astrophysics
What Is Spaghettification? Black Hole 'Sucking In' Star Seen by Scientists
Scientists spotted the star being ripped apart by a black hole millions of light-years from Earth.
Supernova Explosions May Have Caused Mass Extinction 350 Million Years Ago
Supernovae are cataclysmic explosions that occur during the last evolutionary stages in the life of massive stars.
Mars-sized 'Light-bridge' on Sun Appears to Signal Break-up of Vast Sunspot
Sunspots are dark spots that temporarily appear on the solar surface.
Who is Dilhan Eryurt? Google Doodle Celebrates Pioneering NASA Scientist
Eryurt is celebrated on the 51st anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, as her research allowed NASA to develop technology that was crucial to the 1969 mission.
Closest Ever Images of the Sun Revealed by NASA and ESA
"These images are closest images ever taken of the sun—and we have just started our long journey through the inner solar system," said Daniel Müller from the European Space Agency.
Incredible X-Ray Map of the Universe Like You've Never Seen It Before
"This all-sky image completely changes the way we look at the energetic universe," said researcher Peter Predehl.
There Could Be 36 Intelligent Alien Civilizations in the Milky Way
Researchers say determining intelligence across the galaxy could give clues to our own fate.
Saturn's Moon Titan Drifting Away From Planet 100 Times Faster Than Thought
The finding could shed light on the long-debated issue of when Saturn's rings and moons formed.
Flash From Black Hole Milky Way's Heart Lit up Vast Stream of Gas
"The flash was so powerful that it lit up the stream like a Christmas tree," said researcher Andrew Fox.
Milky Way's warped shape may be the result of an ongoing galactic collision
Researchers have long debated the cause of this warping, and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain it.
Spectacular Image of Planetary Nebula Created by Dying Star Captured
The hourglass-shaped object, known as CVMP 1, is one of the largest known planetary nebulae.
Tiny Star Emits Unusually Powerful X-Ray Flare
Scientists previously thought stars like these were not capable of such high-energy eruptions.
Dying Sun Will Emit Radiation That Will Pulverize Asteroids in Solar System
Radiation from dying main sequence stars can cause asteroids to spin until they break up, researchers have found.
Mystery Radio Signal From Deep Space Appears to Be Repeating 16-Day Cycle
Scientists say they have found the first fast radio burst that has a steady repeating cycle.
NASA Captures Never-Before-Seen Magnetic Explosion on Surface of the Sun
The results could have significant implications for space weather prediction, particle physics experiments on Earth and our understanding of the sun's atmosphere.
Most Massive Black Hole in Local Universe With 40bn Solar Masses Found
"Imagine condensing two-thirds of the Milky Way—which has a stellar mass equivalent to 60 billion suns—into a black hole and you have what we measured," said researcher Roberto Saglia.
NASA Detects Record-breaking X-ray Burst From Massive Cosmic Explosion
The explosion occurred on the surface of a pulsar around 11,000 light-years away.
Nobel Prize-Winning Astronomer Says We Will Likely Find Aliens in 30 Years
"I can't believe we are the only living entity in the universe," Didier Queloz said
Calculator Tells You What Will Happen If Earth Is Sucked Into a Black Hole
Black holes are dead stars that, after exploding as supernovae, have so much mass that nothing can hold them together, causing them to collapse into a singularity.
The Center of the Milky Way Exploded 3.5 Million Years Ago
Researchers estimate that the explosion lasted for approximately 300,000 years.
Planet Nine Mystery Could Be Caused by a Black Hole Say Scientists
Five years ago scientists proposed the hypothetical existence of a large world tens of millions of miles from the Sun, which has come to be known as "Planet Nine."
NASA Visualization Reveals How a Black Hole Warps Its Surroundings
"Simulations and movies like these really help us visualize what Einstein meant when he said that gravity warps the fabric of space and time," the creator of the images said.
Record-breaking White Dwarf Stars Circle Each Other Every Seven Minutes
A team of astronomers has discovered the "fastest eclipsing white dwarf binary" star system in the known universe.
Roscosmos Launches Advanced Spektr-RG Telescope Into Space
The observatory is expected to map around 100,000 galaxy clusters—the largest known gravitationally bound structures in the universe—and three million supermassive black holes.
Scientists Discover Vortex Around Black Hole Spinning at 70% Light-Speed
Astronomers have measured the spin rate of five, distant supermassive black holes for a study published in the Astrophysical Journal.
What is BepiColombo? Mercury Mission Set to Blast Off
The probe will use gravity like a slingshot on its seven-year voyage to Mercury.
Astronomers Find Largest Galaxy Proto-supercluster
The discovery could help unlock the secrets of the formation of the universe.
Scientists Catch Glimpse of Moments Before Star's Death
The latest findings shed new light on supernova explosions and the late stages of stellar evolution.
An 'Invisible Galaxy' May Be Hiding in the Milky Way
Scientists think that at the heart of nearly every galaxy lies a supermassive black hole (SMBH) with immense gravity.
Neutron Star Merger Produced Speed-of-light Jet
The jets could provide a link between neutron star mergers and gamma ray bursts—the brightest events ever observed.