Why do some starburst galaxies mysteriously shut down? New study provides clues

A new study suggests that most “post-starburst galaxies” cease star formation because they run out of fuel. But that’s not the full story.

These ‘interstellar glaciers’ could give water to young star systems. Could they support alien life, too?

NASA’s SPHEREx space telescope reveals widespread water ice in Cygnus X, showing how dust shields molecules in star-forming regions across the Milky Way.

James Webb Space Telescope peers into a dying star surrounded by mysterious buckyballs: ‘The structures we’re seeing now are breathtaking’

The James Webb Space Telescope captured the first detailed images of planetary nebula Tc 1, revealing new details of what happens after a sun-like star dies.

NASA Targets Early September for Roman Space Telescope Launch
NASA Targets Early September for Roman Space Telescope Launch

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope team now is targeting as soon as early September 2026 for launch, ahead of the agency’s commitment to flight no later than May 2027. “Roman’s accelerated development is a true success story of what we can achieve when public investment, institutional expertise, and private enterprise come together to take […]

NASA’s Hubble Dazzles With Young Stars in Trifid Nebula
NASA’s Hubble Dazzles With Young Stars in Trifid Nebula

This shimmering region of star-formation, a close-up of the Trifid Nebula about 5,000 light-years from Earth, was captured in intricate detail by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. The colors in Hubble’s visible light image, which marks the 36th anniversary of the mission’s launch on April 24, are reminiscent of an underwater scene filled with fine-grained sediments […]

‘Interstellar Glaciers’: NASA’s SPHEREx Maps Vast Galactic Ice Regions
‘Interstellar Glaciers’: NASA’s SPHEREx Maps Vast Galactic Ice Regions

NASA’s SPHEREx (Spectro-Photometer for the History of the Universe, Epoch of Reionization, and Ices Explorer) mission has mapped interstellar ice at an unprecedented scale. Covering regions in our Milky Way galaxy more than 600 light-years across, the ice was found inside giant molecular clouds — vast regions of gas and dust where dense clumps of […]

NASA Finds Young Stars Dim in X-rays Surprisingly Quickly
NASA Finds Young Stars Dim in X-rays Surprisingly Quickly

Scientists have found that young stellar cousins of our Sun are calming down and dimming more quickly in their X-ray output than previously thought, according to a new study using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. A paper describing the results published Monday in The Astrophysical Journal. Unlike in the new movie “Project Hail Mary,” this quieting […]

Dozens of hidden star streams found in the outskirts of our Milky Way galaxy

Astronomers discovered dozens of stellar streams in the Milky Way using Gaia data, offering new clues about galaxy formation and dark matter.

Pulsars to the extreme: Spinning dead stars found blasting radio signals from the ‘edge of their magnetic reach’

Astronomers have discovered that rapidly spinning extreme dead stars or pulsars push it to the edge, blasting out radio signals from their extremities.