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Streams of gas might lead to the rapid formation of high-mass stars

The size of our universe and the bodies within it is incomprehensible to us lowly humans. The sun has a mass that is more than 330,000 times that of our Earth, and yet there are stars in the universe that completely dwarf our sun.

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The most powerful tool in an astronomer’s arsenal is a lens—but not the kind you might think

Astronomers are living in a golden age of bigger and better telescopes. But even our most advanced technology pales in comparison to the power of nature’s own “cosmic magnifying glasses”—strong gravitational lenses.

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We’ve been sending animals into space for 7 decades—yet there are still no rules to protect them from harm

This week, Russia is expected to launch its Bion-M No.2 biosatellite from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, carrying 75 mice and 1,500 fruit flies.

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Watching how stars come into being using cosmic simulations

Pictures are the key to new insights in the field of astrophysics. Such images include simulations of cosmic events, which astrophysicists at UZH use to investigate how stars, planets and galaxies came into existence.

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Accidental double zoom reveals millimeter waves around supermassive black hole

An international team of astronomers led by Matus Rybak (Leiden University, Netherlands) has proven, thanks to accidental double zoom, that millimeter radiation is generated close to the core of a supermassive black hole. Their findings have been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics and are available on the arXiv preprint server.

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Tidal forces and orbital evolution of habitable zone planets investigated

How do tidal forces determine a planet’s orbital evolution, specifically planets in the habitable zone? This is what a recently submitted study hopes to address as an international team of researchers investigated how tidal forces far more powerful than experienced on Earth could influence orbital evolution of habitable zone planets with highly eccentric orbits around […]

First-of-its-kind supernova reveals inner workings of a dying star

An international team of scientists, led by Northwestern University astrophysicists, has detected a never-before-seen type of exploding star, or supernova, that is rich with silicon, sulfur and argon. The study, “Extremely stripped supernova reveals a silicon and sulfur formation site,” is published in the journal Nature.

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Astronomers capture a record 130-year evolution of a dying star

For the first time, scientists have directly tracked the slow transformation of a dying star over more than a century—revealing it is heating up faster than any other typical star ever observed.

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Study explores X-ray sources in globular cluster NGC 6528

By analyzing the data from NASA’s Chandra spacecraft, astronomers have conducted the first X-ray study of a globular cluster known as NGC 6528. Results of the study, published August 13 on the arXivpreprint server, yield important insights regarding the population of X-ray sources in this cluster.

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Where are the interstellar objects 1I/’Oumuamua, 2I/Borisov and 3I/Atlas headed now?

In the past decade, astronomers have witnessed three interstellar objects (ISOs) passing through the solar system. These include the enigmatic ‘Oumuamua in 2017, the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov in 2019, and 3I/ATLAS in July 2025. This latest object also appears to be a comet, based on recent observations that showed it was actively releasing water vapor […]

Detecting exoplanet magnetic fields from the moon could soon be possible

Exoplanet habitability depends on a whole host of factors, with liquid water at the top of the list. It also requires a stable atmosphere, the right chemistry, and possibly even things like plate tectonics or other geological activity. Planetary magnetic fields are a critical part of the formula, too, but detecting them from Earth’s surface […]

Moon flybys could save fuel on interplanetary missions

The Three-Body Problem isn’t just the name of a viral Netflix series or a Hugo Award-winning sci-fi book. It also represents a real problem in astrodynamics—and one that can cause headaches for mission planners in terms of its complexity, but also one that offers the promise of an easier way to enter stable orbits that […]

Webb discovers a new moon orbiting Uranus

Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a team led by the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has identified a previously unknown moon orbiting Uranus, expanding the planet’s known satellite family to 29. The detection was made during a Webb observation on Feb. 2, 2025.

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Mathematical model reveals how collapsing matter and expanding voids shape universe’s evolution

A University of Queensland researcher has developed a new mathematical model to explain the evolution of the universe which, for the first time, includes collapsing regions of matter and expanding voids.

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Apollo Moon sample opened after 50 years contains evidence of extraterrestrial landslide

More than 50 years after the last manned moon mission, the Apollo program is still making groundbreaking discoveries.

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