Astrophysics

Scientists have long struggled to understand how common planets form. A new supercomputer simulation shows that the missing ingredient may be magnetism.

Groundbreaking results show that neutron stars of different masses may have the same size — upending astrophysical models.

Supermassive black holes emit jets of white-hot plasma that stretch thousands of light-years across the cosmos. For the first time, researchers have identified what’s creating these jets.

Ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays twist and turn on their way to Earth, which has made it nearly impossible to identify the colossal monsters that create them.

Radio waves, longer and less energetic than visible light, give astronomers access to some of the most obscure physics in the cosmos.

Black holes seemed to come only in sizes small and XXL. A new search strategy has uncovered a black hole of “intermediate” mass, raising hopes of more to come.

A supernova-like explosion dubbed the Camel appears to be the result of a newborn black hole eating a star from the inside out.

One black hole is nice, but astrophysicists can do a lot more science with 50 of them.

A new study shows that extreme black holes could break the famous “no-hair” theorem, and in a way that we could detect.