'One of the major problems in modern astrophysics is the fact that we still do not know exactly what kinds of stellar system explode as a Type Ia supernova,' says Patrick Woudt, from... — full story
Astronomers from the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Hawaii have discovered multiple fragments ejected during the largest cometary outburst ever witnessed.... — full story
An enormous eruption has found its way to Earth after travelling for many thousands of years across space. Studying this blast with ESA's XMM-Newton and Integral space observatories,... — full story
Spitzer catches star cooking up comet crystalsScientists have long wondered how tiny silicate crystals, which need sizzling high temperatures to form, have found their way into frozen comets, born in the deep freeze of the solar... — full story
A peanut-shaped stellar explosionUsing the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope (HST), an international team of astronomers have taken the first optical images of a dramatic stellar outburst and discovered a peanut-shaped... — full story
Hubble witnesses spectacular flaring in extragalactic jet from M87's black holeA flare-up in a jet of matter blasting from a monster black hole is giving astronomers an incredible light show. The outburst is coming from a blob of matter, called HST-1, embedded... — full story
Surprising flashes from a possible magnetarBy means of the high-speed photometer OPTIMA of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE), a team of MPE scientists might have detected an unexpected new sub-category... — full story
Swift observes a supernova explosion in real-timeUK astronomers are part of an international team that has used the Swift satellite to observe the first moments of a supernova explosion as it happens. The results are presented in... — full story
A last look at Comet HolmesComet 17P/Holmes, which dazzled sky watchers with a dramatic outburst that made it visible to the unaided eye, now is fading from sight. However, before it returns to the obscurity... — full story
Hubble zooms in on heart of mystery cometNASA's Hubble Space Telescope has probed the bright core of comet 17P/Holmes, which, to the delight of sky watchers, mysteriously brightened by nearly a millionfold in a 24-hour period... — full story