Astronomy & Space News

This artist's concept shows a supermassive black hole surrounded by a disk of gas.

Mounded, luminous clouds of gas and dust glow in this Hubble image of a Herbig-Haro object known as HH 45.

The Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) will help determine if intentionally crashing a spacecraft into an asteroid is an effective way to change its course.

The Flame Nebula, also called NGC 2024, is a large star-forming region in the constellation Orion that lies about 1,400 light-years from Earth. It’s a part of the Orion Molecular Cloud Complex.

NASA astronaut Victor Glover speaks with students about his time aboard the International Space Station, Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, at Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington.

A pair of U.S. spacesuits are pictured inside the International Space Station's Quest airlock ready for an upcoming spacewalk.

This Hubble infrared image captures a protostar designated J1672835.29-763111.64 in the reflection nebula IC 2631, part of the Chamaeleon star-forming region in the southern constellation Chamaeleon.

This image taken from the space station shows the blue-green waters around the Bahamas.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft is launched on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-3 mission to the International Space Station, Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

During its 36th low pass over Jupiter, NASA’s Juno spacecraft captured this view of striking cloud bands and swirls in the giant planet’s mid-southern latitudes.

The SpaceX Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft is lifted onto the GO Navigator recovery ship after it landed off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, Mon., Nov. 8, 2021.

This image shows knots of cold, dense interstellar gas where new stars are forming. These Free-floating Evaporating Gaseous Globules (frEGGs) are located in the Northern Coalsack Nebula in the direction of Cygnus, the Swan.

The aurora borealis glow on the northern horizon while stars wheel overhead in this long exposure, taken near the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah on Nov. 4, 2021.

The colorful planetary nebula, NGC 2438, formed after the death of a Sun-like star. It appears to lie on the outskirts of the open star cluster, M46 (NGC 2437), when in fact it is in the foreground between us and the star cluster.

​An artists' impression of the Mariner 10 mission, the first mission to perform an interplanetary gravity assist.

Mounded, luminous clouds of gas and dust glow in this Hubble image of a Herbig-Haro object known as HH 45. Herbig-Haro objects are a rarely seen type of nebula that occurs when hot gas ejected by a newborn star collides with the gas and dust around it at hundreds of miles per second, creating bright shock waves. In this image, blue indicates ionized oxygen (O II) and purple shows ionized magnesium (Mg II). Researchers were particularly interested in these elements because they can be used to identify shocks and ionization fronts. This object is located in the nebula NGC 1977, which itself is part of a complex of three nebulae called The Running Man. NGC 1977 -- like its companions NGC 1975 and NGC 1973 -- is a reflection nebula, which means that it doesn't emit light on its own, but reflects light from nearby stars, like a streetlight illuminating fog. Hubble observed this region to look for stellar jets and planet-forming disks around young stars, and examine how their environment affects the evolution of such disks.

Astronomers have discovered an ultrahot Jupiter with shortest orbit of any known gas giant planet.

Astronomers have discovered two previously invisible galaxies billions of light-years away. Their discovery suggests that up to one in five such distant galaxies remain hidden from our telescopes, camouflaged by cosmic dust. The new knowledge changes perceptions of our universe's evolution since the Big Bang.

Mars explorers searching for signs of ancient life could be fooled by fossil-like specimens created by chemical processes, research suggests.

A husband-and-wife team of astronomers joined forces for the first time in their scientific careers during the pandemic to develop a new method to look back in time and change the way we understand the history of galaxies.

After decades of uncertainty, researchers have confirmed the existence of lunar carbon dioxide cold traps that could potentially contain solid carbon dioxide. The discovery will likely have a major influence in shaping future lunar missions and could impact the feasibility of a sustained robot or human presence on the moon.

How are chemical elements produced in our Universe? Where do heavy elements like gold and uranium come from? Using computer simulations, a research team shows that the synthesis of heavy elements is typical for certain black holes with orbiting matter accumulations, so-called accretion disks. The predicted abundance of the formed elements provides insight into which heavy elements need to be studied in future laboratories to unravel the origin of heavy elements.

Near-Earth asteroid Kamo`oalewa could be a fragment of our moon.

Astronomers have discovered a small black hole outside the Milky Way by looking at how it influences the motion of a star in its close vicinity. This is the first time this detection method has been used to reveal the presence of a black hole outside of our galaxy. The method could be key to unveiling hidden black holes in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies, and to help shed light on how these mysterious objects form and evolve.

A new method has allowed scientists to quickly detect a transiting planet with two suns.

Strange 'eggshell planets' are among the rich variety of exoplanets possible, according to a study. These rocky worlds have an ultra-thin outer brittle layer and little to no topography. Such worlds are unlikely to have plate tectonics, raising questions as to their habitability. Planetary geologists have said at least three such worlds found during previous astronomical surveys may already be known.

An enormous jet of particles emitted by the giant galaxy M87 can be observed astronomically in various wavelengths. Scientists have developed a theoretical model of the morphology of this jet using complex supercomputer calculations. The images from these calculations provide an unprecedented match with astronomical observations and confirm Einstein's theory of general relativity.

A new discovery is shedding light on how fluorine -- an element found in our bones and teeth as fluoride -- is forged in the Universe. Astronomers have detected this element in a galaxy that is so far away its light has taken over 12 billion years to reach us. This is the first time fluorine has been spotted in such a distant star-forming galaxy.

Researchers have pinpointed the likely origin of a group of meteorites ejected from Mars, using a machine learning algorithm that analyses high-resolution planetary images.

The study is the first to show that both large and small black hole masses can result from a single pathway, wherein the black holes gain mass from the expansion of the universe itself.

Explore star clusters, comets, and galaxies from November 26 to December 3.

Ceres reaches opposition and it’s time to find a turkey in the sky from November 19 to 26.

The Full Beaver Moon turns red, the Leonid meteor shower peaks, and dwarf planet Ceres crosses the Hyades from November 12 to 19.

Astronomers have watched a jet launch from a stellar-mass black hole inside the Milky Way.

The post Astronomers Watch Black Hole Jet Launch appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

While the Jupiter-Saturn-Venus line keeps shrinking, all kinds of deep-sky sights, naked-eye to telescopic, show themselves on these moonless evenings.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 25 – December 4 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The first-ever planetary defense mission is now on its way to the asteroid Didymos and its moon, Dimorphos.

The post NASA’s DART Mission Launches for Head-on Collision with an Asteroid appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Small telescopes can reel in some big ones in the constellation Cetus, the Whale.

The post Deep-sky Fishing in Cetus, the Whale appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

The Solar Orbiter mission will fly past Earth Friday night, setting up a dramatic sunward plunge.

The post Solar Orbiter to Fly Past Earth Thanksgiving Weekend appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers have observed an object like ‘Oumuamua — but unlike the first known interstellar visitor, this one is in the solar system.

The post Can This Near-Earth Asteroid Help Us Understand the First Interstellar Visitor? appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Orion now rises in the east around 8 p.m. Will Betelgeuse or Rigel be the first of his bright stars to come up? That depends on your latitude; Los Angeles and Atlanta are balance points. The Pleiades and Aldebaran watch this scene from high above.

The post This Week's Sky at a Glance, November 19 – 27 appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

Astronomers might have spotted a stellar-mass black hole in another galaxy — but not everyone agrees with what they found.

The post Did Astronomers Spot a Black Hole in Another Galaxy? Maybe Not appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A near-total lunar eclipse will be widely visible across North America on the night of November 18–19. Dress warmly and go for it!

The post A Near-Miss Total Lunar Eclipse appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

A Russian missile struck a defunct satellite early Monday morning, forcing International Space Station crew to shelter in place.

The post Russia Conducts Antisatellite Test; Space Station Crew Takes Cover appeared first on Sky & Telescope.