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With a Second Repeating Radio Burst, Astronomers Close In on an Explanation
Brief cosmic blips called fast radio bursts have puzzled astronomers since their discovery earlier this decade. Now researchers appear to be close to understanding what powers them.
An Astrophysicist Who Maps the Universe’s Terra Incognita
Priyamvada Natarajan has pioneered the mapping and modeling of the universe’s invisible contents, especially dark matter and supermassive black holes.
Missing Galaxies? Now There’s Too Many
Astronomers couldn’t find enough satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way. Now they have the opposite problem.
New Studies Rescue Gravitational-Wave Signal From the Noise
Two independent papers vanquish lingering doubts about LIGO’s historic discovery of gravitational waves.
Ewine van Dishoeck, the Netherlander Who Traced Water’s Origin
The astrochemist and winner of the 2018 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics has wondered about the cosmic origin of water while enjoying Noordwijk beach near her hometown of Leiden.
Prepping for a Flood of Heavenly Bodies
Mario Jurić is leading the push to get astronomy ready for the torrents of data that are about to flow.
Interstellar Visitor Found to Be Unlike a Comet or an Asteroid
The mystery of ’Oumuamua, the first interstellar object ever observed, continues to deepen.
Planets Found to Be Larger Than the Disks They Come From
The new finding is challenging established theories of how planets come to be.
What Is the Sun Made Of and When Will It Die?
If and when physicists are able to pin down the metal content of the sun, that number could upend much of what we thought we knew about the evolution and life span of stars.