ALMA catches a dying star mid-transformation, with a ring from its last outburst

Astronomers have used radio observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to catch a dying star in the middle of a dramatic transformation, and the data show a ring that records its final outburst. The new research was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 18. The paper has been accepted for publication […]

NASA advances LISA mission contributions with new test telescope

NASA has taken the next step in the process of developing a new all-glass telescope for the LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna) mission, a space observatory designed to detect ripples in space-time called gravitational waves.

Go to Source

Discovery marks the first detection of variable water clouds outside of the solar system

A Jupiter-sized world just 7.5 light-years away is cloudy, chemically complex and, it turns out, more like home than anyone expected. Using the James Webb Space Telescope, Brittany Miles, assistant astronomer at the University of Arizona’s Steward Observatory, led a team that spent 11 hours staring at WISE 0855, the coldest known brown dwarf, collecting […]

Strong magnetic fields could allow white dwarfs to grow beyond the Chandrasekhar limit

When a dying star runs out of fuel and sheds its outer layers, its remaining core can become an approximately Earth-sized, extremely dense stellar remnant called a white dwarf. For a white dwarf that is not strongly rotating or magnetized, there is a well-known upper mass limit of about 1.4 times the mass of the […]

SPHEREx spots menagerie of brown dwarfs with atmospheric water and methane

NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the universe, Epoch of Reionization, and ices Explorer) space telescope is shedding light on brown dwarfs, celestial objects that blur the line between stars and exoplanets. New findings published in The Astrophysical Journal show that these dark and cloudy worlds have chemically rich atmospheres not unlike the giant […]

Four astronauts return to Earth after eight months in space

Four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Thursday after hurrying there eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew.

Go to Source

Astronomers pinpoint the most distant fast radio burst ever detected

Astronomers have detected and traced the most distant fast radio burst ever recorded, a powerful flash of radio waves that traveled for more than 10 billion years across the cosmos before reaching Earth.

Go to Source

Largest 2D map of the universe helps scientists discover new gravitational lenses

Using data from the DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys, with help from artificial intelligence, an international team of scientists has discovered 70 new gravitational lenses—rare cosmic alignments that act as natural magnifying glasses. The new lenses further expand one of the largest collections of confirmed lenses to date and will allow scientists to study dark matter, […]

Mission success: Australian cancer research returns from space

Human stem cells from Adelaide University’s Center for Cancer Biology have successfully traveled to the edge of space and back as part of a landmark mission for Australian cancer research.

Go to Source

Margaret Hamilton, scientist who worked on NASA’s Apollo program, dead at 90

American scientist Margaret Hamilton, who led development of the computer system used by NASA’s Apollo lunar program, has died at 90, her former employer said Wednesday.

Go to Source

Solar Orbiter tracks origin of mysterious magnetic switchbacks

The European Space Agency–led Solar Orbiter spacecraft has flown through an S-shaped kink known as a “switchback” in the solar wind’s magnetic field. By fingerprinting the elusive particles within the switchback, Solar Orbiter has traced its origin back to the sun’s surface and revealed more about solar magnetism—the unruly instigator of dangerous solar storms.

Go […]

Artemis II crew moon photo annotations

A visualization of a dark moon eclipsing the sun is marked with handwritten notes in this April 6, 2026, screenshot from an Artemis II crew member’s tablet.

Go to Source

Undergraduate student may have solved puzzle regarding isolated galaxies that have stopped producing stars

An undergraduate astrophysics student at UC Berkeley has found three unusual galaxies—cataloged as Shapiro Dwarf Galaxies I, II and III. Each galaxy is far from other galaxies and has stopped making stars, a combination that is extremely rare. The discovery, published in The Astrophysical Journal, provides compelling observational evidence of a long-held astronomical theory.

Go […]

Radio galaxy from 12.5 billion years ago may be most powerful ever found

Astronomers have confirmed a powerful radio galaxy from nearly 12.5 billion years ago. The source, TXS 2354+015, was originally identified as a high-redshift candidate from its characteristic drop in optical light, and follow-up spectroscopy placed it at a redshift of 4.946. Their paper was posted to the arXiv preprint server on Sept. 23.

Go to […]

Alcohol in space: Exotic methanol discovered in planet-building zones

An international team of astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), of which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a partner (NSF NRAO), has combined expertise from across the globe to open a new window on how the organic molecules that seed planets, and potentially life, form in space.

Go […]