Star Formation
Brand New Stars in the Orion Nebula, Seen by Hubble
The Orion Nebula is a giant cloud of gas and dust that spans more than 20,000 times the size of…
In Wildly Different Environments, Stars End Up Roughly the Same
When you look at a region of the sky where stars are born, you see a cloud of gas and…
This is How You Get Multiple Star Systems
Stars form inside massive clouds of gas and dust called molecular clouds. The Nebular Hypothesis explains how that happens. According…
A Star has Grown Spiral Arms
Astronomers using the ALMA Observatory have discovered an unusual, massive star near the center of our galaxy, a star that…
See a Stunning New Picture of the Tarantula Nebula
When it comes to exciting places to look in the sky, the Tarantula Nebula is hard to beat. It's got…
Do Supermassive Black Holes Prematurely end Star Formation in Some Galaxies?
Some galaxies, like the Milky Way, have maintained regular star formation for billions of years. Others, like large elliptical galaxies,…
The Stars in Other Galaxies are Generally Heavier Than the Milky Way’s Stars
How many of what kinds of stars live in other galaxies? It seems like a simple question, but it’s notoriously…
Planets in Binary Systems Could be Habitable, But They’d Form Differently
Most of the stars in the Milky Way are single stars. But between one-third and one-half of them are binary…
Incredible Image Shows Twin Stellar Jets Blasting Out of a Star-Forming Region
Young stars go through a lot as they're being born. They sometimes emit jets of ionized gas called MHOs—Molecular Hydrogen…
Nearby Supernovae Exploded Just a few Million Years Ago, Leading to a Wave of Star Formation Around the Sun
The Sun isn't the only star in this galactic neighbourhood. Other stars also call this neighbourhood home. But what's the…