Latest articles by Robert Lea
Astronomers watch monster black hole spit out a light-year-long jet
Astronomers have witnessed a monster supermassive black hole erupting with a light-year-long jet traveling at one-third the speed of light.
Artemis Accords: What are they & which countries are involved?
Reference As the Artemis program aims to return humanity to the moon and beyond, the Artemis Accords lay out a framework for nations collaborating in this effort.
Gravitational waves offer a 'cosmic DNA test' for black holes
The size and spin of black holes can reveal how and where they were born, and gravitational waves offer a way to decode this information like a cosmic DNA test.
Fastest disintegrating world ever seen 'spills its guts' for NASA's exoplanet hunter
NASA's TESS exoplanet hunter has found the fastest-disintegrating planet ever. Losing a moons-worth of matter every million years, it is a prime target for the James Webb Space Telescope.
Feeding supermassive black holes may have ended the cosmic 'dark ages' billions of years ago
NASA's Chandra and NuSTAR telescopes have teamed up to study a supermassive black hole-powered quasar that could have played a key role in ending the cosmic dark ages.
When is the Winter Solstice and what happens?
Reference Winter Solstice has long marked a time of rebirth, behind it are fascinating astronomical events.
James Webb Space Telescope sees little red dots feeding black holes: 'This is how you solve a universe-breaking problem'
The James Webb Space Telescope's ancient "little red dot" galaxies have been seen as a sign of "broken cosmology." Feeding supermassive black holes may have come to the rescue.
Goodnight, Gaia! ESA spacecraft shuts down after 12 years of Milky Way mapping
Goodnight Gaia. The European Space Agency star-tracking satellite ceased operations on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, after 12 years of mapping the Milky Way.
Strange multi-planet system proves not all hot Jupiter exoplanets are lonely giants
Hot Jupiters may not be the lonely giants scientists once thought they were.
Feeding supermassive black holes are more common than thought across the universe
Feeding supermassive black holes are more common in the cosmos than previously suspected. What could possibly hide such ravenous cosmic titans?
James Webb Space Telescope discovers one of the earliest 'truly gargantuan' supernovas ever seen
The James Webb Space Telescope has spotted one of the earliest and most distant supernovas, marking the death of a stellar monster 20 times the mass of the sun.
Dark matter may have caused a baffling break in this star stream
A strange break in a stream of stars in the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter, but only if the dark matter is hot and self-interacting.
'Daredevil' white dwarf star could be closest-known object to a weird black hole
The weird outbursts of a distant supermassive black hole may be caused by a death-defying white dwarf walking a cosmic tight rope around it.
8 of the greatest mysteries in the universe
Dark energy, supermassive black holes, JuMBOs … Oh my!
Star escapes ravenous supermassive black hole, leaving behind its stellar partner
Scientists want to know if a tidal disruption event that exploded twice is the result of a star abandoning its binary partner, allowing it to be devoured by a supermassive black hole.
The fastest-spinning 'vampire star' we know of is shrinking. Soon, it will explode
The fastest-spinning white dwarf ever discovered is a shrinking cosmic vampire feasting on a stellar companion. A feeding process is pushing the dead star toward an imminent supernova explosion.
Mercury looks stunning in images from BepiColombo spacecraft's 6th and final flyby
BepiColombo made its sixth and final flyby of Mercury on Wed (Jan. 8) capturing images of the tiny planet hinting at the mysteries it will soon investigate.
'Dark photons' at Big Bang's cosmic dawn could shine a light on dark matter
Interactions between dark matter and dark photons during a "missing chapter" cosmic history could shed light on one of the most troubling cosmic mysteries.
Building blocks of life on Earth left the Milky Way before being pulled back in
You may be stuck in the Milky Way but new research suggests the carbon that makes up your body took an intergalactic round trip on a cosmic conveyer belt.
Scientists find 'spooky' quantum entanglement on incredibly tiny scales — within individual protons
Einstein may have been troubled enough by entanglement to call it "spooky action at a distance" but scientists have discovered it operates at small scales between quarks and gluons in protons.
How Pluto captured its largest moon Charon with a 10-hour icy 'kiss'
Pluto may have got romantic to capture its largest moon, colliding and engaging in a passionate but icy 10 hour kiss with Charon billions of years ago.
Rare string of 'cosmic pearls' dance together in the universe
A rare group of aligned, star-birthing dwarf galaxies resemble a cosmic string of pearls.
Dead stars can celebrate 2 New Years every second with nearby cosmic fireworks
Celestial fireworks that erupt all year long but last a fraction of a second, fast radio bursts, may have traced them to the immediate surroundings of extreme and highly magnetic dead stars.
