Cosmology
Astronomers Catch Gravitational Waves from Colliding Neutron Stars
Spacetime ripples from the neutron star smash-up usher in the age of multi-messenger astronomy.
2017 Nobel Goes to Gravitational Waves
Three American physicists have received the Nobel Prize in physics for their contributions to the discovery of gravitational waves.
Fourth Gravitational Wave Event Detected
Teaming up with LIGO, Europe’s Virgo detector has bagged its first gravitational waves. The three-observatory detection enabled scientists to better pinpoint the merging black holes’ location.
Some Cosmic Rays Come from Outside the Galaxy
Astronomers have detected more extremely energetic cosmic particles coming from one side of the sky than the other.
Featured Image: The Cosmic Velocity Web
Have you ever considered the idea of a cosmic velocity web? Learn more about these intriguing visualizations from the study led by Daniel Pomarède.
Does Dark Energy Change Over Time?
Scientists are considering whether the mysterious “force” accelerating the universe’s expansion changes with time.
Does the Milky Way Live in a Void?
A sparse galactic neighborhood could clear up certain problems with our understanding of the universe.
The Origin of the Milky Way’s Mysterious Gamma Rays
Our galaxy's center region is producing gamma rays, but astronomers are still debating whether pulsars or dark matter are the source. Three recent studies tackle the debate head-on.
Debate on Universe’s Cold Spot Heats Up
A new galaxy survey suggests that a supervoid isn’t responsible for the Cold Spot seen in the cosmic microwave background — the oddity may have a far more ancient origin.
Cosmic Lens Provides Unique View of Supernova
Astronomers have discovered a gravitationally lensed Type Ia supernova that will soon give them a new measure of the universe’s expansion.
Less Dark Matter in Young Galaxies?
A new study of six young, star-forming galaxies suggests they have less dark matter than expected. But the results may say more about galaxy evolution than about the nature of dark matter.
Hubble Spies Faint Galaxies, Bountiful in Early Universe
Hubble has spotted more than 100 small, faint galaxies in the young universe, common as dust bunnies but previously out of reach of even the best telescopes.
H0Li COW! Is Our Universe Expanding Faster Than We Thought?
Observations of lensed quasars suggest the universe is expanding more quickly than we thought. But they contradict what we know about the young universe.
Cosmic Void “Pushes” Milky Way
Astronomers have discovered a giant cosmic void that explains why our Local Group of galaxies is moving through the universe as fast as it is.
Top 12 Astronomy News Stories of 2016
From the discovery of gravitational waves to the building evidence that a massive planet could exist beyond Pluto, it has been a thrilling year for astronomy research. We recap.
Not-So-Clumpy Dark Matter Poses Cosmological Challenge
Astronomers analyzing a new sky survey have found that the distribution of dark matter in the modern universe is smoother than predicted from observations of a far younger universe.
Radio Bursts Herald Future Science
For the first time, astronomers have discovered a (potential) high-energy counterpart to a fast radio burst, and also used a different burst to probe the cosmic web.
About Those 2 Trillion New Galaxies . . .
The news that astronomers find the universe has 10 times more galaxies than previously thought? There's less to this than the headlines say.
A Galaxy Cluster Caught in Transition?
Astronomers have caught a galaxy cluster in the prime of its life — perhaps just before it transitions to retirement.
Of Dwarf Galaxies and Voids
Living in voids might be tangentially responsible for three small galaxies’ recent flurries of starbirth.
Does a Fifth Force Permeate the Universe?
A team of theoretical physicists thinks a fifth force could explain an anomaly spotted in a nuclear physics experiment. If true, it could have huge ramifications for particle physics and dark matter — but that’s a pretty big if.
Search for Fourth Neutrino Goes Cold
The Antarctic observatory known as IceCube has ruled out the existence of a fourth type of neutrino particle — and one-time dark matter contender — known as the light sterile neutrino.
No Dark Matter from LUX Experiment
An underground detector reports zero detections of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), the top candidate for mysterious dark matter.
Doomed Hitomi Gazed at Galaxy Cluster
In its first — and final — month of flight, the Hitomi X-ray observatory measured the calm within the bubbling core of the Perseus Cluster.
The Kavli Foundation Q&A: How Did Nature’s Heaviest Elements Form?
The Kavli Foundation hosted a Q&A with three astronomers to probe the recent discovery of hard-to-produce heavy elements in a nearby dwarf galaxy. The discovery sheds light on stellar histories and galactic evolution.
