3Q: What we learned from the asteroid-smashing DART mission
Saverio Cambioni discusses new results revealing the redirected asteroid Dimorphos to be a dust-trailing rubble-pile.
Study: Without more data, a black hole’s origins can be “spun” in any direction
Current measurements of black holes are not enough to nail down how the invisible giants form in the universe, researchers say.
Mysteriously bright flash is a black hole jet pointing straight toward Earth, astronomers say
The observations could illuminate how supermassive black holes feed and grow.
Method for decoding asteroid interiors could help aim asteroid-deflecting missions
Astronomers have found a way to determine an asteroid’s interior structure based on how its spin changes during a close encounter with Earth.
Astronomers find a “cataclysmic” pair of stars with the shortest orbit yet
The stars circle each other every 51 minutes, confirming a decades-old prediction.
Saturn’s rings and tilt could be the product of an ancient, missing moon
A “grazing encounter” may have smashed the moon to bits to form Saturn’s rings, a new study suggests.
Study: Astronomers risk misinterpreting planetary signals in JWST data
Refining current opacity models will be key to unearthing details of exoplanet properties — and signs of life — in data from the powerful new telescope.
Astronomers detect a radio “heartbeat” billions of light-years from Earth
The clear and periodic pattern of fast radio bursts may originate from a distant neutron star.
Porosity of the moon’s crust reveals bombardment history
The moon sustained twice as many impacts as can be seen on its surface, scientists find.
Astronomers discover a multiplanet system nearby
Just 33 light-years from Earth, the system appears to host two rocky, Earth-sized planets.
New maps of asteroid Psyche reveal an ancient world of metal and rock
The varied surface suggests a dynamic history, which could include metallic eruptions, asteroid-shaking impacts, and a lost rocky mantle.
Astronomers snap first-ever image of supermassive black hole Sagittarius A*
The image reveals a glowing, donut-shaped ring at the Milky Way’s heart.
Astronomers discover a rare “black widow” binary, with the shortest orbit yet
The system is orbited by third stellar companion and may have originated near the center of the Milky Way.
Search reveals eight new sources of black hole echoes
The findings will help scientists trace a black hole’s evolution as it feeds on stellar material.
Scientists develop the largest, most detailed model of the early universe to date
Named after a goddess of the dawn, the Thesan simulation of the first billion years helps explain how radiation shaped the early universe.