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Astrophysics
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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.
Planets Found to Be Larger Than the Disks They Come From
The new finding is challenging established theories of how planets come to be.
A Short History of the Missing Universe
Astronomers have known where the universe’s missing matter has been hiding for the past 20 years. So why did it take so long to find it?
The Last of the Universe’s Ordinary Matter Has Been Found
For decades, astronomers weren’t able to find all of the atomic matter in the universe. A series of recent papers has revealed where it’s been hiding.
Star-Swallowing Black Holes Reveal Secrets in Exotic Light Shows
Black holes occasionally reveal themselves when passing stars get ripped apart by their gravity. These tidal disruption events have created a new way for astronomers to map the hidden cosmos.
Neutrinos Linked With Cosmic Source for the First Time
High-energy neutrinos have been traced back to a flaring supermassive black hole known as a blazar. The long-sought link opens the door to an entirely new way to study the universe.
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.
Why Can’t We Find Planet Nine?
Astronomers suspect that there’s a large planet hiding out in the distant fringes of the solar system. At a recent workshop, they brainstormed ways to coax it into view.
The Young Milky Way Collided With a Dwarf Galaxy
Astronomers have found stars dating from a long-ago collision between the Milky Way and another galaxy. The crash helps to explain why the Milky Way looks the way it does.