Michael Schirber

The places astronomers see are getting stranger every year.

Controversy ends over magnification of quasars.

An earlier estimate of a young star’s mass is called into question, throwing the question of massive star formation wide open again.

There may be indirect evidence for the relatively small building blocks of black holes in the re-warming of the early universe.

Droplets from asteroid impact formed in giant Earth-circling vapor plume, leaving clues to the dinosaur-killing catastrophe.

Old school physics may solve puzzle of primordial matter.

A plethora of galaxy types populated the early universe, including many that were starved of star-formation material.

Hubble observations of massive cluster finds no stars greater than 130 solar masses.

Planets may form in stable rings that develop in the swirling, turbulent gas disks around young stars.

If a magnetar flew past Earth within 100,000 miles, the intense magnetic field the exotic object would destroy the data on every credit card on the planet.

The rings of Saturn are part of a young and evolving system, according to the latest observations that suggest a snowball fight is going on around the giant planet.

An unknown source of gamma rays lurks in the center of the galaxy. It could be from an exploded star, or possibly it is a signature of mysterious dark matter.

An international team of scientists has tested their life-detection equipment on an Arctic island, which is geologically similar to Mars.

Morbid, for sure, yet still prudent. But where to put this valuable backup so that it is both safe and handy? And what form should it take?

The Cassini spacecraft spotted the ring and a clump of material that might be a moon.