Astronomy News

Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole is Spinning Very Rapidly, New Research Shows

Daly et al. found Sagittarius A* is spinning with 60% of the maximum possible rate of spin, a limit set by material not being able to travel faster than the speed of light. This image shows Sagittarius A* in X-ray light from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Wisconsin / Bai et al.
Feb 12, 2024 by News Staff

Sagittarius A*, the 4.3-million-solar-mass black hole that resides at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime surrounding it into a shape that can look like a football, according to an analysis of data gathered by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. Daly et al. found Sagittarius A* is spinning with 60% of the maximum possible rate of spin, a limit set by material...

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This Hubble image shows IRAS 16562-3959, a star-forming region some 5,900 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Fedriani / J. Tan.

Hubble Snaps Stunning Image of Nearby Star-Forming Region

Feb 12, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured this vivid image of IRAS 16562-3959, a beautiful star-forming region in the constellation...

The galaxy AM 1054-325 has been distorted into an S-shape from a normal pancake-like spiral shape by the gravitational pull of a neighboring galaxy, seen in this Hubble image; a consequence of this is that clusters of newborn stars form along a stretched-out tidal tail for thousands of light-years, resembling a string of pearls. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / Jayanne English, University of Manitoba.

Hubble Finds Clusters of Newborn Stars in Tidal Tails of Merging Galaxy Systems

Feb 8, 2024 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have observed seven interacting galaxy systems that have long, tadpole-like tidal tails of gas,...

This Hubble image shows ESO 185-IG013, a luminous blue compact galaxy some 260 million light-years away in the constellation of Telescopium. Image credit: NASA / ESA / R. Chandar, University of Toledo / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Spots Luminous Blue Compact Galaxy

Feb 8, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A dazzling new photo from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the luminous blue compact galaxy ESO 185-IG013, which is found in the constellation...

This Hubble image shows UGC 3912, a small spiral galaxy located 63 million light-years away in the constellation of Canis Minor. Image credit: NASA / ESA / C. Kilpatrick, Northwestern University / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Looks at Distorted Spiral Galaxy

Feb 7, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a remarkable new view of the spiral galaxy UGC 3912. This Hubble image shows UGC 3912,...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Which Came First: Supermassive Black Holes or Galaxies? New Insights from Webb

Feb 6, 2024 by News Staff

New insights from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope upend theories of how black holes shape the cosmos, challenging classical understanding that...

This Hubble image shows the NGC 5410-LEDA 49896 galaxy pair. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Bowen, Princeton University / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Collision of Two Small Galaxies

Feb 6, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a beautiful image of two small, interacting galaxies: NGC 5410 (larger galaxy) and LEDA 49896. This Hubble image shows the...

This image from the Gemini South telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, shows NGC 4753, a lenticular galaxy some 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. Miller, International Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Rodriguez, International Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Gemini South Telescope Focuses on Peculiar Lenticular Galaxy NGC 4753

Feb 6, 2024 by News Staff

NGC 4753’s prominent and complex network of dust lanes that twist around its galactic nucleus define its ‘peculiar’ classification and are the likely...

An artist’s impression of the super-Earth exoplanet TOI-715b. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Find Super-Earth Exoplanet in Habitable Zone of TOI-715

Feb 5, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have discovered and characterized a habitable zone planet orbiting the...

The lenticular galaxy NGC 274 is visible on the right side of this Hubble image, and the barred spiral galaxy NGC 275 is at left. Image credit: NASA / ESA / R. Foley, University of California - Santa Cruz / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Snaps Close-Up of Arp 140

Feb 5, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced an outstanding image of the interacting, spiral-lenticular galaxy pair Arp 140. The lenticular galaxy...

This Hubble image shows LEDA 6430, an irregular galaxy some 15 million light-years away in the constellation of Phoenix. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Messa.

Hubble Observes Irregular Galaxy LEDA 6430

Feb 5, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a stunning new image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the irregular galaxy LEDA 6430. This Hubble image shows LEDA...

This artist impression shows ultra-fast winds blasting out from the center of galaxy Markarian 817. These winds, moving at many millions of km per hour, clear out interstellar gas from a vast region of space. Without this gas, the galaxy can’t form new stars and the black hole in the galactic center has little left to eat. The inset shows what is happening at galaxy’s heart. A supermassive black hole draws in gas from its surroundings, which forms a hot, brightly lit accretion disk (orange). The cause of the winds (white) is magnetic fields within the disk, which fling particles out in all directions at incredibly high speeds. These winds effectively block out X-rays (blue) which are sent out by the extremely hot plasma surrounding the black hole, called the corona. Zak et al. caught Markarian 817 blasting out ultra-fast winds using ESA’s X-ray telescope XMM-Newton. Lasting for around a year, the winds will have significantly affected star formation in the galaxy. The fact that the black hole at the center of the galaxy was showing rather average activity levels before producing the winds suggests that ultra-fast black hole winds are much more common than previously thought. In other words, black holes and their host galaxies strongly affect each other’s evolution. Image credit: ESA / CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.

XMM-Newton Detects Ultra-Fast Black Hole Wind in Markarian 817

Feb 1, 2024 by News Staff

Markarian 817 is a Seyfert 1 galaxy located 430 million light-years away in the constellation of Draco. Also known as Mrk 817 or QSO J1436+5847, it hosts...

This Hubble image shows NGC 5427, a spiral galaxy located some 120 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. Image credit: NASA / ESA / R. Foley, University of California - Santa Cruz / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Zooms in on NGC 5427

Feb 1, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a striking photo of NGC 5427, which is part of the interacting galaxy pair Arp 271. This...

This Hubble image shows the face-on spiral galaxy ESO 420-13. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Evans, University of Virginia / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Gazes at Beautiful Spiral Galaxy

Jan 31, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released an absolutely beautiful photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the face-on spiral galaxy ESO 420-13. This Hubble...

This collection of 19 face-on spiral galaxies from Webb in near- and mid-infrared light is at once overwhelming and awe-inspiring. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / J. Lee, STScI / T. Williams, Oxford / PHANGS Team / E. Wheatley, STScI.

Webb Images 19 Nearby Spiral Galaxies

Jan 30, 2024 by News Staff

These new images from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope are part of the large, long-standing Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS...

Masterson et al. identified 18 new tidal disruption events -- extreme instances when a nearby star is tidally drawn into a black hole and ripped to shreds. Image credit: Masterson et al., doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad18bb.

Astronomers Discover 18 New Tidal Disruption Events

Jan 30, 2024 by News Staff

A tidal disruption event occurs when a star winds up so close to a supermassive black hole that the tidal forces exceed the star’s self-gravity and shred...

This Hubble image shows Arp 295a, a member of the galaxy group Arp 295. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Dalcanton, University of Washington / R. Windhorst, Arizona State University / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Spots 250,000-Light-Year-Long Bridge of Stars in Arp 295

Jan 30, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have taken a detailed image of part of a 250,000-light-year-long bridge of stars and gas that stretches...

This Hubble image shows UGC 11105, a spiral galaxy some 110 million light years in the constellation of Hercules. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R.J. Foley, UC Santa Cruz.

Hubble Looks at Little-Known Spiral Galaxy

Jan 29, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing photo of the spiral galaxy UGC 11105. This Hubble image shows UGC 11105,...

This Hubble image shows LEDA 60847, a group of interacting galaxies located in the constellation of Draco. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Barth, University of California – Irvine / M. Koss, Eureka Scientific Inc. / A. Robinson, Rochester Institute of Technology / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Captures Stunning Galaxy Collision: LEDA 60847

Jan 25, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced a spectacular image of a group of interacting galaxies known as LEDA 60847. This Hubble image shows LEDA...

The water detection in the transit spectrum of Gliese 9827d makes it the first water world candidate with an atmospheric water detection consistent with a water-rich envelope. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Leah Hustak, STScI / Ralf Crawford, STScI.

Hubble Detects Water Vapor in Atmosphere of Gliese 9827d

Jan 25, 2024 by News Staff

Using the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have detected water vapor in the transmission...

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