Phil Plait

Bad Astronomy

The sky according to Planck

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

Trifid and Lagoon Nebulas

Learn more about how the Vera C. Rubin Observatory will capture more of our stunning universe. 

Vera C. Rubin Observatory Captured This Cotton Candy Nebula, Here's What it Will Capture Next 

Sunday Newsletter 

Subscribe to our Sunday newsletter and get all our fun, unique, and fascinating science stories right to your inbox, with a few added bonuses.

Get Your Weekly Dose of Fun, Quirky, and Fascinating Science — Our Sunday Newsletter Is Here

(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

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

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