Astronomy News

Farmers are being asked to sign up for a broadband trial run by Lincolnshire County Council.

Meteor showers and supermoons: night sky phenomenons you won't want to miss

The sun and moon are positioned just right for us to see total solar eclipses, and the make-up of the universe is just right for life. Columnist Leah Crane wonders if it’s really all one big coincidence

From meteor showers to a November supermoon, there are a number of impressive sights to behold in the autumn night sky.

X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and J. Major

Two galaxies merge at a furious rate in this Aug. 25, 2026, image of the II Zw 096 system. This and several other images of both visually and scientifically interesting galaxies were released by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes.

Chandra X-ray data (magenta) pinpoint powerful black hole activity and hot gas, while optical data (blue and white) from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and infrared data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope illuminate vast stellar nurseries hidden behind interstellar dust. Systems like II Zw 096 show us how powerful galaxy collisions shaped the early universe.

See more galaxy photos from Chandra.

Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Infrared: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare and J. Major

Science, Volume 393, Issue 6816, Page 1117-1121, September 2026.

A group of astronomers proposes that a series of events in a distant galaxy formed both a black hole and a pulsar, but other experts say the conclusion is premature

ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, F. Peißker, J. Lu, F. Yusef-Zadeh, N. B. Sabha, C. Chan

A brilliant concentration of stars takes center stage in this Aug. 11, 2026, image taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. Webb observed IRS 3, a star near the end of its life cycle, located within this starfield. Webb’s mid-infrared data revealed the clear signature of oxygen-rich silicate dust, as well as, for the first time, water, in its surrounding dust envelope.

Read more about this discovery.

Image Credit: ESA/Webb, NASA & CSA, F. Peißker, J. Lu, F. Yusef-Zadeh, N. B. Sabha, C. Chan

A reader thinks outside the box on ways to mitigate against this slow-forming issue

One reader thinks the answer is yes, and gives ways we could spot them

With little in the way of significant discoveries since 2012, there have been mutterings that particle physics is at a dead end. However, new dark matter results suggest an exciting new way to hunt for reality's undiscovered ingredients

The upcoming Habitable Worlds Observatory should be able to spot the glint of water on habitable planets, and maybe more

X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/M. Muhibullah et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, scientists have discovered a new class of objects behaving unlike any they have seen before. Astronomers suggest these newly spotted objects in other galaxies may help solve not one, but two long-standing questions in astrophysics.

These mysterious objects give off unusually low-energy X-rays but intense levels of ultraviolet radiation. This discovery is featured in a paper published Wednesday in Nature Astronomy.

“We’ve never encountered a group of objects that act like this,” said Mustafa Muhibullah of the University of Alabama who led the study. “Of course, the next step was to try to figure out what these things are.”

M101 with illustrated circles calling out seven of the newly-discovered objects. X-ray: NASA/CXC/Univ. of Alabama/M. Muhibullah et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk

The researchers found a total of 84 of these “hypersoft X-ray sources” – so named because they give such low-energy X-rays – in the six different galaxies they searched, using data openly available to the public in the Chandra archive. Two of the galaxies are spirals, M31 (the Andromeda galaxy) and M101 (the Pinwheel galaxy), while the other four are ellipticals. They found hypersoft X-ray sources both in regions of active star formation and areas where there are older stars.

The team spotted the sources by finding objects that appeared in Chandra images taken at the lowest X-ray energies but vanished in higher-energy images. That means these objects give off far more low-energy X-rays than high-energy ones. Because low-energy X-rays border energetic ultraviolet radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum, the researchers determined that these sources are producing large amounts of energetic ultraviolet radiation as well.

It is unclear what types of objects are responsible for these low-energy X-rays and intense ultraviolet radiation. The team thinks they most likely involve a black hole, neutron star, or white dwarf pulling material from a companion star. The material pulled from the companion star is heated up to produce X-rays before falling onto the white dwarf or neutron star, or into the black hole. Such binary systems have been seen before, but not with such bright ultraviolet radiation and low-energy X-rays.

The discovery suggests that there may be large populations of binary systems with energetic ultraviolet radiation that have been undetected until now.

“These clandestine X-ray sources are actually among the most energetic objects in galaxies, and they could be solving two cosmic mysteries at once,” said Muhibullah.

Scientists think that some white dwarf systems pulling material from companion stars may eventually explode as a supernova – known as a Type Ia – that is critical for measuring the expansion of the universe. These supernovae played a key role in discovering that this expansion is accelerating. Astronomers have been looking for the stars that turn into Type Ia supernovae for many years, so far without success.

“If we could find a way to spot these Type Ia supernova explosions before they go off, that would be really important,” said co-author Jimmy Irwin, also of the University of Alabama. “Right now, we study them after they’ve exploded, and astronomers have struggled to understand what is actually ignited.”

The other mystery these hypersoft X-ray sources might explain is what strips electrons from gas between the stars in some galaxies. This stripping of electrons is important to probe because it can affect how quickly stars form and influence the life cycles of galaxies. Hot, massive stars play a role, but they do not completely explain what is causing this stripping. The intense levels of ultraviolet radiation from the hypersoft X-ray sources may play a vital role.

Why were these hypersoft X-ray sources not found until now? In addition to the low-energy X-ray output, which is very difficult for X-ray telescopes to detect, the high-energy ultraviolet radiation is readily absorbed by helium and hydrogen gas that fills the space between the stars, creating a nearly impenetrable barrier to look through.

“By combing through the Chandra archive, we were able to eliminate what used to be a blind spot for telescopes,” said co-author Rosanne Di Stefano of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. “That’s how we found what appears to be a new class of cosmic objects with remarkable qualities.”

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.

Read more from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory

To learn more about NASA’s Chandra mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/chandra

Visual Description

This release features a composite image of a spiral galaxy, M101; one of six identified galaxies housing a new class of mysterious objects that give off unusually low-energy X-rays.

In this composite image, M101 faces us directly. It has multiple arms in shades of purple, spiraling clockwise around a golden yellow core. Scattered along and between the arms are scores of tiny specks in white and purple. Most of those specks are pairs of stars, but seven of them are a mystery.

To casual observers, the unusual objects are visually indistinguishable from the other specks of light in the galaxy. An annotated version of the composite image is included in this release, with red circles around the mysterious specks for easy identification.

These mystery specks behave like no other class of object discovered before. The curious objects give off X-rays of such low energy, they in fact produce large amounts of ultraviolet radiation, as UV radiation borders X-rays on the electromagnetic spectrum. Searching images of galaxies with low-energy X-rays in the Chandra Observatory archive, scientists have found a total of 84 such objects spread across M101 and five other galaxies. They have dubbed these mysterious objects “hypersoft X-ray sources.”

Share

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

Details Last Updated Sep 09, 2026 Editor Lee Mohon Contact Megan Watzke mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu Joel Wallace joel.w.wallace@nasa.gov Location Marshall Space Flight Center Related Terms

• Chandra X-Ray Observatory
• Astrophysics
• Galaxies
• Marshall Astrophysics
• Marshall Space Flight Center

Explore More 4 min read Galactic Gems Glisten in New Gallery From NASA’s Chandra

Article


2 weeks ago

4 min read NASA Telescopes Create Colorful ‘Craft’ From Nearby Nebula

Article


4 weeks ago

4 min read NASA Space Telescope Maps Magnetic Fields of ‘Lighthouse’ Pulsar

Article


2 months ago

Keep Exploring Discover More Topics From NASA

Chandra X-ray Observatory

Hubble Space Telescope

Since its 1990 launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has changed our fundamental understanding of the universe.

James Webb Space Telescope

Webb is the premier observatory of the next decade, serving thousands of astronomers worldwide. It studies every phase in the…

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope will settle essential questions in the areas of dark energy, exoplanets, and astrophysics.

NASA, ESA/Hubble, D. Gouliermis

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope captures a photogenic nebula, N44, in the Large Magellanic Cloud in this Sept. 3, 2026, image. N44 is dominated by two features: a vast central void and a shell of dense, dusty gas. The central void is a ‘superbubble’ spanning roughly 210 by 140 light-years across. The glittering stars at the center of the void are responsible for its creation; through their powerful stellar winds and explosive supernovae, these stars expelled much of the gas from which they were born.

Read more about this cosmic vista.

Image credit: NASA, ESA/Hubble, D. Gouliermis

A response to the 23 June research update on the Physics World website “Cosmic crisis averted as supernovae put dark energy back on track”.

Science, Volume 393, Issue 6815, Page 998-1001, September 2026.

Nature, Published online: 08 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02802-z

The scientist honoured by the newest telescope in space spearheaded a pioneering programme as NASA’s first chief astronomer.

Nature, Published online: 07 September 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-02808-7

A deep dive into Newton’s major work, Principia Mathematica, reveals his hate of hypotheses and a habit of courting controversy.

Venus is seen as it disappears behind the Moon at the start of the occultation on June 17, 2026, from the Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters building in WashingtonNASA/Joel Kowsky

On Wednesday, June 17, skywatchers across the United States—and parts of Canada—enjoyed a rare event: a daytime lunar occultation of Venus. A lunar occultation occurs when the Moon moves directly in front of another celestial object from our viewpoint on Earth, briefly hiding it from sight.

This time, the Moon slipped in front of Venus for the first of three occultations happening this year, creating a striking daylight moment for those who caught it. If you missed it, there will be two more opportunities to see Venus disappear behind the Moon in 2026: Sept. 14, visible from parts of Asia, Africa, Europe, and western Russia; and Nov. 7, visible from southern South America.

A thousand eyes on the Universe: new UK-led astronomy instrument takes first look into the heart of the Milky Way

Groundbreaking instrument captures its first observations of the heart of our Galaxy, launching a mission to map millions of stars and galaxies.

Sarah Collins Thu, 09/03/2026 - 14:30