This Planet May Soon Escape the Milky Way’s Gravitational Grip

This artist’s concept visualizes a super-Neptune world orbiting a low-mass star near the center of our Milky Way galaxy. Scientists recently discovered such a system that may break the current record for fastest exoplanet system, traveling at least 1.2 million miles per hour, or 540 kilometers per second. NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

February 16, 2025

The universe never ceases to surprise us, and the latest revelation from astronomers is no exception. Imagine a star speeding...

Discover the Fiery Beauty of NGC 2040—A Star Cluster in Cosmic Bloom

A zoom-in of the main image. Are planets forming in here somewhere? Rocky ones in habitable zones? Image Credit: International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Image Processing: J. Miller & M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF NOIRLab), T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF NOIRLab)

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February 16, 2025

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Recently, the Gemini South telescope, part of the International Gemini Observatory, unveiled a breathtaking image of this cluster, revealing a...

See! The Spectacular Birth of Suns in RCW 38

This is an 80-million-pixel picture of the star cluster RCW 38, located 5500 light-years away in the constellation Vela. RCW 38 is a young cluster containing about 2000 stars, and is bursting with star-forming activity. The picture was taken with ESO's Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA), operating in Chile's Atacama Desert. It shows a mixture of gas, dust and stars, creating an extravagant, yet spectacular landscape. As VISTA observes infrared light, it is able to peer through most of the dust in this region, which would block our view when observing in visible light. Behind the dust, VISTA is showing young stars within dusty cocoons and cold 'failed' stars known as brown dwarfs, thus revealing the secrets within these young stellar nurseries. Credit: ESO/VVVX survey

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February 15, 2025

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The cosmos continues to reveal its hidden beauty, and the latest visual gift from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) is...

There May Be Life—Even Around a Dead Star! The Hidden Potential of White Dwarfs

Artist's rendition of a white dwarf from the surface of an orbiting exoplanet. New research suggests that white dwarfs can be hospitable hosts for life-supporting exoplanets. Image Credit: Madden/Cornell University

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February 15, 2025

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In the vast expanse of the universe, astronomers have long searched for habitable exoplanets around main-sequence stars like our Sun....

Is This the Missing Link Between Galaxies? Astronomers Say Yes

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February 13, 2025

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For decades, astronomers have theorized that galaxies are not scattered randomly across the universe but are instead arranged in a...

Could These Tiny Solar Eruptions Protect Earth From Space Storms?

CREDIT ESA. Acknowledgement: Work performed by ATG medialab under contract for ESA

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February 13, 2025

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For decades, astronomers have been captivated by the Sun’s solar wind—a powerful stream of charged particles that extends throughout the...

Could This Be the First Planet to Escape the Milky Way at Record-Breaking Speeds?

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (Caltech-IPAC)

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February 12, 2025

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Astronomers have discovered an extraordinary hypervelocity star system—one of the fastest-moving star systems ever recorded—racing through the Milky Way at...

Is an Asteroid About to Strike Earth? The Truth About 2024 YR4

an asteroid. (Image credit: buradaki via Getty Images)

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February 12, 2025

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Astronomers have recently detected a near-Earth asteroid, 2024 YR4, whose estimated probability of striking Earth has doubled—from 1% to 2.3%—since...