Astronomers have chased hypervelocity stars for more than a century. These rare objects move so fast that the Milky Way ...

Hypervelocity stars have, since the 1920s, been an important tool that allows astronomers to study the properties of the ...

Gaia data reveals signs of planets forming around young stars by measuring stellar motion, identifying planetary, brown dwarf, and stellar companions in early star systems ...

Our understanding of the galaxy has advanced with every leap in the number of stars. From early observations to more and more advanced space and ground-based telescopes, each milestone has revealed ...

On Jan. 15, 2025, the Gaia spacecraft took its last image. Then the craft ran a final round of engineering tests, fired its ...

In September, the sky gets dark significantly earlier, allowing us to observe the stars without having to stay up so late. The Milky Way is in prime viewing position this time of the year. Around 9 ...

An international team of astrophysicists has discovered hundreds of mysterious structures in the center of the Milky Way galaxy. These one-dimensional cosmic threads are hundreds of horizontal or ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. Late in the evening of October 5, 1923, Edwin Hubble sat at the eyepiece of the Hooker telescope at the Mount Wilson Observatory atop ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. An award-winning reporter writing about stargazing and the night sky. When will the Milky Way collide with the Andromeda Galaxy?

The Milky Way galaxy, comprised of billions of stars, will be visible in the night sky until the end of May, particularly between the last quarter moon (May 20) and the new moon (May 30). Light ...

The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the Milky Way’s closest companions, continues to astonish astronomers with its ...