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This illustration traces the universe’s evolution from the Big Bang to the present day, highlighting REBELS-25, a very distant galaxy seen during the Epoch of Reionization 13 billion years ago. New deep observations with the NSF VLA and ALMA reveal that REBELS-25 already had an enormous reservoir of cool molecular gas—the direct fuel for star formation—when the universe was just 700 million years old.

Cosmic Dawn Fuel Discovery Unlocks Early Galaxy Growth Secrets

June 11, 2026 at 9:00 am | News Release

Astronomers have discovered a huge reservoir of cold molecular gas, the direct fuel for star formation, in REBELS-25, a…

This composite image shows evidence for a wind blowing away from Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the supermassive black hole in the center of our galaxy. The white dot in the center of the image shows Sgr A*. In orange is data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescopes in Chile, mapping the location of cold gas composed of carbon monoxide in the image. In blue is X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. A large cone-shaped cavity, visible as an absence of cold gas in the ALMA data, is filled by hot X-ray-emitting gas in the Chandra data. Researchers think a hot, energetic wind blowing from Sgr A* created this structure by sweeping the cold gas away or heating it up.

Milky Way’s Black Hole Finally Caught “Breathing”

June 4, 2026 at 12:00 pm | News Release

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which the U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory…

This image shows the first prototype ngVLA antenna, which recently tested its systems by observing and tracking the Crab Nebula, also known as Taurus A (3C144), the remnant of an exploded star. This composite image features astrophotography by Alin Sosnovic along with more detailed radio data of the Crab Nebula collected by the NSF VLA.

NSF NRAO Leads Future of U.S. Radio Astronomy with First Light from Next Generation Very Large Array Prototype

May 18, 2026 at 12:00 pm | News Release

The U.S. National Science Foundation National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NSF NRAO) Next Generation Very Large Array (ngVLA) prototype antenna…

Staff from the U.S. National Science Foundation and U.S. Naval Observatory visited the ngVLA prototype and received a 3D model of the antenna.

Staff from U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Naval Observatory Take Behind the Scenes Tour of NSF NRAO’s Very Large Array, Next Generation Very Large Array Prototype Antenna

May 15, 2026 at 8:00 am | News Release

Staff from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Naval Observatory (USNO) went behind the scenes at…

Radio light from quasar TXS 2005+403 travels roughly 10 billion light-years to reach Earth, traversing the Cygnus region, one of the most turbulent and scattering environments in the Milky Way Galaxy. On the left, this artist's conception shows the quasar as it truly appears, with a bright accretion disk and jets blasting into the galaxy like a beacon through the darkness. On the right, we see how turbulent gas distorts scientists' view of the quasar in much the same way heat haze from a fire warps our view of the objects behind it. In a new study led by astronomers from the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA), scientists have for the first time directly detected how interstellar turbulence distorts light from a distant quasar, revealing the structure of that turbulence.

VLBA Maps Turbulent “Weather” in the Milky Way

May 14, 2026 at 1:18 pm | News Release

By analyzing nearly a decade of NSF VLBA observations of the quasar TXS 2005+403, an international team led by the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) directly measured the tiny, turbulence-driven “ripples” imprinted on the quasar’s radio signal as it passes through a particularly chaotic region of the Milky Way.

2025 sandblasting, painting/recoating of the upper feedarm of the Green Bank Telescope by contractor Modjeski and Masters. Permission is granted by M&M for photo use by NRAO.

Painting the Giant: NSF Green Bank Telescope Gets Critical Makeover

May 11, 2026 at 10:12 am | News Release

The U.S. National Science Foundation Green Bank Telescope (NSF GBT), the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope, will reach…

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