A faint “satellite galaxy” 10 billion light years from Earth is the lowest-mass object ever detected at such a distance, says University of California, Davis, physics professor Chris Fassnacht, who aided in the satellite’s discovery. The finding, could help astronomers find similar objects and confirm or reject theories about the structure of the cosmos.

The NASA Dawn spacecraft’s close-up study of the giant asteroid Vesta is offering researchers their first look at the elemental composition of this ancient protoplanet. Vesta is the second most massive body in the main asteroid belt and has remained intact since its formation more than 4.5 billion years ago.

The Royal Observatory Greenwich, in association with Sky at Night Magazine, launches its 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition today – kicking off its annual global search for the most beautiful and spectacular visions of the cosmos, whether they are striking pictures of vast galaxies millions of light years away, or dramatic images of the night sky taken much closer to home.

ESO’s VISTA telescope, at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, has captured a striking new infrared image of the Helix Nebula. The picture reveals strands of cold nebular gas that are invisible in images taken in visible light, as well as bringing to light a rich background of stars and galaxies.

The UA's Catalina Sky Survey keeps a watchful eye on asteroids that might cross the Earth's path. A byproduct of that effort is the largest database compiling the brightnesses of 200 million objects in the universe, including supernovae and stars torn up by super-massive black holes.

Researchers have found a very distant dwarf galaxy, that is allmost entirely made up of dark-matter!