Very Large Telescope
Strange Loner Planet Gets Astronomers’ Attention
After examining the strange object known as CFBDSIR 2149-0403, a team has determined that it is either a solitary planetary-mass…
Two Stars On A Death Spiral Set To Detonate As A Supernova
Two white dwarfs circle around one other, locked in a fatal tango. With an intimate orbit and a hefty combined mass, the pair is ultimately…
Have Astronomers Seen a Forming Planet in Action?
Huge disks of dust and gas encircle many young stars. Some contain circular gaps — likely the result of forming planets…
Rosetta’s Cloudy Comet Shroud Spotted From The Ground, While Spacecraft Picks Up Dust Grains
This picture shows it is possible to look at Rosetta's comet from Earth, but what a lot of work it…
Amazing Video Timelapse Of Big Telescopes At Work In Chile
What's it like to spend a night at a huge telescope observatory? Jordi Busque recorded a brilliant timelapse of the…
New VLT Observations Clear Up Dusty Mystery
The Universe is overflowing with cosmic dust. Planets form in swirling clouds of dust around a young star; Dust lanes…
Surprise! Brown Dwarf Star Has Dusty Skies, Appearing Strangely Red
Dust clouds on a brown dwarf or "failed star" are making it appear redder than its counterparts, new research reveals.…
Forging Stars – Peering Into Starbirth and Death
Some 160,000 light years away towards the constellation of Dorado (the Swordfish), is an amazing area of starbirth and death.…
Gorgeous Telescope Timelapse Makes You Feel Like You’re Standing In Chile
As the chill of winter settles into the northern hemisphere, fantasies of down-south travel pervade a lot of people's dreams.…
Future Supernova Is Surrounded By Hydrogen Clouds
The faint green glow you see in that picture is not an early harbringer of Hallowe'en spooks. It's hydrogen gas…