Gaia spacecraft
How Do Stars Get Kicked Out of Globular Clusters?
Globular clusters are densely-packed collections of stars bound together gravitationally in roughly-shaped spheres. They contain hundreds of thousands of stars.…
A Dwarf Galaxy Passed Close to the Milky Way and Left Ripples in its Wake
An ancient collison with the Milky Way is still causing ripples in our galaxy according to Gaia data.
Thanks to Gaia we Know Exactly how and When the Sun Will die
Observations from the Gaia spacecraft gives us a detailed picture of how the Sun will live and die.
Recent Supernovae Produced Giant Cavities in the Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula is a well-known feature in the night sky and is visible in small backyard telescopes. Orion is…
The Milky Way’s Most Recent Meal was a Galaxy it Gobbled up 8-10 Billion Years ago
The Milky Way had a sausage galaxy breakfast about 8 billion years ago
The Milky Way Broke one of its Arms
The Milky Way galaxy is our home, and yet in some ways, it is the least understood galaxy. One of…
Gaia Might Even be Able to Detect the Gravitational Wave Background of the Universe
Data from the Gaia satellite is so precise, it might be able to detect cosmic gravitational waves.
What Are Extrasolar Planets?
For countless generations, human beings have looked out at the night sky and wondered if they were alone in the…
Astronomers Improve Their Distance Scale for the Universe. Unfortunately, it Doesn't Resolve the Crisis in Cosmology
Astronomers have made the cosmic distant ladder more accurate, but that has only made the mystery of cosmic expansion even…
Some of the Milky Way’s oldest stars aren’t where they’re expected to be
Some of the oldest stars in our galaxy have orbits similar to the Sun, and we don't know why