a supernova remnant suggests that this shell of hot gas may be hard to discern if the interstellar medium around the exploded star has extremely low density.

Astronomy

Distant Dust: Asteroid belt or boiling comet?

A swarm of warm dust surrounding a star 41 light-years from Earth may be a sign of the closest extrasolar analog to the solar system's asteroid belt.

Astronomy

Dark Influence

A study of galaxy clusters tests whether dark matter particles can collide with each other, while other observations show that dark matter doesn't behave as expected near the centers of galaxies.

Astronomy

Cosmic Primitive: Old star sheds light on early stellar formation

Astronomers have found one of the most chemically primitive stars known, dating to just a few hundred million years after the Big Bang.

Astronomy

Stellar Question: Extrasolar planet or failed star?

A tiny dot of light next to a young, sunlike star might be the long-sought image of an extrasolar planet.

Astronomy

Moon story waxes fuller

A new analysis may have put the final piece in the puzzle of how the Moon formed.

Astronomy

Star Packed: Super cluster is first to be detected in Milky Way

Astronomers have detected the most massive and densest cluster of young stars ever detected in the Milky Way, a finding that could shed light on how stars formed in the early universe.

Astronomy

It’s a star, but not much of one

Astronomers have discovered the smallest star known.

Astronomy

Worlds of Astronomy

British astronomer and writer David Darling has created an impressive, online encyclopedia devoted to topics in astronomy, astrobiology, spaceflight, space physics, and much more. From the Abell cluster to the Zwicky Catalogue, the site provides clear, straightforward explanations of a variety of concepts, along with brief biographies and much other material, including relevant images. Go […]

Astronomy

Alien Light: Extrasolar planets are detected in new way

Two teams of scientists report that they have for the first time directly detected the glow of planets that circle sunlike stars hundreds of light-years from Earth.

Astronomy

Too Darn Hot

A new theory of planet formation suggests that sizzling-hot Earths may be abundant throughout the galaxy and could soon be detected.