ESO

Astronomers have discovered the intact, exposed core of a gas giant locked in a close orbit around a Sun-like star. The discovery will give astronomers a rare opportunity to probe the heart of an ancient alien world.

A star that shined with 2.5 million times the light of our Sun has disappeared from the night sky. It is possible that the star collapsed into a black hole without first triggering a supernova – a rare event, even in the context of dying stars.

A team of international researchers has confirmed the existence of an Earth-like exoplanet only 4.2 light-years from the Sun. The ESPRESSO spectrograph found Proxima b has a mass of 1.17 Earths and orbits in the habitable zone of Proxima Centauri.

An international team of astronomers has found what may be the first images of a planet being born. Based on observations by ESO’s VLT, images of AB Aurigae show a "twist" in the surrounding cloud that indicates the presence of a planet being formed.

The closest black hole to our solar system has been discovered a mere 1,000 light-years from Earth, and orbits with two companion stars that are visible to the naked eye without the aid of a telescope or binoculars.

Almost 30 years of observations has revealed that a star in the center of the galaxy orbits the supermassive black hole Sagittarius A* in a rosette, or spirograph shape. The find once again confirms a prediction made by Einstein’s General Relativity.

Astronomers may have found a world where it rains iron. The exoplanet is exposed to thousands of times the radiation that the Earth receives from the Sun, rendering the surface hot enough to vaporize metals that later fall as rain.

The introduction of 26 thousand new megaconstellation satellites could have a significant effect on ground-based astronomy, according to a new study commissioned by the European Southern Observatory.

An incredibly detailed survey of the Milky Way’s core has shed light on our galaxy’s legacy of star birth. According to the authors of a study, their results disagree with the previously held belief that stars formed in at a continual pace.

Scientists have discovered a massive planet evaporating as it orbits the remains of a Sun-like star. This is the first time evidence of a huge planet orbiting a white dwarf has been observed, and it could help reveal the fate of our own solar system.

In 2006, Pluto was downgraded from planet to dwarf planet – and now, based on the same definition an object in the asteroid belt may need to be upgraded from asteroid to dwarf planet. New observations of asteroid Hygiea suggest it fits the criteria.

A few months ago, the asteroid 2006 QV89 grabbed headlines thanks to a slim chance of striking Earth this September. But now the potentially-hazardous space rock has missed its appointment. ESA has confirmed that the asteroid hasn’t appeared in the sky yet, ruling out an impact any time soon.