Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

The Milky Way's (almost) identical twin

(Image Credit: NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory)

Virgo cluster 2

Discover the first images from NSF-DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory and learn about what it's new mission is for space.

Take a First Look at the Vera C. Rubin Images: Millions of Galaxies and Thousands of Asteroids

Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy (Image Credit: muratart/Shutterstock) 

Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy

Learn about the new research that changes the estimates of the Milky Way’s demise.

Andromeda-Milky Way Galaxy Smash-Up May Not Happen As Soon As Expected

Coma Cluster

Learn about NGC 4858, a galaxy with the body of a jellyfish and the ears of a bunny, features that were both shaped by extreme pressure.

A Jellyfish Galaxy With Bunny Ears Wades Through Space 300 Million Light-Years Away

Nine images of galaxies taken from nearly 800,000. (Image Credit: M. Franco / C. Casey / COSMOS-Web Collaboration)

Nine Galaxies COSMOS Web

Learn more about the largest map of the cosmos to date, a deep field image from the COSMOS-Web collaboration that’s already being studied to build our understanding of the universe.

Some 800,000 Galaxies Shine in Our Most Complete Map of the Universe Yet

An unlucky massive star approaches a supermassive black hole. (Image Credit: University of Hawaiʻi)

Black hole eating star

Learn more about how astronomers have observed an unprecedented cosmic explosion that has the potential to transform the history of black holes.

Black Hole Feast Sparks Brightest Cosmic Explosion Ever Recorded

This image, taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), shows the molecular gas content of two galaxies involved in a cosmic collision. The one on the right hosts a quasar –– a supermassive black hole that is accreting material from its surroundings and releasing intense radiation directly into the other galaxy. 
Astronomers used the X-shooter instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) to detect the quasar’s light as it passes through an invisible halo of gas surrounding the galaxy on the left. In doing so, they could observe the damage that this radiation causes to the victim, disrupting its clouds of gas and hampering its ability to form new stars. (Image Credit: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/S. Balashev and P. Noterdaeme et al.)

ALMA image of the ‘cosmic joust’

Observations show a stronger galaxy piercing a weaker one with a lance of radiation, reducing its star-making ability.

Dueling Galaxies Pierce One Another With a Ray of Radiation in a Cosmic Joust

The Milky Way's (almost) identical twin

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