The Brightest Quasar Ever Seen Eats a ‘Sun’ Every Day
The quasar, as bright as 500 trillion suns, has evaded astronomers for over 40 years because of its incredible luminosity
Universe
Space Lasers Will Seek a New Kind of Gravitational Waves
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) will open a new era in astronomy that brings scientists to the brink of studying gravitational waves from the beginning of time
JWST’s Puzzling Early Galaxies Don’t Break Cosmology—But They Do Bend Astrophysics
Rather than ripping up our fundamental models of the universe, the unexpectedly big and bright galaxies spied in the early universe by JWST probably have astrophysical explanations
Planets Orbiting Dead Stars Foretell the Solar System’s Far-Future Fate
Images of possible planets around white dwarf stars suggest that some gas-giant worlds survive the deaths of their stellar host
First Space-Based Gravitational Wave Detector Gets Go-Ahead
The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna could discover gigantic ripples in spacetime from merging supermassive black holes and more
Unprecedented Supernova Survey Underscores Dark Energy Mystery
The Dark Energy Survey has released a long-awaited analysis based on more than 1,500 supernovae. It suggests our laws of gravity just might be correct after all—or perhaps not
Giant Ultrafaint Galaxy Could Offer Dark Matter Clues
A ghostly giant galaxy called Nube may become a testbed for esoteric theories of dark matter
Bizarre Dark Object Could Be First-Known ‘Empty’ Galaxy from the Early Universe
A serendipitously discovered object nearly as massive as the Milky Way appears to be made of primordial gas that has formed almost no stars
Behold—the Best Space Images of 2023
This year’s most interesting space images include infrared views of galactic “bones,” an asteroid’s double moon, Jupiter’s giant polar vortex, and more
Sometimes We Can Have Nice Things: Our 10 Favorite Feel-Good Stories of 2023
Here’s the best, most inspiring and coolest science we encountered this year
Road Map for U.S. Particle Physics Wins Broad Approval
A major report plotting the future of U.S. particle physics calls for cuts to the beleaguered DUNE project, advocates a “muon shot” for a next-generation collider and recommends a new survey of the universe’s oldest observable light
Astronomers Spy First Star-Forming Disk beyond the Milky Way
No one has ever seen a newborn star feeding on its natal disk anywhere outside our galaxy—that is, until now