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This composite image shows the barred spiral galaxy Messier 61. The color image is made up of observations from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile in the near-infrared and optical parts of the spectrum. It is based on data obtained through six filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / ESO / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.

Hubble Captures Stunning New Image of Messier 61

Apr 5, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 61. This composite image...

This composite image shows a Chandra X-ray image of Uranus from 2002 (pink) superimposed on an optical image from the Keck-I Telescope obtained in 2004. Image credit: NASA / CXO / University College London / Dunn et al.

Chandra Detects X-Ray Emission from Uranus

Apr 1, 2021 by News Staff

Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, and its ring system appear to mainly produce X-ray emission by scattering solar X-rays, but some may also come...

An artist’s impression of what the surface of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov might look like. Image credit: ESO / M. Kormesser.

Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov is One of Most Pristine Comets Known

Mar 31, 2021 by News Staff

Two teams of astronomers have performed polarimetric observations of 2I/Borisov, the first active extrasolar comet ever detected in our Solar System, using...

An artist’s impression of an intermediate-mass black hole. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Astronomers Use Gravitational Lensing Effect to Detect Intermediate-Mass Black Hole

Mar 30, 2021 by News Staff

A gravitationally lensed gamma-ray burst, designated GRB 950830, helped astronomers detect a black hole about 55,000 times more massive than the Sun. An...

This image, taken by the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows the emission nebula Sharpless 2-305. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Focuses on Emission Nebula Sharpless 2-305

Mar 30, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have produced a spectacularly detailed image of a bubble of hot hydrogen gas called Sharpless 2-305...

An artist’s impression of the ultra-short-period sub-Neptune exoplanet TOI-1634b. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Ultra-Short-Period Sub-Neptune Found Orbiting TOI-1634

Mar 29, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the HARPS-N spectrograph at the 3.6-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, astronomers...

This Hubble image shows a small portion of the Veil Nebula, which is located 2,400 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Z. Levay.

Hubble Team Releases Reprocessed Image of Veil Nebula

Mar 29, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A small portion of the Veil Nebula, which is part of a supernova remnant called the Cygnus Loop, was featured in previous Hubble photos, but now new processing...

This image shows an artist’s impression of winds in Jupiter’s stratosphere near the planet’s south pole, with the blue lines representing wind speeds; these lines are superimposed on a real image of Jupiter, taken by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada / NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS.

ALMA Detects Strong Winds in Stratosphere of Jupiter

Mar 25, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed incredibly powerful winds — with speeds of up to 1,450 kmh...

This EHT image shows the polarized view of the black hole in Messier 87. The lines mark the orientation of polarization, which is related to the magnetic field around the shadow of the black hole. Image credit: EHT Collaboration.

EHT Captures Polarized-Light Image of Messier 87’s Supermassive Black Hole

Mar 24, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes (ALMA, APEX, the IRAM 30-m telescope,...

This image, taken with the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-m telescope, shows the spiral galaxy Messier 106. Two dwarf galaxies also appear in the image: NGC 4248 in the lower right and UGC 7356 in the lower left. Image credit: KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / M.T. Patterson, New Mexico State University / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage / M. Zamani & D. de Martin.

Astronomers Snap Most Detailed Image Yet of Messier 106

Mar 24, 2021 by News Staff

Obtained using the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, the new image of Messier 106 shows not only the galaxy’s spiral...

An artist’s impression of the warm giant exoplanet TOI-201b and its parent star. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Warm Gas Giant Found Circling Young Active Star TOI-201

Mar 22, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and several ground-based telescopes, astronomers have discovered and confirmed a...

PAH molecules overlaid on the Taurus Molecular Cloud, a large blue-white cloud made of gas and dust with large and small stars of varying luminosities interspersed throughout. Aromatic molecule structures shown in order from left to right: 1-cyanonaphthalene, 1-cyano-cyclopentadiene, HC11N, 2-cyanonaphthalene, vinylcyanoacetylene, 2-cyano-cyclopentadiene, benzonitrile, E-cyanovinylacetylene, HC4NC, propargylcyanide. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard & Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Astronomers Detect Two New Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Interstellar Medium

Mar 22, 2021 by News Staff

Using data from the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope, astronomers have identified emission from two isomers of a small polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon...

This Hubble image shows Arp 28, a bright barred spiral galaxy some 145 million light-years away in the constellation Pegasus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Riess et al.

Hubble Captures Spectacular Image of Barred Spiral Galaxy Arp 28

Mar 22, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shot this image of the face-on barred spiral galaxy Arp 28. This Hubble image shows Arp 28, a bright barred spiral...

Hubble images of Saturn taken in 2018, 2019, and 2020 as the planet’s northern hemisphere summer transitions to fall. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / A. Simon / R. Roth.

Hubble Sees Midsummer Atmospheric Changes in Northern Hemisphere of Saturn

Mar 19, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope observed Saturn, the second largest planet in our Solar System, in 2018, 2019, and 2020, just after...

An artist’s impression of ‘Oumuamua as a piece of nearly pure nitrogen ice. Image credit: William Hartmann / Arizona State University.

Oumuamua is Nitrogen-Ice Fragment of Pluto-Like Exoplanet, New Theory Says

Mar 18, 2021 by News Staff

1I/‘Oumuamua, a strange object of extrasolar origin discovered on October 19, 2017 by the Pan-STARRS 1 telescope, was small, about half as long as a...

This composite image, taken by the Very Large Array and Hubble, shows the galaxy cluster MACS J0717.5+3745. Pullout shows the distant galaxy J0717+3745, far beyond the cluster, and likely the faintest radio-emitting object ever detected. The prominent red-orange objects are radio relics -- large structures possibly caused by shock waves -- inside MACS J0717.5+3745. Image credit: Heywood et al. / Sophia Dagnello, NRAO / AUI / NSF / STScI.

Gravity of Giant Cluster Magnifies Light and Radio Waves from Distant Galaxy

Mar 17, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The newly-discovered galaxy, named VLAHFF-J071736+374506 (J0717+3745 for short), is likely the faintest radio-emitting object yet found, according to astronomers...

An artist’s impression of the hot rocky exoplanet TOI-540b and its parent star. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Hot Rocky Exoplanets May Have Water-Rich Atmospheres, Study Says

Mar 16, 2021 by News Staff

Data suggest that 80% of ‘hot’ rocky exoplanets — rocky planets with orbital period less than 100 days — formed as gas-rich sub-Neptunes...

Blázquez-Salcedo et al. constructed a specific example of a class of traversable wormholes in four space-time dimensions. Image credit: NASA / G. Bacon, STScI.

New Research Explores Possibility of Traveling through Microscopic Wormholes

Mar 16, 2021 by News Staff

The wormholes are theoretical portals through space-time that could create shortcuts for long journeys across our Universe. They have entered modern physics...

Computer model of the Antikythera Mechanism’s display: in the center, the dome of the Earth, the phase of the Moon and its position in the Zodiac -- then rings for Mercury, Venus, true Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Date, with ‘little sphere’ markers and smaller markers for oppositions. Scale marks and index letters for the synodic cycles of the planets are inscribed on the planet rings. Surrounding these, the Zodiac and the Egyptian Calendar. The true Sun ring has a ‘little golden sphere’ with ‘pointer.’ When the Moon and Sun pointers coincide, the Moon sphere shows black for New Moon; when the pointers are on opposite sides, the Moon sphere shows white for Full Moon. The Head of the Dragon Hand shows the ascending lunar node; the Tail the descending node. Small triangles on the true Sun ring, near the pointer, show wider and narrower eclipse limits. Eclipses are possible if the Dragon Hand is within these limits. When the Moon pointer is before the Head of the Dragon, the Moon is South of the node; after, it is North of the node -- conversely for the descending node. A Date pointer is attached to a narrow date ring, showing the date in the Egyptian Calendar. Image credit: Freeth et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-84310-w.

Scientists Step Closer to Understanding Full Capabilities of Antikythera Mechanism

Mar 15, 2021 by News Staff

A team of researchers from University College London and the Cyprus Institute’s Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center has...