Once a normal star like the Sun has burned its hydrogen fuel into helium, and then in turn converted its helium into carbon and oxygen, it begins to show its age. Already very swollen and...

One of the primary reasons why astronomers study planets around other stars is to learn whether our own Earth and solar system are typical or unusual, and to unravel new details about how...

Cambridge, MA Astronomers have discovered the first negatively charged molecule in space, identifying it from radio signals that were a mystery until now. While about 130 neutral and 14 ...

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Cambridge, MA Just in time for Halloween, astronomers have taken a haunting new portrait of the sun. In this color-coded image from the Hinode spacecraft, the sun glows eerily orange as ...

Cambridge, MA The Andromeda galaxy, the closest large spiral to the Milky Way, appears calm and tranquil as it wheels through space. But appearances can be deceiving. Astronomers have ne...

Cambridge, MA The 200 known planets that orbit other stars exhibit incredible variety. Among them are a handful of worlds that weigh between 5 and 15 times Earth. Astronomers believe the...

Cambridge, MA Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered and directly imaged a small brown dwarf star, 50 times the mass of Jupiter, orbiting with a planet around a ...

Washington, DC It is only a matter of time before astronomers find an Earth-sized planet orbiting a distant star. When they do, the first questions people will ask are: Is it habitable? ...

Washington, DC Using a network of small automated telescopes known as HAT, Smithsonian astronomers have discovered a planet unlike any other known world. This new planet, designated HAT-...