'Weather' in clusters of galaxies may explain a longstanding puzzle. Scientists have now used sophisticated simulations to show how powerful jets from supermassive black holes are disrupted by the motion of hot gas and galaxies, preventing gas from cooling, which could otherwise form stars.
Read moreElectromagnetism was discovered 200 years ago, but the origin of the very large electromagnetic fields in the universe is still a mystery.
Read moreAstronomers have used a massive cluster of galaxies as an X-ray magnifying glass to peer back in time, to nearly 9.4 billion years ago. In the process, they spotted a tiny dwarf galaxy in its very first, high-energy stages of star formation.
Read moreOut at the boundary of our solar system, pressure runs high. This pressure, the force plasma, magnetic fields and particles like ions, cosmic rays and electrons exert on one another when they flow and collide, was recently measured by scientists in totality for the first time — and it was found to be greater than expected.
Read moreA team of scientists have discovered that the fading of infrared light following Type Ia supernovae explosions can be interrupted, with brightness staying the same for up to a year.
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A new visualization of a black hole illustrates how its gravity distorts our view, warping its surroundings as if viewed in a funhouse mirror.
Blasts that create gamma-ray bursts may actually exceed the speed of light in surrounding gas clouds, but do so without violating Einstein's theory of relativity.
Read moreA new model for plasma flow within the sun provides novel explanations for sunspots, the 11-year sunspot cycle, solar magnetic reversals and other previously unexplained solar phenomena.
Read moreAstronomers observed six mild-mannered LINER galaxies suddenly and surprisingly transforming into ravenous quasars — home to the brightest of all active galactic nuclei. The team's observations could help demystify the nature of both LINERs and quasars while answering some burning questions about galactic evolution. Based on their analysis, the researchers suggest they have discovered an entirely new type of black hole activity at the centers of these six LINER galaxies.
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