A maser, like a laser, is a source of bright, monochromatic electromagnetic radiation, with the difference being that maser radiation is not optical light but rather longer wavelength mic...

Cambridge, MA - Scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian and the University of Rochester are collaborating on a project to search the universe for signs of li...

A black hole, at least in our current understanding, is characterized by having "no hair," that is, it is so simple that it can be completely described by just three parameters, its mass,...

Join the F.L. Whipple Observatory and friends for a Nationwide Livestream Solarbration on June 20, 2020 in honor of International SUNday! Astronomers from Smithsonian Astrophysical Obser...

Infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) are dark patches of cold dust and gas seen in the sky against the bright diffuse infrared glow of warm dust in our galaxy. These IRDCs, massive and rich in mo...

Cambridge, MA - Scientists at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian, and the Black Hole Initiative (BHI), have shed light on how black holes grow over time by developin...

Cambridge, MA - Scientists in the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) consortium today announced at the 236th meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) that they have detected gamma...

Astronomers studying how star formation evolved over cosmic time have discovered that quiescent galaxies (galaxies that are currently not making many new stars) frequently have active gal...

Massive galaxies in the local universe, in order to be large today, probably began forming their stars in the early universe. Astronomers do indeed see significantly enhanced star-formati...

Join Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and our friends for a Nationwide Livestream Star Party, on May 22, 2020! This event starts at 7 pm Pacific Time (8 pm Mountain, 9 pm Central, 10...