developmentstoday

Ask DT AI Audio Brief Videos Podcast +

Ask DT AI Audio Brief Videos Podcast

HomeTagsastronomy

#astronomy

All articles tagged with "astronomy"

Company

About Us
Advertise
Contact
Editorial Policy

Legal

Terms of Service
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
AI & Ethics Policy
Do Not Sell My Info
FAQ
Archive
Site Map

Discover

Newsletter
Ask DT AI
Audio Brief
Videos
Podcast
DT Premium

Connect

Twitter / X
Facebook
LinkedIn
YouTube
Instagram
TikTok
Flipboard
RSS Feed

© 2026 Developments Today. All rights reserved.

astronomy Articles | Developments Today

Webb's view of galaxy cluster Abell S1063, whose gravity magnifies the little red dot GLIMPSE-17775 (boxed, lower right). The curved red arcs are lensed background galaxies (Credit : NASA, ESA, CSA, Vasily Kokorev (UT Austin); Image Processing: Alyssa Pagan (STScI))

JWST may have solved the little red dots mystery

Webb observed little red dot GLIMPSE-17775 with the deepest spectrum yet for this class.
Gravitational lensing by Abell S1063 boosted the effective observing power.
The data support a model of a growing black hole hidden inside dense gas.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 15, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

Cropped image of Stained glass window showing Eilmer, installed in Malmesbury Abbey in 1920

A comet mystery may rewrite the timeline of medieval monk Eilmer

A historian argues Eilmer's earlier comet sighting may have been in 1018, not 989.
The reinterpretation changes estimates of the monk's birth year and age in 1066.
It also moves the likely date of Eilmer's gliding attempt into a later period.
The case illustrates how small textual assumptions can reshape medieval chronology.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 14, 2026·via arstechnica.com

More in News→

Illustration of exoplanets whose atmospheres could produce soot due to high temperatures, specific atmospheric ratios, and metallic content. (Credit: Louise Lerner)

JWST may be able to spot soot-rich skies on hot sub-Neptunes

Researchers modeled soot-related PAH production in sub-Neptune atmospheres.
PAH abundance peaked around 600 Kelvin in the simulations.
The work suggests JWST could detect these compounds in some exoplanet atmospheres.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 14, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

Chandra resolves NGC 6540's mysterious X-ray flare into three separate sources

Chandra untangles a strange flare in globular cluster NGC 6540

A 2005 flare in NGC 6540 had remained unexplained.
New Chandra observations resolved the region into three X-ray sources.
The result gives astronomers a more precise starting point for identifying the flare's origin.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 13, 2026·via phys.org

More in Science→

NGC 5907, some 50 million light years away, wrapped in vast loops of stars, the shredded remains of a smaller galaxy it consumed billions of years ago. Arrakihs will hunt for streams like these around at least 80 Milky Way-sized galaxies (Credit : R. Jay GaBany)

ESA adopts Arrakihs to read the merger history of galaxies

ESA has formally adopted Arrakihs.
The mission will study faint stellar streams in galaxy halos.
Researchers aim to reconstruct merger histories for Milky Way-like galaxies.
At least 80 galaxies are expected to be surveyed.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 12, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

Comet 220/P McNaught, shortly after outburst. Credit: Gerald Rhemann.

Comet 220P McNaught Surprises with Dramatic Outburst, Now Visible in Binoculars

Comet 220P McNaught underwent a surprise outburst, brightening by up to 8,000 times.
The comet is now visible in binoculars low in the dawn sky for northern hemisphere observers.
First discovered by Robert McNaught in 2004, the comet reaches perihelion on June 14, 2026.
Outbursts like this help scientists study cometary composition and activity.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 9, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

CSIRO's ASKAP radio telescope under the Milky Way © CSIRO/A. Cherney

A white dwarf binary may explain one of radio astronomy’s strangest recurring signals

ASKAP J1745−5051 is a white dwarf-red dwarf binary with an orbital period of just over an hour.
The system produces repeating bursts of radio waves and X-rays every 1.4 hours.
Researchers say it offers the clearest evidence yet for the origin of long-period radio transients.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 8, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

NASA&apos;s Webb detects methane and strange chemistry on interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Webb finds methane and unusual chemistry on interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS

Webb captured the first mid-infrared chemical fingerprint of an interstellar object.
Researchers directly detected methane on comet 3I/ATLAS.
The comet also shows unusually high carbon dioxide relative to water.
Scientists say the chemistry differs markedly from most solar-system comets.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 4, 2026·via sciencedaily.com

More in Science→

Image of the primary mirror of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. (Credit: NASA/Sydney Rohde)

Roman Telescope mirror clears final inspection ahead of launch

NASA completed final inspection of Roman’s 2.4-meter primary mirror.
The telescope is designed for near-infrared observations of dark matter, dark energy, exoplanets, and galaxy evolution.
Roman is slated for launch in September 2026.
The observatory is expected to operate from the Sun-Earth L2 point.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 1, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

Artistic rendering of a gas giant exoplanet. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

JWST detects methane in atmosphere of temperate gas giant

JWST observed TOI-199b during a transit using transmission spectroscopy.
Astronomers identified methane in the planet’s atmosphere.
The finding matches long-standing models for temperate gas giant chemistry.
Carbon dioxide and ammonia are cited as candidate molecules for future study.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 1, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

A deep space photo with a boxout to the left encircling a smear of blue and purple light.

James Webb Spots a Remarkably Primitive Early Galaxy

Astronomers identified LAP1-B as the most metal-poor early-universe galaxy observed so far.
The galaxy dates to roughly 800 million years after the Big Bang.
Webb spectroscopy and gravitational lensing enabled the characterization.

DE

DT Editorial Team·Jun 1, 2026·via livescience.com

More in Science→

Wide shot, close-up view of Roman's primary mirror

Roman mirror clears final inspection ahead of launch

NASA completed the final inspection on May 20 and 21.
Engineers found no contamination, coating defects, or alignment problems.
The mission remains on track for an early September launch.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 29, 2026·via nasa.gov

More in Space→

Galactic Neighborhoods infographic

NASA’s Roman telescope aims to uncover 100,000 exoplanets

NASA expects Roman to reveal around 100,000 exoplanets.
The telescope will search regions of the Milky Way largely missed by prior surveys.
Scientists hope to compare how planet formation varies across different galactic environments.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 28, 2026·via nasa.gov

More in Space→

Artist's impression of astrophysical calibration. Credit: Carl Knox/OzGrav/Swinburne

LVK researchers say a new ‘astrophysical calibration’ technique could improve how gravitational-wave detectors recover a

The LVK collaboration has developed a post-processing method called astrophysical calibration.
The approach uses strong signals and general relativity expectations to improve detector data.
Researchers demonstrated the technique on two prominent gravitational-wave events.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 28, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

A star in the Large Magellanic Cloud briefly got brighter, perhaps a microlensing event (Credit : NASA/Ames Research Centre)

Mysterious microlensing flash points to rogue world or primordial black hole

Astronomers detected a one-hour microlensing event in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The lensing object may have a mass about three times that of Earth’s Moon.
Possible explanations include a rogue planet, an extragalactic planet, or a primordial black hole.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 28, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

Harry Baker

Green fireball over Mayon shows how fast viral space footage can mislead

A rare green fireball meteor appeared above the erupting Mount Mayon on May 25.
Videos made it look like the object struck the volcano, but experts said it did not.
The episode shows how dramatic footage can outrun verification.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 27, 2026·via livescience.com

More in Science→

An image of the massive galaxy cluster MACS J0416 with a three-color composite image of LAP1-B in "velocity space" (inset). Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/K. Nakajima et al. (2026)

JWST Spots the Most Chemically Primitive Early Galaxy Yet Seen

Astronomers studied LAP1-B, a galaxy seen 800 million years after the Big Bang.
The team says it is the most metal-poor early-universe galaxy yet observed.
The result offers a new route to studying conditions near the first generations of stars.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 27, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

Universe's most distant 'Hot DOG' yet may owe extreme infrared glow to polar dust, Webb reveals

Webb Study Points to Polar Dust as a Key Driver of a Distant Hyperluminous Galaxy

Researchers analyzed W2246−0526 using multiwavelength data that included Webb observations.
The study suggests polar dust, not only the AGN torus, may explain the galaxy’s extreme infrared emission.
W2246−0526 is the most distant and luminous known Hot DOG discovered so far.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 25, 2026·via phys.org

More in Science→

The Drake Equation: a mathematical formula for estimating the probability of finding advanced civilizations in the Universe. Credit: University of Rochester

SETI’s ‘brief window’ idea keeps the Fermi paradox grounded in timing rather than aliens alone

Universe Today revisits the idea that civilizations may be detectable only for a short time.
The concept centers on Frank Drake’s longevity factor in the Drake Equation.
The theory offers a practical explanation for the Fermi paradox without exotic assumptions.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 25, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

This artist's illustration shows a spinning SMBH at the center of its AGN. New research shows how AGN affect exoplanet habitability. The powerful energy can strip away atmospheres and ozone at great distances, shaping habitability in large portions of a galaxy. Image Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration / Jet Propulsion Laboratory-Caltech.

A new exoplanet risk factor: active supermassive black holes

A new study examines how active supermassive black holes affect exoplanet habitability.
High-energy output from AGN can strip atmospheres and erode ozone at great distances.
The findings broaden habitability from a stellar question to a galactic one.

DE

DT Editorial Team·May 24, 2026·via universetoday.com

More in Space→

Previous
1
4
5
6
12
Next