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This artist’s conception shows exocomets in a young planetary system. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Ukrainian Astronomers Spot Five New Exocomets around Beta Pictoris

Apr 18, 2022 by Sergio Prostak

Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), a team of astronomers from Ukraine has detected the transits of five comets around...

This Hubble image shows the VV 689 system. The color image is composed of infrared, optical and ultraviolet observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Victor M. Blanco 4-m Telescope, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Nine filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / W. Keel / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Witnesses Stunning Galaxy Collision: VV 689

Apr 18, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

A beautiful new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures an ongoing collision between two massive galaxies. This Hubble image shows the...

Red giant stars. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Chris Smith, KBRwyle.

Two New Classes of Low-Mass Red Giants Discovered

Apr 15, 2022 by News Staff

Mass loss in red giant stars is one of the major uncertainties in the astrophysics. Red giant stars. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center...

MAGIC Telescopes Detect Gamma Rays from Recurrent Nova

Apr 14, 2022 by News Staff

Astronomers using the MAGIC (Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov) telescopes have detected gamma rays from the 2021 outburst of RS Ophiuchi, a recurrent...

An artist’s impression of a supermassive black hole that is inside the dust-shrouded core of a starburst galaxy. Image credit: NASA / ESA / N. Bartmann.

Hubble Finds Rapidly Growing Black Hole in Early Universe

Apr 13, 2022 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have spotted GNz7q, a black hole that existed only 750 million years after the Big Bang, in one of...

This image, taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 on January 8, 2022, shows comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein). Image credit: NASA / ESA / Man-To Hui, Macau University of Science and Technology / David Jewitt, UCLA / Alyssa Pagan, STScI.

Hubble Detects Giant Nucleus of Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein

Apr 12, 2022 by News Staff

The estimated diameter of the nucleus of comet C/2014 UN271 (Bernardinelli-Bernstein) is approximately 137 km (85 miles) across, making it the largest...

Neptune is Cooler than Astronomers Thought

Apr 11, 2022 by News Staff

Using data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT), NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, the Subaru Telescope, the Keck Telescope, the Gemini South and North...

This Hubble image shows Messier 91, a barred spiral galaxy some 56 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.

Hubble Snaps Stunning Image of Messier 91

Apr 11, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a stunning image snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the barred spiral galaxy Messier 91. This Hubble image shows Messier...

The three-color optical image of the host galaxy of the LADUMA J033046.20-275518.1 hydroxyl megamaser, taken from the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) on the 8.2-m Subaru Telescope. Image credit: Glowacki et al., arXiv: 2204.02523.

MeerKAT Discovers Farthest Hydroxyl Megamaser to Date

Apr 8, 2022 by News Staff

LADUMA J033046.20-275518.1 is the most distant megamaser of its kind ever detected. The three-color optical image of the host galaxy of the LADUMA J033046.20-275518.1...

Astronomers Spot Most Distant Galaxy Ever Seen

Apr 8, 2022 by News Staff

The newly-discovered galaxy, named HD1, existed when the Universe was just 330 million years old. HD1 (red object). Image credit: Harikane et al., arXiv:...

An artist’s impression of the ultrahot Jupiter KELT-20b. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Leah Hustak, STScI.

Ultrahot Jupiters WASP-178b and KELT-20b Have Extreme Weather

Apr 6, 2022 by News Staff

It’s raining vaporized rock on WASP-178b, and KELT-20b has its upper atmosphere getting hotter rather than cooler because it is being sunburned by intense...

Wylie et al. investigated the metallicity, age, and orbital anatomy of the inner Milky Way, specifically focusing on the outer bar region. This image shows a metallicity map of the inner Milky Way, based on orbital data calculated by Wylie et al. The red star marks the position of the Sun, while the white dashed lines mark different sight lines. The red contours show specific density levels to highlight important features: a bar in the middle with a ring-like structure around it. Image credit: Max-Planck-Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik.

Milky Way’s Inner Ring is Nearly 6 Billion Years Old, Astronomers Say

Apr 5, 2022 by News Staff

Our Milky Way Galaxy hosts an inner ring-like structure that is rich in metals (elements heavier than hydrogen and helium) and intermediately aged, according...

AB Aurigae b. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Thayne Currie, Subaru Telescope & Eureka Scientific Inc. / Alyssa Pagan, STScI.

Astronomers Directly Image Giant Protoplanet around AB Aurigae

Apr 5, 2022 by News Staff

Using the Subaru Telescope and the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have found evidence for a Jupiter-like protoplanet around the young star...

This image shows NGC 5921, a barred spiral galaxy some 78 million light-years away in the constellation of Serpens. This picture was created from images taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). One optical and two infrared filter were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Walsh / R. Colombari.

Hubble Space Telescope Zooms In on NGC 5921

Apr 4, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a detailed image of a spectacular part of the spiral galaxy called NGC 5921. This image shows NGC 5921, a...

SDO captured this image of an X-class solar flare -- as seen in the bright flash in the top right portion of the image -- on March 30, 2022. The image shows a subset of extreme UV light that highlights the extremely hot material in flares and which is colorized in yellow (AIA 171). Image credit: NASA / SDO.

SDO Observes Two Powerful Solar Flares

Apr 1, 2022 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) captured images of M- and X-class solar flares on March 30 and 31, 2022, respectively. SDO captured this image...

Hubble Uncovers Most Distant Star Ever Seen

Mar 31, 2022 by News Staff

Designated WHL0137-LS and nicknamed Earendel, the newly-detected star emitted its light around 900 million years after the Big Bang. Earendel (arrow) is...

This image, taken with the 2.5-m Nordic Optical Telescope, shows the long-period comet C/2014 B1 (Scwartz). The orbit of this comet lies exterior to Saturn’s, yet it exhibited cometary activity during its most recent passage through the Solar System’s giant planet region. Image credit: David Jewitt.

Fading of Long-Period Comets Begins beyond Saturn, Study Says

Mar 30, 2022 by News Staff

The discovery probability of long-period comets passing near the Sun is highest during their first passage and then declines, or fades, during subsequent...

The position of J0624-6948 (small object at the center of the purple ring indicated by *) is indicated with respect to the Milky Way’s Galactic plane, the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Small Magellanic Cloud. Image credit: Axel Mellinger, Central Michigan University.

ASKAP Finds Rogue Supernova Remnant near Large Magellanic Cloud

Mar 30, 2022 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) have spotted a mysterious circular ring between the Milky Way’s plane and...

An artist’s impression of an Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting an M-dwarf star. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Methane in Exoplanetary Atmosphere Could Be Sign of Extrarerrestrial Life

Mar 30, 2022 by News Staff

The case for methane as a biosignature stems from its instability in the planet’s atmosphere. Because photochemical reactions destroy atmospheric methane,...