Galaxy

Astronomers have discovered a “cosmic ring of fire” – a galaxy shaped like a gigantic donut. This extremely rare galaxy was likely caused by a collision with a smaller galaxy that can still be seen lingering near the scene of the accident.

It’s generally believed that it took billions of years for galaxies to take on the familiar disk shape, but now astronomers have discovered an ancient disk galaxy, which emerged at least 4.5 billion years earlier than previously thought possible.

The Spitzer Space Telescope was retired this January. The observatory is responsible for some of the most stunning space photos ever taken, so to celebrate New Atlas is rounding up some of the absolute best infrared images snapped by Spitzer.

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.

One of the core components of cosmology is the understanding that the universe is expanding evenly in all directions. But new X-ray observations now suggest that this may not be the case after all – certain areas may be expanding faster than others.

Unifying conflicting models into a “Theory of Everything” is the Holy Grail of physics. Now a NASA observatory has conducted an experimental test, scouring the sky for evidence of a hypothetical particle that could tie the universe together.

Large clouds of dark matter have been indirectly detected before, but it should also form smaller clumps. Now Hubble observations have detected evidence of these small clumps for the first time, lending weight to a prevailing dark matter hypothesis.

NASA has released a new panoramic infrared image of the center of the Milky Way. With data gathered by the Boeing 747-based SOFIA observatory, the image reveals new details of certain regions that have been traditionally tricky to capture.

The cosmic beauty of space never ceases to impress. New Atlas rounds up some of the most incredible space photos of 2019, including historic firsts, stunning starscapes, gorgeous galaxies and some new angles on our own solar system.

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.

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.