What is a supernova?
Andy Briggs in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | November 12, 2020

A supernova is a star’s colossal explosion at the end of its life, potentially outshining its entire galaxy. Read about the causes and types of supernovae here.



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Smile, wave: Some exoplanets may be able to see us, too
Cornell University | 21 October 2020

Three decades after Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan suggested that Voyager 1 snap Earth's picture from billions of miles away -- resulting in the iconic Pale Blue Dot photograph -- two astronomers now offer another unique cosmic perspective: Some exoplanets -- planets from beyond our own solar system -- have a direct line of sight to observe Earth's biological qualities from...

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Astronomers see a star ‘spaghettified’ by a black hole
Deborah Byrd in SPACE | October 13, 2020

Astronomers have spotted a rare blast of light from a star being ripped apart by a supermassive black hole. The phenomenon – known as a tidal disruption event – is the closest such flare recorded to date at just over 215 million light-years from Earth.

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Will Universe End with ‘Black Dwarf’ Supernova Explosions?
News Staff, Sci News Staff | Aug 20, 2020

A series of ‘black dwarf’ supernovae will be the last astrophysical events to occur in our Universe prior to the so-called heat death, when the Universe will be populated only by black holes and ‘frozen’ white dwarfs, according to a paper by Illinois State University theoretical physicist Matt Caplan.

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“Exist at an Astonishing Scale” – Planets Orbiting Black Holes Could Harbor Life ‘Beyond Extreme’
The Daily Galaxy | 8 August 2020

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A monster quasar in the early universe
Deborah Byrd in SPACE | June 26, 2020

Astronomers just announced the most massive quasar yet known in the early universe. Its monster central black hole has a mass equivalent to 1.5 billion of our suns. The object has been given a Hawaiian name, Poniua’ena.​

Wowzer! Pluto spacecraft sees parallax for Proxima
EarthSky in SPACE | June 15, 2020

New images from the fringes of our solar system. The fast-moving New Horizons spacecraft sees a parallax shift – a different apparent position against the background stars – for Proxima Centauri.​

Black holes are like a hologram
EarthSky in SPACE | June 5, 2020

The theory of relativity describes black holes as being spherical, smooth and simple. Quantum theory describes them as being extremely complex and full of information. New research now proposes a surprising solution to this apparent duality.​

Astronomers find the Wolfe Disk, a galaxy that shouldn't exist, in the distant universe
Ashley Strickland, CNN | Sat May 23, 2020​

Why clouds form near black holes
EarthSky Voices in SPACE | May 19, 2020

Clouds in the greater universe are clumpy areas of greater density than their surroundings. Space telescopes have observed these cosmic clouds in the vicinity of supermassive black holes.

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New closest-known black hole lies in a visible star system
EarthSky Voices in SPACE | May 6, 2020

Only 1,000 light-years away, the star system can be seen with the unaided eye.​

Artist’s concept of a black hole via ESO.​

Milky Way could be catapulting stars into its outer halo
Eleanor Imster in SPACE | May 3, 2020

Scientists used computer simulations to learn that our Milky Way galaxy may sometimes launch newly forming stars into the space around itself – that is, into the halo of our galaxy – via outflows triggered by supernova explosions.


An example of one of the movies from the FIRE-2 simulations​

What is dark energy?
Andy Briggs in SPACE | March 31, 2020

Dark energy is one of the great unsolved mysteries of cosmology. It’s now thought to make up 68% of everything in the universe.

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Quasar tsunamis rip across galaxies
EarthSky Voices in SPACE | March 27, 2020

Astronomers using the Hubble Telescope found that the region around a quasar’s black hole pushes out material at a few percent the speed of light. These quasar tsunamis wreak havoc on the galaxies in which the quasars live.​

Mizar and Alcor, famous double star
Bruce McClure in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | BRIGHTEST STARS | March 25, 2020

Mizar and its fainter companion star Alcor are easy to spot in the Big Dipper’s handle.


Mizar and Alcor. Image via F. Espenak/astropixels.​

The 13 Most Fascinating Astronomy Facts
From Florida Tech's Astronomy Website


Black Hole Depiction​

Astronomers detect biggest explosion in history of universe
Eleanor Imster in SPACE | March 1, 2020

Scientists studying a distant galaxy cluster have discovered the biggest explosion seen in the universe since the Big Bang.

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What is dark matter?
Andy Briggs in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | SPACE | February 23, 2020

Dark matter doesn’t emit light. It can’t be directly observed with any of the existing tools of astronomers. Yet astrophysicists believe it and dark energy make up most of the mass of the cosmos. What dark matter is, and what it isn’t.​

What is a neutron star?
Andy Briggs in ASTRONOMY ESSENTIALS | SPACE | February 12, 2020

Neutron stars are born in supernova explosions. They are stars with a couple of times our sun’s mass, squeezed into a sphere the size of an earthly city.​