astronomy

Primordial black holes could explain dark matter, galaxy growth and more

By Adam Mann, Knowable Magazine

A half-century-old, still-disputed idea about dense cosmic objects from the dawn of time could solve longstanding mysteries about the universe.

Scientists spot two black holes merged into never before seen size

By Seth Borenstein, Associated Press

Black holes are getting stranger — even to astronomers. Scientists reported Wednesday they detected the merger of two smaller black holes into the first intermediate sized black hole ever observed. …

Astronomers still don’t know exactly what the sun is made of

By Ken Croswell, Knowable Magazine

For two decades, astronomers have argued over how much carbon, nitrogen and especially oxygen lie within our closest star — a dispute with implications for the entire universe.

Decades since the last great comet show, a promising candidate breaks down

By Isabella Isaacs-Thomas

The comet, known as C/2019 Y4 (ATLAS), has shown signs of falling apart, and is no longer expected to treat stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere to a spectacular show.

New 3D maps of the Milky Way confirm our galaxy is warped

By Vicky Stein

It turns out our Milky Way galaxy isn't the flat spiral disk we thought it was before -- dark matter or collisions with other galaxies could have twisted it out of shape.

Did the birth of the solar system make meteorites? Here’s a tell-tale clue

By William Herbst, James Greenwood, The Conversation

Despite decades of intense study, there is no general consensus on how most meteorites formed. An astronomer and a geologist offer a new theory of what happened during the solar system's birth to create these valuable relics of our past.

Katie Bouman ‘hardly knew what a black hole was.’ Her algorithm helped us see one

By Vicky Stein

Imaging scientist Katie Bouman chats with the PBS NewsHour about how she crafted an algorithm that constructed the first ever photo of a black hole.

Here is the first photo of a black hole

By Nsikan Akpan

On Wednesday, the Event Horizon Telescope released the first-ever image of a black hole, a historic moment shared by scientists spread around the world.

WATCH: What does a black hole look like? Scientists reveal the first picture

By Nsikan Akpan

The Event Horizon Telescope is expected to release the first image of a black hole on Wednesday. In preparation for what might be a momentous day, here’s what you need to know.

A heavy-metal planet orbiting a dead star may foretell our world’s end

By Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American

The iron core of what was once a world has been found around a white dwarf star, shedding light on the final days of planetary systems — including our own.