Archived articles

Astrophysics

Concept art of exoplanet HD 189733b, a blue gas giant with yellow hue bands, up close with its parent star, a K-type that emits warm orange light.
Exoplanets
Nearby exoplanet reeks of rotten eggs
Published July 8, 2024
Johns Hopkins astronomers sniffed out the stinky atmosphere with Webb Telescope
Artist’s conception of the view towards the young star Beta Pictoris from the outer edge of its disk.
Astrophysics
Webb telescope reveals asteroid collision in neighboring star system
Published June 10, 2024
The observations spotlight the volatile processes that shape star systems like our own, offering a unique glimpse into the primordial stages of planetary formation
An artist’s concept of WASP-107 b shows turbulent atmospheric mixing within the planet’s gas envelope, with a hot core emitting light and heat through a brownish interior outwards and a top layer with many shades of blue curling clouds.
Exoplanets
First glimpse of an exoplanet interior
Published May 20, 2024
Methane found in WASP-107 b reveals core mass, turbulent skies, and other key insights in the search for habitable worlds beyond our solar system
A nighttime photo of the CLASS telescopes with a starry sky and milky way galaxy in the background
Astrophysics
A clearer picture of our galaxy and beyond
Published Feb 27, 2024
Results demonstrate novel strategy to probe the physics and history of the universe
An illustration of how a supermassive blackhole would make stars in the first 50 million years of the universe. The foreground shows stars in the making, gas clouds getting crushed by the black hole’s powerful magnetism. The background shows fully formed stars. A spiral of dust and gas revolving like a storm around the black hole also is shown. Also, the black hole shoots out plasma and energy upwards from the center of this storm.
Astrophysics
Which came first: black holes or galaxies?
Published Feb 6, 2024
Black holes not only existed at the dawn of time, they birthed new stars and supercharged galaxy formation, a new analysis of James Webb Space Telescope data suggests
Artist's impression of the Euclid spacecraft, a white cylinder atop a gold platform
Space exploration
Euclid space telescope data will shed light on evolution of dark universe
Published July 11, 2023
Three Hopkins scientists—Chuck Bennett, Brice Ménard, and Graeme Addison—are part of the science team that will analyze mission data
Image showing the gravitational lensing effects caused by no object in an observer’s line of sight, a black hole, and the topological soliton
Astrophysics
Could copycat black hole be a new type of star?
Published April 20, 2023
Though the mysterious object is a hypothetical mathematical construction, new simulations by Hopkins researchers suggest there could be other celestial bodies in space hiding from even the best telescopes on Earth
A map of the universe
Astronomy
This new interactive map lets you scroll through the universe
Published Nov 17, 2022
New map of the universe displays for the first time the span of the entire known cosmos with pinpoint accuracy, sweeping beauty
A Hubble image of the quasar and the same area viewed with the James Webb Space Telescope. The Webb image shows multiple galaxies coalescing, with each color representing a different velocity: Red is moving away from us. Blue is moving toward us.
Astronomy
Webb reveals unprecedented glimpse of merging galaxies
Published Oct 20, 2022
The findings by Johns Hopkins University and an international team offer an unprecedented opportunity to observe how billions of years ago galaxies coalesced into the modern universe
Charles Bennett
Faculty honors
Astrophysicist Chuck Bennett earns prestigious Rumford Prize
Published Jan 13, 2022
Bennett led the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe, which 'transformed our view of the universe'; he will be recognized in a ceremony next month