Study doubles the number of known repeating fast radio bursts

Statistics tools support the idea that all radio bursts may repeat if observed long enough.

MIT Kavli Institute for Astrophysics and Space Research • mit
May 25, 2023 ~4 min

In a first, astronomers spot a star swallowing a planet

Earth will meet a similar fate in 5 billion years.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
May 3, 2023 ~7 min


Astronomers detect the closest example yet of a black hole devouring a star

The event was spotted in infrared data — also a first — suggesting further searches in this band could turn up more such bursts.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
April 28, 2023 ~8 min

Mix-and-match kit could enable astronauts to build a menagerie of lunar exploration bots

Robotic parts could be assembled into nimble spider bots for exploring lava tubes or heavy-duty elephant bots for transporting solar panels.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
March 14, 2023 ~8 min

3Q: What we learned from the asteroid-smashing DART mission

Saverio Cambioni discusses new results revealing the redirected asteroid Dimorphos to be a dust-trailing rubble-pile.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
March 2, 2023 ~7 min

Study: Without more data, a black hole’s origins can be “spun” in any direction

Current measurements of black holes are not enough to nail down how the invisible giants form in the universe, researchers say.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Dec. 9, 2022 ~7 min

Mysteriously bright flash is a black hole jet pointing straight toward Earth, astronomers say

The observations could illuminate how supermassive black holes feed and grow.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Nov. 30, 2022 ~6 min

International team observes innermost structure of quasar jet

New observations show the deepest parts of the quasar's plasma jet in a project led by MIT Haystack Observatory.

Nancy Wolfe Kotary | MIT Haystack Observatory • mit
Nov. 22, 2022 ~8 min


Method for decoding asteroid interiors could help aim asteroid-deflecting missions

Astronomers have found a way to determine an asteroid’s interior structure based on how its spin changes during a close encounter with Earth.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Oct. 19, 2022 ~6 min

Astronomers find a “cataclysmic” pair of stars with the shortest orbit yet

The stars circle each other every 51 minutes, confirming a decades-old prediction.

Jennifer Chu | MIT News Office • mit
Oct. 5, 2022 ~7 min

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