Evan Gough

Andromeda's Newest Dwarf Galaxy is Extremely Dim

July 06, 2026

Astronomers have discovered an extremely low-mass and dim dwarf galaxy around Andromeda. Called And 35, it's an Ultra-Faint Dwarf Galaxy (UFDG) and so far, the researchers have detected only 46 of its stars. Lambda-CDM predicts that there should be many UFDGs around galaxies like Andromeda and the Milky Way, so finding more of them is important.

This Giant Planet Survived the Death of its Star

July 02, 2026

Some planets can survive when their main sequence stars "die" and evolve into red giants. Astronomers have found several of them. One of them in particular is orbiting extremely close to its star, providing an opportunity to study it with the JWST to determine how it got there.

An Extended Barrage of Asteroid Impacts Made Earth Too Hot to Form Continents

July 02, 2026

New research shows that repeated impacts on Earth during the Hadean eon prevented thick and stable crustal material from forming. The heat from these impacts penetrated deep into the planet, and along with radiogenic heating, delayed the formation of a solid crust.

It's Finally Begun! The Vera Rubin Observatory Creating What Will Be the Greatest Movie Ever Made

June 30, 2026

The Vera Rubin Observatory's long-awaited Legacy Survey of Space and Time has begun. This decade-long movie of the cosmos will capture anything that changes brightness, position, or both in the southern night sky. It will study grand subjects like dark energy and dark matter, and important things closer to home like near-Earth objects.

Echoing Light Shows That Dark Matter May Gather Around Supermassive Black Holes

June 30, 2026

The way that dark matter is distributed may need a rethink. New research shows that dark matter could gather near supermassive black holes. The evidence is based on a new detection method, and is only moderately convincing so far. But if true, it also turns SMBH into 'dark matter labs' and could change how we understand SMBH growth.

An Alternative to Black Holes: Gravastars with Big Bangs Inside

June 29, 2026

Stellar mass black holes may not be black holes at all. Instead, they could be a type of extremely compact star called a gravastar, which mimics a black hole. This is according to theoretical phsyicists who have discovered a solution to Einstein's Theory of General Relativity that doesn't automatically result in a black hole when a star collapses at the end of its life.

Mars May Have Vast Magma Systems Beneath Its Surface

June 29, 2026

Researchers from the University of Oxford have uncovered evidence that Mars once hosted widespread, Earth-like magmatic systems deep beneath its surface – despite the planet lacking the plate tectonics long thought necessary for this kind of geological complexity. The findings, published June 26th in Nature Astronomy, reveal fascinating new possibilities for how rocky planets become habitable.

Powerful Solar Storms Can Change Precipitation for Parts of North America

June 26, 2026

For decades, scientists have searched for a clear link between the Sun’s explosive storms and the weather that occurs on Earth. A breakthrough study from the University of New Hampshire reveals that in the hours and days following a solar storm, parts of North America can see sharp changes in the weather — such as declines in precipitation — and the more powerful the storm, the more dramatic the shift. However, the exact mechanism behind the effects is still waiting for an explanation.

Euclid's New Portrait of the Milky Way's Crowded Bulge

June 25, 2026

The ESA's Euclid space telescope took 26 hours to capture this portrait of the Milky Way's central bulge. This isn't part of its primary mission; instead it's kind of like bonus science. It'll be used in the Roman Space Telescope's gravitational microlensing search for exoplanets. Regardless of the science, it's an impressive image.

Magnetic Fields Channel Gas Through Filaments into Star Formation Sites

June 25, 2026

Stars form inside molecular clouds where cold gas collapses gravitationally on itself. But there's more to this process than gravity. New research shows how magnetic field lines funnel gas through sub-filaments into star formation sites.

The Universe's First Stars Were Shaped By Turbulence and Were Not As Massive as Thought

June 25, 2026

For a long time, astrophysicists thought that the Universe's first stars, called Population III stars, were uniformly massive. It seemed like the conditions they formed in were calm and serene, which favoured massive stars. But new research based on high-resolution simulations show that conditions were more chaotic than thought, and gas cloud turbulence means that Population III stars were not all massive. This affected the metallicity of the next stars to form.

The JWST Spies Six Galaxies Becoming One

June 24, 2026

The JWST looked back in time and saw 6 galaxies merging into one. At the heart of the assembly, a supermassive black hole is lurking. It all happened when the Universe was only about 1.5 billion years old, and the red-shifted light is just reaching us now.

The Long-Lived Chicxulub Hydrothermal System Lasted 8 Million Years

June 23, 2026

The asteroid that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs also created an underground environment suited to supporting new life, and new research suggests it lasted for millions of years longer than previously suspected. While previous research showed the buried hydrothermal system of porous rock, hot water, and chemical nutrients may have lasted 2 million years, new research says it lasted for 8 million years.

Did Gravitational Tides Cause Earth's Extinctions?

June 23, 2026

Many of Earth's mass extinctions await clear explanations. We know an impact wiped out the dinosaurs, but what about the planet's other extinction events? New research says flybys of planetary mass objects could've been responsible.

This is the First Pair of Sibling Supernova Remnants

June 23, 2026

Astrophysicists have found what is likely the very first pair of sibling supernova remnants. One is the well-known Jellyfish Nebula, and the other was long thought to be hidden in the bright glare from the Jellyfish. The pair are connected by a bright filament of gas.

Another Early Universe Surprise from the JWST: A Mature Galaxy Cluster

June 22, 2026

The JWST found a galaxy cluster from 10 billion years ago that's far more developed than it should be, according to cosmological models. The cluster is also the most distant strong gravitational lens that we know of. Detailed observations across the spectrum show that the cluster is still undergoing mergers.

Did Life Start When Impacts Created Vast Hydrothermal Systems in Earth's Crust?

June 11, 2026

Earth was bombarded by impactors in its first couple billion years. These impacts created a vast network of hydrothermal systems in the crust that could've spawned life. New research examines their extent.

This is How Supermassive Black Holes Feed Themselves

June 10, 2026

Astronomers may have found the missing link in the SMBH feeding process. New observations with the JWST show that a galaxy's circumnuclear disk, which feeds gas into its black hole, is connected to a much larger network of filaments. Cool gas flows through these filaments into the SMBH's sphere of influence.

Magnetic Fields Help Binary Stars Form and Black Holes Merge

June 09, 2026

New simulations show that interactions with a magnetic field can work to decrease the distance between still forming binary protostars. These results can help explain the characteristics of the binary star systems observed in the Milky Way. These results can also be extrapolated to binary black holes, giving insights into how super massive black holes evolve.

They've Been Searching for the Milky Way's Black Hole Wind for 50 Years and Finally Found It

June 05, 2026

According to theory, all active black holes should produce winds or jets. Astronomers have long searched for wind around the Milky Way’s central supermassive black hole. New images reveal a vacant, cone-shaped region pointing to the black hole. According to new research, only a supermassive black hole could've created this region.

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