Astronomy

The cluster appears here as a large collection of brilliant white lights, each a distinct galaxy. A neon purple cloud stretches across the cluster’s crowded core. Many of the hundred-plus galaxies in the cluster are in two clumps of galaxies towards the top and bottom of center. Some are encircled by a faint glowing haze, while a few foreground stars gleam with diffraction spikes. Some of the smaller galaxies are tinted blue, orange, or red, and some appear more oblong than round, suggesting spiral shapes viewed edge-on. The neon purple cloud sits at the heart of the image, surrounding the most densely-packed part of the cluster. This cloud, which spreads vertically across the cluster, is multimillion-degree gas observed by Chandra. The two clumps of observable galaxies, and the spread of superheated gas, reveal that the Champagne Cluster is in fact two clusters in the process of colliding.

AstronomyDecember 31, 2025

Cheers! Ring in the New Year with Glittering ‘Champagne Cluster’ Image

A galaxy cluster discovered on New Year’s Eve in 2020 shines in a new image from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory

Meghan Bartels

NASA’s Space Launch System rocket inside high bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building

Space ExplorationDecember 30, 2025

Here’s What to Get Excited about in Space in 2026

From crewed lunar voyages to flight tests of fully reusable rockets and launches of new orbital telescopes studying the outer limits of the cosmos, 2026 should be a banner year for space science and exploration

Lee Billings

New Issue: Science’s Impossible Questions. Read Now

An illustration of galaxies bursting from a glowing portal in warped spacetime.

The UniverseDecember 26, 2025

What’s the most distant galaxy? And why does it matter?

Record-breaking objects can tell us about the most powerful events in the cosmos—sometimes

Phil Plait

An image of space made by the Euclid telescope shows a bright barred spiral galaxy with two sweeping arms glowing in shades of blue and white against a deep black background dotted with stars. Its core is luminous. Its spiral arms curve gracefully outward to the left and down to the right, resembling a cosmic garland draped across the scene. A smaller, faint and round galaxy appears to the left of the barred spiral galaxy.

AstronomyDecember 24, 2025

Dark Matter Telescope Captures a Sparkling Galaxy Merger

The Euclid Space Telescope is decking the halls with boughs of starlight

Meghan Bartels

A comet with an elaborate tail dives toward the bottom center of the image, with astronomical observatories in the foreground.

AstronomyDecember 22, 2025

Behold the 10 Most Stunning Space Images of 2025

From an interstellar comet to breathtaking auroras and from brand-new rockets to iconic space telescopes, here are some of our favorite images from the cosmos in 2025

Meghan Bartels

A single meteor streaks across a starry sky behind the silhouette of a peak.

AstronomyDecember 20, 2025

Catch the Last Meteor Shower of 2025—Right in Time for the Winter Solstice

Sky watchers may be tempted out this weekend, when an underappreciated meteor shower will coincide with a new moon and the longest night of year for the Northern Hemisphere

Meghan Bartels

A horizontal oval outline; across the long central line is a chaotic mess of light aligning with the plane of our galaxy.

AstronomyDecember 19, 2025

Get Lost in This Dazzling New Map of the Cosmos

NASA’s newest space telescope has unveiled a stunning map of the cosmos in infrared

Meghan Bartels

Illustration of a person peeking into a dark room lined with cabinets from floor to ceiling. Stars and bursts of light appear and disappear.

AstronomyDecember 16, 2025

Mysterious Bright Flashes in the Night Sky Baffle Astronomers

Celestial transients shine furiously and briefly. Astronomers are just beginning to understand them

Ann Finkbeiner

A clock festooned with pictures of various planets of the solar system.

The UniverseDecember 12, 2025

Timekeeping on Mars Is a Tall Order. Here’s Why

Precisely calibrating clocks on Mars is harder than you’d think, because of some extremely esoteric physics

Phil Plait

Numerous meteors streak down from a starry sky over a shadowy plain; a lone tree and human figure are silhouetted in the foreground.

AstronomyDecember 9, 2025

This Weekend’s Geminids Meteor Shower Should Be Spectacular

As far as annual meteor showers are concerned, 2025 has saved the best for last. This year’s Geminids are not to be missed

Lee Billings

A teenage girl sitting outside with her arm around a dog who is facing the camera with its mouth open.

VaccinesDecember 8, 2025

Puppy Power, Vaccines under Fire, Satellite Warning

Vaccine controversies, space pollution and puppy power.

Kendra Pierre-Louis, Lauren J. Young, Fonda Mwangi, Alex Sugiura

An artist's depiction of a fancy bright star over a simple horizon.

AstronomyDecember 5, 2025

Have Astronomers Found the True ‘Star of Bethlehem’?

A scientist has identified a possible astronomical explanation for the Star of Bethlehem, as described in the Bible

Meghan Bartels

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