Astronomers | smithsonianmag.comhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/rss/tag/astronomers/RSS feed for AstronomersenWed, 26 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000A New Telescope Still Under Construction Accidentally Reveals How a Dying Star Returns Matter to Spacehttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-telescope-still-under-construction-accidentally-reveals-how-a-dying-star-returns-matter-to-space-180989349/Researchers captured an unprecedented image of the stellar recycling process while calibrating a Chile-based instrument called MOTHRA, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2026Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/a-new-telescope-still-under-construction-accidentally-reveals-how-a-dying-star-returns-matter-to-space-180989349/Once the Solar System's Ninth Planet, Pluto Was Reclassified 20 Years Ago. Here's Why Planetary Scientists and the Public Alike Love the Small, Icy Bodyhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/once-the-solar-systems-ninth-planet-pluto-was-reclassified-20-years-ago-heres-why-planetary-scientists-and-the-public-alike-love-the-small-icy-body-180989383/Pluto is now the most well known of the outer worlds beyond Neptune—and the darling of the solar systemMon, 24 Aug 2026 17:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/once-the-solar-systems-ninth-planet-pluto-was-reclassified-20-years-ago-heres-why-planetary-scientists-and-the-public-alike-love-the-small-icy-body-180989383/Stunning New Images Reveal Whirlpools on the Sun's Surface. The Swirling Structures Might Help Power Solar Flareshttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stunning-new-images-reveal-whirlpools-on-the-suns-surface-the-swirling-strutures-might-help-power-solar-flares-180989292/Observed directly in the solar photosphere for the first time, the vortices might braid magnetic fields, thought to be responsible for energy buildups and eventual outbursts. The features also offer clues about why the sun’s outer atmosphere is millions of degrees hotter than its surfaceWed, 12 Aug 2026 18:19:56 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/stunning-new-images-reveal-whirlpools-on-the-suns-surface-the-swirling-strutures-might-help-power-solar-flares-180989292/New Images Provide the Best Evidence Yet That Supergiant Star Betelgeuse Does, Indeed, Have a Long-Theorized Stellar Companionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-images-provide-the-best-evidence-yet-that-supergiant-star-betelgeuse-does-inded-have-a-long-theorized-stellar-companion-180989225/The research team is mostly convinced by the data, but they want to capture additional observations in 2027 to confirm what they've foundMon, 03 Aug 2026 20:07:35 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-images-provide-the-best-evidence-yet-that-supergiant-star-betelgeuse-does-inded-have-a-long-theorized-stellar-companion-180989225/Is This Giant Celestial Body a Moon, a Planet or Something in Between? The Strange Object Calls Astronomical Labels Into Questionhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-this-giant-celestial-body-a-moon-a-planet-or-something-in-between-the-strange-object-calls-astrononomical-labels-into-question-180989183/The newly found object, estimated to be roughly as massive as Jupiter, orbits a brown dwarf—a "failed star"—which in turn circles a small star. For now, researchers are calling the puzzling body an "exosatellite"Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:14:09 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/is-this-giant-celestial-body-a-moon-a-planet-or-something-in-between-the-strange-object-calls-astrononomical-labels-into-question-180989183/In a First, Astronomers Find Sugar in the Space Between Stars, Providing New Clues About the Origins of Life on Earthhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-find-sugar-in-the-space-between-stars-providing-new-clues-about-the-origins-of-life-on-earth-180989122/Sugars are crucial components of RNA and DNA, the basis of all known organisms alive today. In a new study, the sugar erythrulose was detected in a gas- and dust-filled cloud near the center of our Milky Way galaxyWed, 15 Jul 2026 14:00:00 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-a-first-astronomers-find-sugar-in-the-space-between-stars-providing-new-clues-about-the-origins-of-life-on-earth-180989122/Meet Sak Tahn Waax, a Maya Math Whiz Who Lived More Than 1,000 Years Ago and Left Behind a ‘Really Elegant, Complex’ Formulahttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-sak-tahn-waax-a-maya-math-whiz-who-lived-more-than-1000-years-ago-and-left-behind-a-really-elegant-complex-formula-180989125/For the first time, archaeologists identified one of the culture’s famed Classic era mathematicians and astronomersWed, 15 Jul 2026 13:03:15 +0000https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-sak-tahn-waax-a-maya-math-whiz-who-lived-more-than-1000-years-ago-and-left-behind-a-really-elegant-complex-formula-180989125/