Scottish astronomers have found a baby planet still in the stages of forming and encased within a 'womb' of gas. The embryonic planet, thought to be the youngest ever seen, was discovered by Dr Jane…

Using a new technique, two NASA scientists have identified the lightest known black hole. With a mass only about 3.8 times greater than our Sun and a diameter of only 15 miles, the black hole lies…

Less than three months after forecasters announced the beginning of a new solar cycle (cycle 24), that has been changed. Solar Cycle 23 is still kicking. Last week, three sunspots appeared and their…

Astronomers have spied a faraway star system that is so unusual, it was one of a kind - and then its discovery helped them pinpoint a second one much closer to home. They discovered the first star…

UC Irvine scientists have discovered a cluster of galaxies in a very early stage of formation that is 11.4 billion light years from Earth – the farthest of its kind ever to be detected. These…

NGC 2397, pictured in this image from Hubble, is a classic spiral galaxy with long prominent dust lanes along the edges of its arms, seen as dark patches and streaks silhouetted against the starlight…

Astrophysicists say may be one step closer to understanding how new planets form. A circumstellar disk with telltale signs of planet formation around the star AB Aurigae could be a new planet in…

March 19,2008 marked the brightest ever cosmic explosion observed from Earth ( see Georg von Hippel's article here and the news article here). The outburst denoted as GRB 080319B was probably the…

White dwarfs are good timekeepers, and as such, hold clues about the age of the cosmos. “Once a white dwarf forms, all it does is sit and cool, so we can measure the temperature of a white dwarf, and…

NASA's Cassini spacecraft tasted and sampled a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn's moon Enceladus during a close flyby on March 12. Scientists are amazed that this…