galaxies
Are Andromeda and the Milky Way Doomed to Collide? Maybe Not
Scientists discovered the Andromeda galaxy, known as M31, hundreds of years ago, and around a century ago, we realized that…
The JWST Reveals the Nature of Dust Around an Active Galactic Nuclei
Supermassive Black Holes (SMBHs) are located in the centers of large galaxies like ours. When they're actively feeding, they produce…
No Merger Needed: A Rotating Ring of Gas Creates A Hyperluminous Galaxy
Some galaxies experience rapid star formation hundreds or even thousands of times greater than the Milky Way. Astronomers think that…
Galaxies Regulate their Own Growth so they Don’t Run Out of Star Forming Gas
Look at most spiral or barred spiral galaxies and you will see multiple regions where stars are forming. These star…
Galaxies Filled With Old Stars Seen Shortly After the Big Bang
How can young galaxies in the early Universe have ancient stars? That's the question a team of astronomers set out…
Growing Black Holes Have Much in Common With Baby Stars
First looks would tell most observers that supermassive black holes (SMBHs) and very young stars have nothing in common. But…
Here’s Hubble’s First Image in its New Pointing Mode
This is probably what the demise of the Hubble Space Telescope was always going to look like: components failing one…
Almost a Third of Early Galaxies Were Already Spirals
In the years before the JWST's launch, astronomers' efforts to understand the early Universe were stymied by a stubborn obstacle:…
The Milky Way’s Last Merger Event Was More Recent Than Thought
The Milky Way is only as massive as it is because of collisions and mergers with other galaxies. This is…
Evidence of Dark Matter Interacting With Itself in El Gordo Merger
The Standard Model of particle physics does a good job of explaining the interactions between matter's basic building blocks. But…