Phys.org Astronomy News

  • A cornerstone of Milky Way history may need rewriting with evidence of multiple ancient mergers
    on June 12, 2026 at 3:00 pm

    Astronomers may have uncovered new details about one of the Milky Way's most important ancient collisions. Using data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) and a new clustering algorithm, researchers have found evidence suggesting the famous Gaia-Sausage/Enceladus structure (GSE) has a far more complicated origin than previously thought.

  • Cosmic dawn fuel discovery unlocks early galaxy growth secrets
    on June 11, 2026 at 11:40 pm

    Astronomers have discovered a huge reservoir of cold molecular gas, the direct fuel for star formation, in REBELS-25, a massive, star-forming galaxy. The team, led from Leiden University, focused on REBELS-25, seen when the universe was only about 700 million years old, around 5% of its current age. The research is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

  • Light echoes reveal possible dark matter buildup around supermassive black holes
    on June 11, 2026 at 10:10 pm

    We may not know what dark matter is, but we keep getting whiffs of it. "We are reaching a point where the observational evidence for dark matter is simply undeniable," said Mayank Sharma, a Virginia Tech graduate student in physics.

  • Binary asteroids' puzzling configurations may link to multi-satellite history
    on June 11, 2026 at 2:20 pm

    Binary asteroid systems are widespread throughout our inner solar system. For decades, the standard paradigm held that many of them form when a rapidly spinning primary asteroid casts off material, which then reaccumulates into an elongated moon orbiting near the Roche limit.

  • Cosmic acceleration holds up as new analysis rebuts slowdown claim
    on June 10, 2026 at 11:00 pm

    Our universe's expansion is still accelerating despite recent claims suggesting otherwise, an international team of astrophysicists says.

Current amateur astronomy information such as points of interest and events in the night sky, star party dates, educational information, telescopes buying tips and much more.