Blue straggler stars are the weird grandparents of the galaxy: They should be old, but they act young. Finding and studying these strange stars helps us understand the complicated life cycles of normal, more well-behaved stars.

All stars follow a particular path in life, known as the main sequence. The moment they begin fusing hydrogen in their cores, they maintain a strict relationship between their brightness and temperature. Different stars will have different combinations of brightness and temperature, but they all obey the same relationship. For example, smaller stars, like red dwarfs, will be relatively dim but also cool, with their surfaces turning a characteristic shade of red. Medium stars, like the sun, will be both hotter and brighter, turning white. The largest stars will be both incredibly bright and extremely hot, making them appear blue.

Gaseous planets close to their star could see their hydrogen atmospheres evaporate, leaving behind helium that could be detected by the James Webb Space Telescope.

A ring looping around the icy dwarf planet Quaoar is located much farther from its parent body than scientists thought was possible.

The light from the distant Sparkler galaxy was spotted in the James Webb Telescope’s First Deep Field and could teach us how our own Milky Way devoured other galaxies to grow.

The European Space Agency’s Mars Express spacecraft captured a stunning new view of the Red Planet’s complex surface geology.

The new image, taken using the orbiter’s High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC), focuses on the flanks of a vast volcanic plateau called Thaumasia Planum. Deep surface fractures and water-carved valleys stream down the side of this volcanic region, offering clues about Mars’ ancient past.

Some of the hottest spots in the Sun’s atmosphere appear in the telescope’s X-ray view.