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New study reveals common pattern of black hole activity shaping nearby galaxies

Cambridge, MA (September 14, 2026) —A new study of nine nearby galaxies has shown that actively growing supermassive black holes may contribute to star formation, instead preventing star formation, in ...
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Founding Gift Establishes Smithsonian STARS Program in Delaware in Honor of Rev. Barbara Louise Hebner

A founding gift from longtime Smithsonian supporter Laura Peebles and the Barbara Hebner Charitable Fund at Vanguard Charitable will launch the Smithsonian Scientists Taking Astronomy to Rural Schools ...
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First atmosphere detected on a habitable-zone rocky world

In a major milestone in the search for life on other planets, astronomers have detected, for the first time, an atmosphere surrounding an Earth-like, rocky planet orbiting within the habitable zone of ...
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Astronomers Directly Detect How Turbulence Between Stars Distorts Light

Using a distant quasar as a beacon, researchers identified the tiny, turbulence-driven ripples imprinted on the quasar’s radio signal as it passed through a particularly chaotic region of the Milky ...
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'Space Archaeology' Reveals First Dynamic History of a Giant Spiral Galaxy

For the first time, astronomers used galactic archaeology techniques to trace the chemical "fossil record" of a galaxy outside the Milky Way Cambridge, MA (March 23, 2026) — A team of astronomers led ...
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NASA's Hubble Reveals Largest Found Chaotic Birthplace of Planets

Nearly 300 years after Immanuel Kant proposed that our solar system’s family of planets condensed from a flattened disk of gas and dust, NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope revealed that such planetary ...
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Astronomers Find Black Hole With Tremendous Growth Using NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory

CfA astronomers have found one of the fastest growing black holes on record, which could explain how some can get so big so quickly Cambridge (September 19, 2025)—A black hole is growing at one of the ...
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New EHT Images Reveal Unexpected Polarization Flips at M87*

The new multi-year Event Horizon Telescope observations capture evolving polarization patterns in a neighboring galaxy's supermassive black hole. Cambridge, MA— The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) ...
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Conroy Named 2025 Finalist for National Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

The awards honor outstanding contributions by researchers in the United States in the Life Sciences, Chemical Sciences, and Physical Sciences and Engineering. Charlie Conroy, professor of astronomy at ...
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Origin of Mysterious Radio Signal Possibly Discovered

CfA astronomers have led the discovery of what may be the source of a powerful burst of radio waves coming from another galaxy Cambridge, MA - Astronomers have discovered what may be the source of a ...
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AI Helps Astronomers Discover a New Type of Supernova

Astronomers have discovered what may be a massive star exploding while trying to swallow a black hole, offering an explanation for one of the strangest supernovae ever seen. Cambridge, MA - ...
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Giant Magellan Telescope Advances to National Science Foundation Final Design Phase

The advancement is one of the final steps before the telescope becomes eligible for federal construction funding, a critical milestone recognizing the Giant Magellan’s scientific merit, construction ...