Milky Way Galaxy

miscellanyHubble Space TelescopeMarsclimate changesupernovaeexoplanetscometsgravitational wavessolar systemESA2025Jupiterwhite dwarfsPlutoaliensdustasteroidsneutron starsastrophotographymeteoritesstar clustersvolcanoesmathEarthcosmologyGlobular clusterspulsarsmoonsthe SunscifiFast Radio BurstsVera Rubin ObservatorynebulaAstronomybrown dwarfsNASAPoliticsgalaxy clusterslight pollutionplanetary nebulaerecipedebunkingblack holesHumorphysicsTVnight skygravitational lensingVenusAbout the newsletterspacered dwarfsthe moonActive galaxiesAbout mespace explorationimpactsnovaebinary starsSgr A*starsTNOssciencegalaxiesJWSTGamma-ray burstsdark matterColliding galaxiesstar formationMilky Way GalaxyScientific AmericanillusionsGaia
dustdust
+3+3
Echoes of light show our galaxy’s spiral arms are more wide-flung than we thought
Premium

Echoes of light show our galaxy’s spiral arms are more wide-flung than we thought

Distant flashes of light and a quirk of trig help astronomers map the Milky Way

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
NASANASA
+6+6
NASA leader ignores safety rules to joy ride in a fighter jet over DC, and astronomers find Milky Way’s black hole wind
Premium

NASA leader ignores safety rules to joy ride in a fighter jet over DC, and astronomers find Milky Way’s black hole wind

FAA objected to Jared Isaacman’s dangerous flight. Also, an elusive wind of particles from Sgr A* has finally been detected

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
exoplanetsexoplanets
+5+5
Aphelion day! And a subscription sale!

Aphelion day! And a subscription sale!

Earth is as far from the sun as it gets all year. Plus, a planet found by relativity.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
MarsMars
+7+7
Radioactive cosmic dust is raining down on Earth’s surface

Radioactive cosmic dust is raining down on Earth’s surface

It sounds worse than it is. In fact, it’s really cool and telling us about our local galactic neighborhood

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
supernovaesupernovae
+5+5
A low-mass star is screaming past us. Was it spat out by a supermassive black hole?
Premium

A low-mass star is screaming past us. Was it spat out by a supermassive black hole?

It’s moving at 1.6 million kilometers per hour, and may be falling back into the galaxy

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
star clustersstar clusters
+4+4
The spectacular Sombrero galaxy

The spectacular Sombrero galaxy

Plus: the chance of the Milky Way and Andromeda colliding just went up. Maybe.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
miscellanymiscellany
+7+7
Our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has a hiccuppy past

Our Milky Way’s supermassive black hole has a hiccuppy past

It may erupt every few centuries, but don’t panic!

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
supernovaesupernovae
+7+7
Watch a supernova explosion sweep through space
Premium

Watch a supernova explosion sweep through space

Animation shows X-rays from an exploded star as it expands over the decades

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
the Sunthe Sun
+4+4
Solar eclipse seen from space!

Solar eclipse seen from space!

Also, a small galaxy may be currently ramming through the Milky Way, so there’s that too

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
EarthEarth
+5+5
Today our planet will not be destroyed. Probably.

Today our planet will not be destroyed. Probably.

I mean, no promises. But it won’t be because the Maya predicted it.

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
astrophotographyastrophotography
+5+5
Mystery solved? Baffling huge nebula near Andromeda Galaxy is actually in our neighborhood

Mystery solved? Baffling huge nebula near Andromeda Galaxy is actually in our neighborhood

Weird arcing cloud of oxygen is most likely part of the Milky Way, not our giant neighbor

Philip Plait
Philip Plait
supernovaesupernovae
+5+5
The irony of Supernova 1885A

The irony of Supernova 1885A

It proved the Universe was bigger than astronomers thought, but they couldn’t believe it

Philip Plait
Philip Plait