7 extraordinary cosmic objects that continue to puzzle astronomers
The Universe is full of things that seem to ignore common sense. Some are so dense that a…
Astronomers Discover First-Ever Three-Lobed Asteroid
High-resolution images from ESO’s Very Large Telescope and the Large Binocular Telescope reveal that the E-type asteroid (44)…
Astronomers Directly Image Betelgeuse’s Long-Suspected Stellar Companion
After a century of speculation, astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have captured the clearest evidence yet…
Astronomers Discover and Directly Image Third Planet in Beta Pictoris System
Named Beta Pictoris d, the newly-discovered world is 100 times fainter than Beta Pictoris b — the first…
Astronomers Probe Chemistry of Giant Exoplanet Beta Pictoris b
Using the upgraded GRAVITY+ instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI), astronomers have measured the ratio of…
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Likely Originated in Outskirts of Ancient Planetary System
Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have measured carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in 3I/ATLAS, the third…
“Beyond the limit”: one million satellites and mirrors in space pose grave threat to the night sky
Press Release 1 July 2026 A new European Southern Observatory (ESO) study has found that current proposals to…
Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS Formed Up To 12 Billion Years Ago, New Observations Suggest
The interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS carries a chemical fingerprint unlike anything in our Solar System, and it may have…
VLT Zooms in on Nearby Triangulum Galaxy
A new close-up of the Triangulum galaxy, captured with ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), traces the tangled gas…
VLT Discovers Third Gas Cloud near Milky Way’s Central Black Hole
The newly-identified gas cloud, dubbed G2t, follows nearly the same orbit as two known clouds, suggesting they were…
Glowing Nebula Turns Out to Be Stellar Cradle
The Vela Junior supernova, also known as RX J0852.0-4622 or G266.2-1.2, exploded a few thousand years ago, leaving…
Astronomers surprised by mysterious shock wave around dead star
Press Release 12 January 2026 Gas and dust flowing from stars can, under the right conditions, clash with…