Astronomy News Today

Whether it’s the first black hole image or the hijinks of Betelgeuse, astronomy news today is sure to make you say, “wow.” Here, find all the latest celestial reports and observing tips that have astronomers scratching their heads.

Scientists have spotted the 1st free-floating planet in our solar system using a technique called gravitational microlensing. The team behind the discovery used TESS to detect a distant star passing in front of the host star, distorting its light and revealing the planet.

A new study reveals that Jupiter’s rogue moon Io has been erupting for billions of years, since the small moon of the giant gas planet 1st formed along with our solar system. Io is the most volcanic place in the solar system, with more than 700 active volcanoes. The study shows that the Io eruptions are triggered by solar wind hitting Io’s surface, triggering a chemical reaction that causes the volcanoes to spew out gases and lava.

Astronomers have detected strong, organized magnetic fields spiraling outward from the accreting black hole in our galaxy’s center. This discovery helps astronomers understand what is happening around the event horizon of Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole that is thought to be at the heart of our universe.

Yale astronomers helped to identify a tiny star system orbiting the Milky Way, which hints at a new cosmic connection. The discovery comes as the ESA-led Solar Orbiter and NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft are poised to launch in less than six months, on a 1.6-billion-mile journey to Jupiter’s ocean.

Astronomers are closer to understanding what a mysterious neutron star is and how it might help us understand the elusive dark matter that makes up most of our universe’s mass. The discovery of highly ionized particles in the exploding remnant of a massive star, SN 1987A, is making this goal a little bit easier to achieve.

Scientists are now closer than ever to developing the technology that will allow future Red Planet inhabitants to communicate with Earth, thanks to a $32 million contract between NASA and Rocket Lab for the development of a communications relay satellite. The new system will also connect with the private spacecraft Psyche, currently flying to Mars to probe its atmosphere and search for signs of life.

The Lyrid meteor shower peaks this week, and the pink moon will be visible in the evening sky from Monday through Thursday. Watch out for the Perseid meteor shower on Friday night, as well. In other news, a new image from the MERLIN telescope has revealed the 1st asteroid belt dwarf, a rock about 10 times larger than the smallest asteroids in our solar system. And Hubble’s newest image of the asteroid Kamo’oalewa reveals it may have been blasted from a moon crater. The research was published in the journal Nature.