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Dust is annoying, but it is also key to life and death in the cosmos

Dust is annoying, but it is also key to life and death in the cosmos

2 October 2019

Dust gives us trouble, whether at home or in space, but it plays a key role in star formation and destruction, and in allowing us to understand huge objects like galaxies says Chanda Prescod-Weinstein


How the coolest, smallest stars could help us discover new exoplanets

How the coolest, smallest stars could help us discover new exoplanets

7 August 2019

Exoplanets are abundant near the galaxy's smallest stars. Observing M dwarfs could teach us more about the worlds beyond our solar system, writes Chanda Prescod-Weinstein


The Milky Way has devoured 15 other galaxies since it formed

The Milky Way has devoured 15 other galaxies since it formed

20 June 2018

Our galaxy formed fast, and with an appetite. It’s devoured 15 other galaxies, including a big one nicknamed Kraken that we didn’t know existed until now


Centre of the Milky Way

Why 2018 is looking like it will be the year of the black hole

27 February 2018

Powerful telescopes are ready to reveal the vast black hole at the heart of our galaxy in all its glory. This is a big moment for astronomy, says Geraint Lewis


Black hole

Parallel universes could solve a big problem with black holes

20 December 2017

The black hole firewall paradox has been vexing physicists for years. But if quantum laws lead to the creation of other universes, the headache disappears


Illustration of colliding neutron stars

Gravitational waves have let us see huge neutron stars colliding

16 October 2017

We’ve taken the first pictures of neutron stars colliding 130 million light years away. The resulting gravitational waves may solve some big cosmic mysteries


Model of universe structure

Half the universe’s missing matter has just been finally found

9 October 2017

About half the normal matter in our universe had never been observed – until now. Two teams have finally seen it by combining millions of faint images into one


Pierre Auger Observatory

Far-off galaxies are firing rare high-energy cosmic rays at us

21 September 2017

The highest energy particles in the universe hit Earth very rarely, so it took 10 years of data to pinpoint their origin. They’re coming from galaxies far, far away


Proxima b

Our closest star system may be home to a stolen star and planet

20 September 2017

Proxima b, the nearest exoplanet to Earth, may have been captured along with its star instead of born in the dangerous three-star system where it now lives


We’ve just seen 15 new mysterious cosmic radio bursts from space

We’ve just seen 15 new mysterious cosmic radio bursts from space

30 August 2017

Breakthrough Listen detected more radio pulses from the famous repeating source FRB 121102. They’re higher frequency than previous ones but we still don’t know what causes them


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