Most Massive Black Hole

Astronomers have discovered an ultraluminous quasar (SDSS J0100+2802) powered by the most supermassive black hole yet known with 12 billion solar masses, presenting a theoretical puzzle as to how such large objects quickly formed a mere 900 million years after the Big Bang.

Small Asteroids May Be Clusters

Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, researchers have found small asteroids that are up to 65% empty space and that many smaller bodies may be clusters of rubble or a dust cloud with a solid nucleus instead of solid rocky bodies.

"Zebra Stripes" in Van Allen Belt

NASA's Van Allen probes have detected a persistent pattern in the inner radiation belt surrounding Earth similar to "zebra stripes," a distortion caused by the rotation of the planet that was previously thought incapable of affecting the high-energy electrons of the belts with velocities near the speed of light.

First Direct Evidence of Big Bang

Researchers studying the polarization of the cosmic microwave background have mapped the unique B-mode pattern that is consistent with that predicted for the primordial gravitational waves generated by the cosmic inflation in the fraction of a second following the Big Bang, providing the first physical evidence of gravitational waves as well as the theory of cosmic origins.

Shape-Shifting Neutrinos Seen

Japan's Super-Kamiokande detector has found its first evidence that neutrinos interact with matter through detection of predicted levels of high-energy solar neutrino oscillations as they pass through the bulk of the Earth.

Space River of Hydrogen Found

Astronomers have discovered a very faint, tenuous filament of hydrogen gas known as a cold flow winding through intergalactic space and into nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946, supporting new theories of star formation using extragalactic sources of matter.

Dying Dwarf Galaxy Found

Astronomers have spotted what is believed to be a dwarf elliptical galaxy (IC 3418) 54 million light years away in the process of "dying" as its inherent reservoir of gas is forced out as fireball features through a process of ram pressure stripping, essentially draining its "lifeblood" of gaseous raw material into space.

Dual-Emission Pulsar Identified

Astronomers have identified a pulsar (PSR B0943+10) that on roughly a half-hour timescale flips almost instantly between two extreme emission modes, one of strong x-rays and one of strong radio waves, through a mechanism that cannot be explained by current physics.

New Region of Space Discovered

NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft has encountered a previously unknown region of space at the edge of the heliosphere described as a "magnetic highway," an area where the Sun's magnetic field lines are connected to interstellar magnetic field lines allowing for greater traffic of lower-charged particles in both directions.

Dark Matter Near the Sun

Astronomers working from a new mathematical simulation of the Milky Way galaxy and applying real data on the positions and velocities of thousands of orange K dwarf stars have obtained a new, more accurate measure of dark matter density, revealing an abundance of the theoretical material surrounding the Sun.

Middleweight Black Hole Found

Astronomers have discovered the first representative (HLX-1) of a new class of middleweight black holes, a type between the smaller varieties and supermassive black holes equivalent to about 90,000 solar masses.

Measurement of Yarkovsky Effect

Scientists working with NASA's OSIRIS-REx space probe to measure asteroid 1999 RQ36 have done so with such accuracy as to measure a force known as the Yarkovsky effect, the tiny push generated by the body absorbing sunlight and emitting that energy as heat.

Lack of Neutrinos from GRBs

The failure of the South Pole's IceCube telescope to detect any neutrinos knocked down the leading theory on  their connection to gamma ray bursts (GRB), removing a leading explanation for the origin of ultra high energy cosmic rays.

Data Supports Einstein's Idea

New data obtained from the South Pole Telescope provides further support of Einstein's cosmological constant, the leading model to explain the existence of "dark energy" and the accelerating expansion of the universe.

Multiple Types of Dark Matter

Hubble Space Telescope observations of the galactic cluster Abell 520, a composite region of several galaxies in collision about 2.4 billion light years distant, reveal a structure that does not correspond to current "dark matter" theory and may indicate the existence of several different species of dark matter.

Hot Flow Anomalies on Venus

Astronomers have found evidence of hot flow anomalies (HFA) occurring around Venus, a type of space weather discontinuity common on Earth that deflects the solar wind as it moves past a planet's bow shock, a surprising phenomena given Venus' lack of a magnetic field.

Different Outside Solar System

Data from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer probe has revealed the space outside our own solar system to be very different than the space within the heliosphere, with more free oxygen atoms found inside our solar system than in the immediate interstellar space.

Voyager Hits Stagnation Region

NASA's Voyager 1 probe has entered a "stagnation region" at the edge of our solar system, a calm region at the border of the heliosphere where the charged solar wind has stopped and the magnetic field has increased in intensity in response to the interstellar medium.

Outsider's View of Galaxy

The twin Voyager space probes are now far enough away from our own solar system to detect the Lyman-alpha wavelength of light from the Milky Way's center for the first time, a trace indicator of star formation unable to be detected from Earth.

GALEX Discovers Extreme Stars

NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) ultraviolet space telescope has discovered so-called "extreme" stars being born, or stars originating outside of galaxies and in places where the gas density was too poor and stars were believed incapable of forming.