A strange case of a delayed eruption surprised astronomers. Supermassive black holes tear stars to pieces when they approach too closely. This is known as a tidal disruption event (TDE). The spewing out of material follows the destruction of the … Read More
Karl Schwarzchild proposed black holes in 1916 as a solution to Einstein’s field equations for his Theory of General Relativity. By the mid-twentieth century, astronomers were using indirect methods to detect black holes for the first time, observing their effects … Read More
Disturbances in the dwarf galaxies of one of Earth’s closest galaxy clusters point to a different gravity theory. Dwarf galaxies are small, faint galaxies found in or near larger galaxies or galaxy clusters. As a result, they may be impacted … Read More
J1407b, a young exoplanet, has a massive ring system that is much heavier and 200 times larger than Saturn’s rings. Astronomers discovered the giant planet, which could be a brown dwarf (a failed star), when it eclipsed J1407, a very … Read More
In late 2020, scientists studying Venus’s atmosphere announced the surprising – and controversial – discovery of phosphine, a chemical produced primarily by living organisms on Earth. At the time, Jane Greaves of Cardiff University in Wales and her colleagues wondered … Read More
Data obtained by NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) investigation team over the last two weeks show that the spacecraft’s kinetic impact with its target asteroid, Dimorphos, successfully altered the asteroid’s orbit. This is the first time humanity has purposely … Read More