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An artist impression of HD 142527 based on ALMA data. According to astronomers, HD 142527 consists of a main star a little more than twice the mass of our Sun and a smaller companion star only about a third the mass of our Sun; they are separated by approximately one billion miles. The rendition shows a distinctive arc of dust (red) embedded in the protoplanetary disk. The red arc is free of gas, suggesting the carbon monoxide has frozen out, forming a layer of frost on the dust grains in that region. Astronomers speculate this frost provides a boost to planet formation. The two dots in the center represent the two stars in the system. Image credit: B. Saxton / NRAO / AUI / NSF.

ALMA Images Shed More Light on Planet Formation around Binary Stars

Feb 17, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile, an astronomer from the United States has taken a detailed look...

This Hubble ACS image shows the irregular reflection nebula IRAS 00044+6521. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Beams Back Spectacular Image of Reflection Nebula

Feb 15, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a remarkable image of a reflection nebula known as IRAS 00044+6521. This Hubble ACS image shows the irregular...

This image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory shows the reflection nebula IC 2631. Image credit: ESO.

Astronomers Snap Stunning Nebula Photo

Feb 10, 2016 by News Staff

An infant star lights up the nebula IC 2631 in this remarkable new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, Chile. This...

An artist’s impression of the galaxies found in the ‘Zone of Avoidance.’ Image credit: ICRAR.

Hidden Galaxies Shed New Light on ‘Great Attractor’ Gravitational Anomaly

Feb 9, 2016 by News Staff

Almost 900 hidden nearby galaxies have been studied by an international team of astronomers, shedding new light on the Great Attractor — a diffuse...

This Hubble image shows the young planetary nebula Hen 2-437. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Sees Young Bipolar Planetary Nebula

Feb 8, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of the startlingly symmetrical nebula Hen 2-437. This Hubble image shows the young planetary...

This image shows part of the Rho Ophiuchi region; a much enlarged close-up infrared view of the young star J1628 from the Hubble Space Telescope is shown as an insert. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Digitized Sky Survey 2.

Astronomers Measure Temperature of Dust Grains in Young Star’s Protoplanetary Disc

Feb 3, 2016 by News Staff

A group of European astronomers led by Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Bordeaux scientist Stephane Guilloteau has measured the temperature of large...

This artist’s concept shows an active supermassive black hole with a jet streaming outward at nearly the speed of light. Such black holes are often found at the hearts of elliptical galaxies. Not all black holes have jets, but when they do, the jets can be pointed in any direction. If a jet happens to shine at Earth, the object is called a blazar. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Unidentified Gamma-Ray Sources: Important Piece of Puzzle Coming in Place

Feb 1, 2016 by News Staff

This artist’s concept shows an active supermassive black hole with a jet streaming outward at nearly the speed of light. Such black holes are often found...

NGC 1487, pictured in this Hubble WFPC2 image, is the result of a merger between two or more smaller galaxies. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

NGC 1487: Hubble Space Telescope Captures Beautiful Galactic Merger

Feb 1, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken an amazing picture of a peculiar galaxy, NGC 1487. NGC 1487, pictured in this Hubble WFPC2 image, is the...

This composite image shows the size and location of the Smith Cloud on the sky. The cloud is 15 degrees across in angular size - the width of an outstretched hand at arm’s length. The apparent size of the full Moon is added for comparison. The Smith Cloud appears in false-color, radio wavelengths. The visible-light image of the background star field shows the cloud’s location in the direction of the summer constellation Aquila. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Z. Levay, STScI / B. Saxton / F. Lockman / NRAO / AUI / NSF / A. Mellinger.

Astronomers Shed Light on Chemical Composition, Origin of Mysterious Smith Cloud

Jan 29, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found faint chemical traces of our Milky Way Galaxy lurking inside the Smith Cloud, a gigantic...

BM 34757, one of the Babylonian cuneiform tablets translated by Prof. Ossendrijver. Image credit: Mathieu Ossendrijver, Humboldt University / British Museum.

Babylonian Astronomers Used Geometry to Calculate Jupiter’s Position

Jan 29, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to Prof. Mathieu Ossendrijver of Humboldt University in Germany, Babylonian astronomers used geometry to calculate the position of Jupiter —...

This Hubble image shows the globular star cluster NGC 1783. It is one of the biggest globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way Galaxy. First observed by the British astronomer John Herschel in 1835, this star cluster is approximately 160,000 light-years from our Solar System, and has a mass around 170,000 times that of the Sun. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, geckzilla.com.

Study Reveals Why Globular Clusters Can Be Home to Different Generations of Stars

Jan 28, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published this week in the journal Nature, globular clusters make new stars by adopting stray cosmic gas and dust. This Hubble...

This VLT image shows the irregular dwarf galaxy IC 1613. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Survey Telescope Captures Incredible Image of Nearby Dwarf Galaxy

Jan 27, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope have assembled this colorful image of the small galaxy IC 1613. This VLT image shows the irregular dwarf...

An artist’s impression of the massive exoplanet J2126. Image credit: Neil Cook / University of Hertfordshire.

Astronomers Discover Planet with Largest Orbit Ever

Jan 26, 2016 by News Staff

The planetary-mass object J2126 – previously thought to be a free-floating planet – orbits its parent star in the most distant orbit seen yet,...

Visible in this image are galaxies within the galaxy cluster Abell 428: the jet-producing spiral galaxy LEDA 97372 (left) and the spiral galaxy [LOY2001] J031549.8-190623 (right). Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Sees Spirals in Galaxy Cluster Abell 428

Jan 25, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

Two bright objects in this Hubble Space Telescope image are massive spiral galaxies in the galaxy cluster known as Abell 428, in the constellation of Eridanus,...

This image from Hubble shows the Sombrero Galaxy (also known as Messier 104 or NGC 4594), an unbarred spiral galaxy located about 29 million light-years away. Image credit: NASA / Hubble Heritage Team.

Astrobiologists Say Extraterrestrials May All Be Extinct

Jan 22, 2016 by News Staff

According to Australian National University astrobiologists Charley Lineweaver and Aditya Chopra, life on other planets would likely be brief and become...

This composite image of the star cluster Trumpler 14 was made with data taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Jesús Maíz Apellániz, Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Spots Glittering Star Cluster Trumpler 14

Jan 22, 2016 by Natali Anderson

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has obtained a stunning image of a star cluster called Trumpler 14, one of the largest gatherings of hot, massive and bright...

This wide-field image shows the patch of sky around the distant quasar PKS 1939-315 (green cross). Image credit: Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg / SIMBAD.

Strangely Shaped Plasma Lenses May Lurk in Milky Way’s Interstellar Medium

Jan 21, 2016 by News Staff

According to a team of astronomers led by Dr. Keith Bannister of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science Division, invisible noodle- or hazelnut-shaped plasma...

Planet Nine: Astronomers Uncover Evidence for mini-Neptune in Outer Solar System

Jan 21, 2016 by News Staff

A team of astronomers at the California Institute of Technology has found strong evidence of a massive gaseous planet – informally named Planet Nine...

Artist’s impression of the clouds scattered by an intermediate mass black hole. Image credit: Tomoharu Oka / Keio University.

Japanese Astronomers Detect Signs of Milky Way’s Second-Largest Black Hole

Jan 19, 2016 by News Staff

A team of astronomers from Japan, led by Keio University scientist Prof. Tomoharu Oka, has detected signs of an intermediate-mass black hole in the central...