Milky way
Major Mystery Announcement About Milky Way to Be Revealed Thursday
The announcement could feature an important discovery about our galaxy's supermassive black hole, Sagittarius A*.
How Dying Stars Helped Scientists Finally Understand Our Galaxy's True Age
By studying a quarter of a million stars before they expanded into red giants, astronomers have revolutionized our picture of how the Milky Way was formed.
Tiny Star Shoots Out Huge Beam of Matter, Antimatter 40 Trillion Miles Long
The record-breaking beam is emanating from a pulsar—a rapidly rotating, collapsed star with a strong magnetic field—located around 1,600 light-years from Earth.
Supermassive Black Hole is Blowing Bubbles at the Heart of the Milky Way
The bubbles, which extend over 36,000 light-years, are being driven by energetic outflows from its supermassive black hole.
Most Tilted Black Hole Ever Could Change What We Know About How They Form
The black hole is stealing material from a companion star, in a process that could show how black holes get a kick from supernova explosions that form them.
How a 5M-Year-Old Star Somehow Took a 39M-Year-Long Trip Through Space
Some massive stars travel distances that should take many of their relatively short lifespans to traverse. Astronomers think they now know how this happens.
Astronomers Find 70 Rogue Exoplanets in 'Breakthrough' Discovery
The discovery of 70 confirmed cosmic orphans not orbiting parent stars is the largest find of freely wandering exoplanets to date.
Stars Seen Dancing Near Supermassive Black Hole in Deepest Milky Way Images
The weaving of stars around the Milky Way's central black hole shows how it dominates the heart of the galaxy.
Supermassive Black Hole at Center of Our Galaxy Hiccups As It Feeds
New research from the Hubble Space Telescope suggests that our galaxy's central black hole Sagittarius A* belches out jets of material as it swallows surrounding gas clouds.
Tiny Galaxy Has Unusually Massive Black Hole and Scientists Don't Know Why
The discovery of such a massive black hole in a dwarf galaxy could help explain both how galaxies evolve and how dark matter is distributed throughout them.
Astronomers Find 366 New Worlds, Including Two That Are Unusually Close
The 366 exoplanets were found by an algorithm that searched 800 million images of stars taken by NASA's Kepler Space Telescope in its K2 mission.
Amateur Astronomer Discovers New Dwarf Galaxy 3 Million Light Years Away
Scientists are now trying to learn more about the galaxy, named Pisces VII/Triangulum III, which has been described as a significant discovery.
A Mysterious Barrier Is Blocking Cosmic Rays at the Heart of the Milky Way
Scientists believe the area, known as the Central Molecular Zone, could shed light on the origins of cosmic rays that bombard Earth.
David and Goliath Battle Between Galaxies Could End With One Cannibalized
The duel between the galaxies, 22 million light-years from Earth, resembles a violent encounter in the Milky Way's distant past that could have shaped it.
Astronomers Find Evidence of a Planet Outside Our Galaxy for the First Time
The possible Saturn-sized planet was detected in the galaxy Messier 51, 28 million light-years from Earth, making it the most distant exoplanet ever found.
The Sun Could Be Dragging Earth Through a Vast Cosmic Tunnel In Space
The fact that the solar system could be traveling through a highly magnetized filament in space may also explain mysterious rope-like structures in the sky.
Astronomers Discover Mysterious 500-Light-Year-Wide Cavity in Space
The massive cavity in molecular clouds within our galaxy was discovered as scientists studied the first 3D maps of these star-forming regions.
The Milky Way is Messier than Scientists Thought
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have made findings that could redefine what we know about the evolution of galaxies
Unique 'Failed Star' Is Like Nothing Else in the Milky Way, Study Finds
"There are likely more weird ones out there, and we need to think about how to look for them," said Davy Kirkpatrick, an author of the study.
Hubble Snaps Incredible Photo of Star Cluster in Neighboring Galaxy
The star cluster is located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
Milky Way Galaxy Has 3,000 Light-Year-Long String of Stars Poking Out of It
The vast galactic structure could tell reveal something "significant" about our own galaxy, according to one scientist.
Stunning Time-Lapse Video of Ancient Burial Mountain Shows King's Tomb
From a vivid sunset to the Milky Way galaxy, a remote-controlled drone captures the scene changing for 30 hours.
Award-Winning Photographers Reveal How to Take Amazing Night Sky Photos
Three astrophotographers share their top tips for taking beautiful images.
A Photographer Spent 12 Years Making This Massive Image of the Milky Way
A Finnish artist who turned his camera skyward 25 years ago has completed an unprecedented image of the Milky Way.
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.
Stunning Image Shows Milky Way-like Galaxy's Vast X-shaped Magnetic Field
Astronomers detected rare and never-before-seen structures in the galaxy's magnetic field including a helix-shaped featured and two vast "superbubbles."
Stream of Stars From Beyond Milky Way Found Moving Toward Galaxy Center
The 200 stars appear to have come from a merger between the Milky Way and a dwarf galaxy long ago.
Milky Way Could Host up to Six Billion Earth-like Planets, Scientists Say
Determining the abundance of Earth-like planets is one of the major goals of planetary science.
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.
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.