Constellations and asterisms are patterns of stars. Some asterisms consist of stars from different constellations, and some are part of one constellation.
Black holes are regions of space with gravitational fields so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Their sizes vary from stellar to supermassive.
A quasar is an extremely bright, distant object visible to radio telescopes. The source is an active galactic nucleus fueled by a supermassive black hole.
A supernova is a star's colossal explosion at the end of its life, potentially outshining its entire galaxy. Read about the causes and types of supernovae here.
In the view of modern cosmologists, the Big Bang is the event that marked the birth of our universe. What was it - when was it - and what are modern theories?
Fast Radio Bursts are very mysterious bursts of radio waves - perhaps just a thousandth of a second long - coming from all over the sky. This new discovery of one in our own galaxy is a stunner!
Andy Briggs has spent the past 30 years communicating astronomy, astrophysics and information technology to people. He is the creator and manager of the YouTube channel Space Oddities (youtube.com/@spaceodditieslive) where an international panel bring you the latest astronomy & space exploration news and discussion. Andy has been active in many astronomy societies in the UK and is a frequent contributor to Astronomy Ireland magazine. Andy also lectures regularly on astrophysics-related themes such as gravitational waves and black holes. He lives in Catalonia, Spain, with his daughter.