Astrophysics1377 articles archived since 1845

Beasts of the Stellar Zoo [Slide Show]

From yellow dwarfs to blue supergiants, stars continue to challenge astronomers' understanding of the universe

Beasts of the Stellar Zoo [Slide Show]

From yellow dwarfs to blue supergiants, stars continue to challenge astronomers' understanding of the universe

The End of the Space Shuttle Program

The space shuttle era draws to a close with the successful launch of shuttle Atlantis

The Periodic Table of the Cosmos: 100 Years of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram

A simple diagram, which celebrates its centennial this year, continues to serve as the most essential conceptual tool in stellar astrophysics

Isotopes Say New Origin Stories for Some Planets

Solar wind samples reveal that Earth, the moon and Mars have different isotopic ratios than the sun, indicating some additional additional wrinkles in the planetary origin scenario. Karen Hopkin reports...

Brilliant, but Distant: Most Far-Flung Known Quasar Offers Glimpse into Early Universe

A gargantuan black hole has been spotted voraciously devouring material just 770 million years after the big bang

Newfound Asteroid to Zip Past Earth Today

Planets with Stabilizing Moons May Be Common

Computer simulations show that about 10 percent of planets could have a massive moon that helps to stabilize the planetary tilt. John Matson reports

Cosmic Microwaves and Alloys Earn Kyoto Prizes

Galaxy Cluster Collision Left a Clumpy Aftermath

The galaxy cluster Abell 2744 contains so many unusual phenomena that astronomers have dubbed it "Pandora's Cluster," after the mythological box said to contain all the world's ills...

Leonard Susskind: The Bad Boy of Physics

Leonard Susskind rebelled as a teen and never stopped. Today he insists that reality may forever be beyond reach of our understanding

Voyager 1 May Have Reached the Heliopause

After 34 years in space, 17 billion miles from Earth, Voyager 1 has reached or is about to reach the heliopause. John Matson reports

Leap Seconds May Hit a Speed Bump

The Hole Picture: Growth of Black Holes and Galaxies Linked from an Early Age

By one billion years after the big bang, galaxies and their resident black holes were already growing in tandem

Caught in the Act: A Black Hole Scuttles a Star

A black hole 3.8 billion light-years from Earth is shown in this artist's representation tearing apart a star that drifted within its gravitational pull.

International Particle of Mystery

Dark matter escapes its dragnet once again—or does it?

Citizen Sky

Help scientists solve the mystery of epsilon Aurigae, a mysterious, bright, eclipsing binary variable star that has baffled scientists since 1821

Is Reality Digital or Analog? Read the Essays and Cast your Vote

Is Reality Digital or Analog? Read the Essays and Cast your Vote

Last week, the Foundation Questions Institute announced the winners of its third essay contest, which Scientific American co-sponsored. (I helped to decide on the question, judge the essays and hand out the awards at the World Science Festival in New York City.) The essay question was, "Is Reality Digital or Analog?" Is nature, at root, continuous or discretized?...

From the Editor: Honors and Activities