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An illustration of a magnetar with a wobbling accretion disk — Scientists witness birth of one of the universe's strongest magnets for the first time, thanks to a general relativity 'magic trick' Astronomers have detected strange "wobbles" in the light curve of a super bright supernova, hinting that a magnetar was born inside the extreme stellar explosion.

A photo of Artemis II in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. — NASA's Artemis II rocket rolls to launch pad in final bid to meet April deadline A series of leaks means the coming launch window will be NASA's final attempt to meet its April mission deadline.
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A glistening field of stars against a black background. — Rare star spotted in its original galaxy could answer a key question about the ingredients of life: Space photo of the week The ancient and rare star PicII-503 is helping astronomers understand how carbon became so abundant in the universe.

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'Rare and enigmatic' structures found at the Milky Way's center in largest-ever map of its kind

By Brandon Specktor last updated 25 February 26

Scientists using the ALMA telescope have created the most-detailed-ever map of the Milky Way's chaotic center. The observations could open a window to the ancient universe as it appeared shortly after the Big Bang.

Astronomy

A series of four small boxes on the left of the image and one large box on the right, each showing a circle with blue in the bottom left of the circle and a ring of glowing red around it, representing Uranus' atmosphere.

James Webb telescope spots giant auroras rolling through Uranus' atmosphere

By Elizabeth Howell published 24 February 26

JWST observed Uranus for nearly a full rotation, charting the planet's upper atmosphere and magnetic environment for the first time.

Astronomy

A close up of a bright orange blood moon in the night sky, the top half more yellow than orange

'Blood moon' total lunar eclipse: How to see the March 3 celestial spectacle from anywhere on Earth

By Jamie Carter published 24 February 26

The final "blood moon" total lunar eclipse until 2029 is coming to North America this Tuesday (March 3). Here's how to watch it online.

The Moon

NASA set to roll Artemis rocket back for urgent repairs after yet another delay

By Patrick Pester last updated 24 February 26

NASA is about to roll its Artemis II moon rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building to fix a helium flow issue that guarantees astronauts won't fly around the moon in March.

Space Exploration

Scientists spot 'rule-breaking' black hole growing 13 times faster than should be possible

By Ivan Farkas published 22 February 26

An ancient, fast-feeding quasar is breaking the rules of how black holes consume matter and generate galaxy-shaping jets.

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Black Holes

An illustration of the planets in our solar system lined up against a blue starry background, with Venus then Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus

Rare 'planetary parade' will return to the evening sky this week

By Jamie Carter published 22 February 26

Six planets will shine together in the evening sky on Feb. 28. Here's how to get the best view before they disappear.

Planets

An image of the egg nebula, with a glowing streak of pink gas in the middle surrounded by concentric circles of white like with four diagonal beams of light streaking from top left to bottom right all in front of a deep space starry background

Closest baby nebula to Earth 'hatches' in strange new Hubble image – Space photo of the week

By Jamie Carter published 22 February 26

A stunning new Hubble image reveals the most detailed look yet at the Egg Nebula, the youngest and closest pre-planetary nebula to Earth.

Astronomy

Image of disk-galaxy Andromeda taken by Hubble space telescope

Scientists may have seen a star collapse directly into a black hole without exploding first

By Evan Gough published 21 February 26

A new study looked at how a massive star in the Andromeda Galaxy disappeared due to the formation of a black hole

Black Holes

Hubble image of 3I/ATLAS. White dashes on a black background.

Scientists propose new plan to 'catch' comet 3I/ATLAS — but we have to act fast

By Matthew Williams published 21 February 26

A new study explores the challenges of catching interstellar comets like comet 3I/ATLAS

Comets

Artemis II update: NASA targets March 6 for launch of historic moon mission following successful 'wet dress rehearsal'

By Brandon Specktor, Ben Turner published 20 February 26

NASA is targeting March 6 as the earliest possible launch date for the Artemis II mission to the moon following a successful 'wet dress rehearsal' on Thursday.

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