Scientists with NASA‘s Astrobiology Institute team at the University of Hawaii have used computer simulations to reveal what causes binary stars to form. The researchers have concluded through their research that the widest binary star systems began as three stars, …

Galaxy clusters, the rarest of galaxy groupings, can be difficult for astronomers to find. NASA‘s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) space telescope, however, has just found a gigantic galaxy cluster, and is expected to uncover thousands more. The new findings …

A new type of galaxy nicknamed “green bean galaxies” has been identified and they are some of the rarest objects in the known universe. The nickname comes from the galaxies’ appearance: they glow with intense light generated by the ionized …

Astronomers announced today that have characterized hundreds of previously unseen starburst galaxies. The starburst galaxies, which produce hundreds of stars each year, reveal that high star-formation rates have been the norm for much of our universe’s history. Using the European …

The above photo is an image of the irregular galaxy NGC 5253, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope‘s Advanced Camera for Surveys. It combines both visible and infrared exposures. A larger version of the image can be viewed here. The …

Astronomers have now observed that the dust disc orbiting a brown dwarf contains millimeter-sized solid particles – the same “grains” found in the denser discs surrounding new stars.The new data suggests that rocky planets, such as Earth, may be more …

Astronomers have measured the mass of what could be the most massive black hole yet discovered. The object, located at the center of the galaxy NGC 1277, is the equivalent of 17 billion Suns and makes up 14% of it’s …

Astronomers have discovered a quasar with the most massive outflow ever seen. Quasars are bright galactic centers powered by supermassive black holes, and many of them accelerate the material around them, throwing it out a high speed in a process …

Astronomers using the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Herschel space observatory have discovered massive comet belts orbiting two nearby planetary systems. The systems, named GJ 581 and 61 Vir, are known to host planets that range in mass from Earth-sized to …

Astronomers have discovered that a dwarf planet in our solar system named Makemake has no atmosphere. The object, which orbits in the outer solar system, was expected to have an atmosphere similar to another dwarf planet, Pluto, but new observations …

Astronomers using the Planck space telescope have confirmed the presence of a bridge of hot gas bridging the 10 million light-years of intergalactic space between two galaxy clusters. “Planck is helping to reveal hidden material between galaxy clusters that we …

Astronomers have directly imaged a “super-Jupiter” planet orbiting around the star Kappa Andromedae. According to NASA, Kappa Andromedae now holds the record for the most massive star to host a directly imaged planet or lightweight brown dwarf companion. The planet, …

NASA today announced that astronomers have found a candidate for the new most distant galaxy ever seen. This comes just after a similar announcement in September, when a different red blob took the record. The object, dubbed MACS0647-JD, is observed …

NASA this week marked the end of the Kepler Space Telescope’s prime mission, which began in March 2009. Like other NASA equipment, the telescope is now beginning another, extended mission NASA says could last as long as four years. Kepler’s …

Astronomers have identified what is “very probably” a relatively close-by planet hurtling through space – not orbiting a star. The European Southern Observatory used its Very Large Telescope and the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to study the object, which it calls the …

The European Space Agency (ESA) has released a new image of the aftershock of a supernova remnant named W44. The image, seen above, combines infrared and X-ray light captured by the ESA’s Herschel and XMM-Newton space observatories. W44 is located …

U.K. and German Astronomers announced this week that they have discovered a new “super Earth” planet that could, conceivably, have an Earth-like climate. The planet exists in the habitable zone of a nearby star called HD 40307 and is part …

NASA scientists announced today that they have created multiple radar images showing the near-Earth asteroid named 2007 PA8. The images were generated using data collected from the 70-meter Deep Space Network antenna in Goldstone, California on October 28 through October …

Just weeks after his alter-ego Clark Kent quit the Daily Planet, Superman is getting help from a real-life astrophysicist to pinpoint the location of his home planet. In an Action Comics #14 story titled “Star Light, Star Bright,” famous astrophysicist …

Astronomers following the progress of the Hergenrother comet through the inner-solar system are now reporting that the comet is breaking up. Over the past few weeks the comet has been generating “outbursts” of dusty material, and now the object’s nucleus …

A new study shows that planets like Earth could be rare if they depend on asteroid belts of a specific mass range. Researchers suggested that the size and location of a solar system’s asteroid belt could determine whether complex life …