Astronomy

What could cause galaxies millions of light years apart to all spew material in the same direction?

A satellite spotted a burst of light just as gravitational waves rolled in from the collision of two black holes. Was the flash a cosmic coincidence, or do astrophysicists need to rethink what black holes can do?

The path from a revolutionary set of equations to the detection of gravitational waves was strewn with obstacles and controversy, explains the physicist Daniel Kennefick — and the struggle continues.

Ripples in space-time have been detected a century after Einstein predicted them, launching a new era in astronomy.

Searching for signs of life on faraway planets, astrobiologists must decide which telltale biosignature gases to target.

The physicist Gabriela González is on the cusp of finding the first direct evidence of gravitational waves — soundlike wobbles in space-time produced by black holes and their kin.

Physicists are beginning to unravel the mysteries of ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays, particles accelerated by the most powerful forces in the universe.

Nature has revealed peculiar mathematical objects that connect order and chaos.

Three “extremely large telescopes” poised to begin observations within a decade could help answer some of the universe’s oldest and best-kept secrets.