It takes something as stupendous as the merger between two black holes to generate detectable gravitational waves. Here’s how such incredible cosmic objects form.
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Articles on Astronomy
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The search for new objects, including new planets, in our solar system has turned up some interesting finds. There have been a few failures over the years too.
The Murchison Widefield Array sits in remote Western Australia far from noisy civilisation so it can help us understand the universe by tuning into radio waves from the distant cosmos.
The public outing of a number of high profile scientists in sexual harassment cases shows the current system of protecting women isn’t working. But there is a solution.
Extragalactic astrophysicists want to know how and why galaxies stop forming stars, change their shape and fade away. With help from citizen scientists, they’re figuring it out.
Astronomers think they may have found evidence within our galaxy of some of the missing matter thought to make up our universe.
It contains countless wonders – but all is not what it seems.
Scientists say they have evidence that the solar system has an extra planet, bigger than Earth and way beyond Pluto. So how come we never knew this before?
The laws of physics dictate that to pick out ever fainter objects from space and see them more sharply, we’re going to need a bigger telescope. And that means we need massive mirrors.
It’s no easy task to find a meteorite that’s just been seen flashing across the sky. But it helps if you have an automatic network of “eyes” on the night sky.
When looking for evidence of some of the universe’s mysterious high energy particles, why not enlist the help of our nearest neighbour: the moon.
From the high-speed journey to Jupiter to solar eclipses, meteor showers and planetary alignments visible in the skies above – add these space highlights to your 2016 calendar.
Many meteor showers are a regular annual event, but what you can see varies from year to year. So which showers will be the best for 2016?
From a flyby of Pluto to the search for extrasolar planets and gravitational waves, 2015 was a monumental year for space news.
It’s regarded as a Biblical myth, but what the magi are supposed to have seen is rooted in astronomy.
Dawn’s mission director and chief engineer describes his ‘dream come true’ job – and how the new data coming back from Ceres could unlock some of the secrets of the earliest days of our solar system.
What difference would it make to human life if a celestial event were unequivocally linked to the very night of Jesus’ birth?
Dust from pulverised comets rather than an alien megastructure could explain odd flicker of distant star.
A darkened moon is promising to allow us to see one of the best meteor showers of the year, so long as the skies are clear.
Darkness is precious to astronomers, but it’s also good for everybody. We should ensure we preserve the dark by using the latest technologies responsibly.
Top contributors
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Professor (Astrophysics), University of Southern Queensland
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Senior Curator (Astronomy), Museums Victoria and Honorary Fellow at University of Melbourne, Museums Victoria Research Institute
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Associate Professor in Astronomy, Monash University
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University Distinguished Professor of Astronomy, University of Arizona
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Associate Professor, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Astrophysics, University of Sydney
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Professor, University of Sydney
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Professor, School of Science, Western Sydney University
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John Curtin Distinguished Professor (Radio Astronomy), Curtin University
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Pro Vice-Chancellor Flagship Initiatives, Swinburne University of Technology
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Senior Lecturer in Physics, Nottingham Trent University
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Lecturer in Astronomy, Nottingham Trent University
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Dean of Science, University of California, Santa Cruz
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Associate professor, The University of Western Australia
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Lecturer, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology
