In the Cosmos

Astronomers have found what seems to be a planet wandering on its own through space without a parent star. The image above shows an artist's impression of it.

Spiral galaxy Messier 106 is unusual. It has four spiral arms instead of the usual two. The normal pair are the ones with the string of blue towards their ends – hot young stars in an early stage of life.

Cosmic beacon flashes out from infant stars From across the light-years a cosmic beacon beams out from an infant star system. The fan-like pattern to the right of the image (about one-third of the way across and two-thirds of the way down) pulses with light on a 25.34 day cycle – as regularly as … the rising of the