Gaia
Building a Worldwide Map of Light Pollution
As someone that has always lived in the UK countryside I am no stranger to the glory of a dark…
Astronomers Use Artificial Intelligence To Find Elusive Stars “Gobbling Up” Planets
We recently reported on how the mountains of data produced by astronomical instruments are "perfect for AI." We've also started…
Mapping the Milky Way’s Dark Matter Halo
Anytime astronomers talk of mapping the Milky Way I am always reminded how tricky the study of the Universe can…
There’s Another, More Boring Explanation for those Dyson Sphere Candidate Stars
Dyson Spheres have been a tantalising digression in the hunt for alien intelligence. Just recently seven stars have been identified…
Does the Milky Way Have Too Many Satellite Galaxies?
The Large and Small Magellanic Clouds are well known satellite galaxies of the Milky Way but there are more. It…
Astronomers are on the Hunt for Dyson Spheres
There's something poetic about humanity's attempt to detect other civilizations somewhere in the Milky Way's expanse. There's also something futile…
One in Twelve Stars Ate a Planet
That stars can eat planets is axiomatic. If a small enough planet gets too close to a large enough star,…
This New Map of 1.3 Million Quasars Is A Powerful Tool
Quasars are the brightest objects in the Universe. The most powerful ones are thousands of times more luminous than entire…
Nancy Grace Roman will Map the Far Side of the Milky Way
The Galaxy is a collection of stars, planets, gas clouds and to the dismay of astronomers, dust clouds. The dust…
Are Andromeda and the Milky Way Already Exchanging Stars?
I often drag out the amazing fact that the Andromeda Galaxy, that faint fuzzy blob just off the corner of…