Galaxy

The Hubble Space Telescope has treated us to another spectacular view of two enormous galaxies locked in a cosmic embrace. The image shows an early stage of a galactic encounter, and the chaotic effect that gravity can have on a grand scale

Every planet we know of orbits a star – but that might not be a universal rule. According to calculations by researchers at NAOJ, planets could technically form around supermassive black holes, creating vast planetary systems of thousands of worlds.

A new view of the Milky Way has revealed how the galactic center would appear to human beings if our eyes were able to detect low-frequency radio waves.

Astronomers have discovered a star known as S5-HVS1, travelling at an incredible 6 million km/h (3.7 million mph). That not only makes it the fastest known star, but it’s fast enough to fling it right out of the galaxy.

Scientists generally agree that the universe is expanding, but how fast is up for debate. Now, astrophysicists have come up with a new figure for the Hubble Constant by studying how gamma rays interact with the background radiation of the universe.

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a creepy cosmic face emerging from the remnants of colliding galaxies. The gleaming eyes represent the central regions of the dueling galaxies, while other features are formed from their tortured disks.

Wormholes are a sci-fi staple – but could they be science fact? Surprisingly they fit into current physics models, although no evidence has ever been found. Now, researchers have outlined how we might go about looking for wormholes in our own galaxy.

Astronomers have discovered a galaxy with strange clouds orbiting its supermassive black hole. Rather than all circling in the same direction, NGC 1068 has two rings that orbit in opposite directions – and that may answer a long-standing mystery.

Nowadays, the Milky Way is a pretty quiet galaxy – but just a few million years ago its central black hole sent off huge flares of radiation.

Astronomers have spotted an event that was thought to happen over millennia play out in a matter of months, as a usually-quiet galaxy suddenly fired up into an energetic quasar – and not just once, but in six different cases.

Given their name, black holes aren’t the kind of places you’d expect to see much light. But sometimes flashes of light are seen as the black holes snack on gas and dust. Earlier this year though the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy flared up in an unprecedented light show, and astronomers don’t really know why.

In NGC 6946, better known as the Fireworks galaxy, an extremely bright flare of X-rays was seen to appear and disappear within a matter of weeks.