Astronomy News

Astronomers Find Supermassive Black Hole Pairs in Colliding Galaxies

Images of four colliding galaxies, along with close-up views of their coalescing nuclei in the bright cores, are shown beneath the Hubble snapshots of NGC 6240. The left image of each pair, showing the merging galaxies, was taken by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS). The right image, showing the bright cores, was taken in near-infrared light by the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii, using adaptive optics to sharpen the view. The nuclei in each of the Hubble and Keck Observatory infrared photos are only about 3,000 light-years apart -- a near-embrace in cosmic terms. If there are pairs of black holes, they will likely merge within the next 10 million years to form a more massive black hole. These observations are part of the largest-ever survey of the cores of nearby galaxies using high-resolution images in near-infrared light taken by the Hubble and Keck observatories. Image credit: NASA / ESA / M. Koss, Eureka Scientific, Inc / W. M. Keck Observatory / Pan-STARRS.
Nov 9, 2018 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by Michael Koss of Eureka Scientific Inc. has observed several pairs of galaxies in the final stages of merging together into single, larger galaxies. Peering through thick walls of gas and dust surrounding the merging galaxies’ cores, the team captured pairs of supermassive black holes — each of which once occupied the center of one of the two original smaller galaxies — drawing closer together before they...

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James Clark and Dr. Kerri Cahoy propose that laser technology on Earth could emit a beacon strong enough to attract attention of alien astronomers from as far as 20,000 light-years away. Image credit: A. Fitzsimmons, ESO / Sci-News.com.

Megawatt-Class Lasers from Earth Could Attract Alien Astronomers, Says New Study

Nov 9, 2018 by News Staff

A new study, published in the Astrophysical Journal, suggests that if a 1- to 2-megawatt (MW) laser were focused through a 30- to 45-m telescope and aimed...

An artist’s illustration of what the near-Earth asteroid Phaethon might look like up close. Image credit: Heather Roper.

Astronomers Puzzle Over Rare Blue Asteroid That Sometimes Behaves Like Comet

Nov 7, 2018 by News Staff

A large near-Earth asteroid called (3200) Phaethon is known to be blue in color and sometimes act like a comet. Using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility...

Composite image of the galaxy cluster Abell 2597 showing the fountain-like flow of gas powered by the supermassive black hole in the central galaxy. The yellow is ALMA data of the cold gas. The red is data from ESO’s Very Large Telescope showing the hot hydrogen gas in the same region. The extend purple is the extended hot, ionized gas as imaged by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Tremblay et al / AUI / NSF / B. Saxton / NASA / Chandra / VLT.

Giant ‘Fountain’ of Cold Molecular Gas Offers Clues to How Galaxies Evolve

Nov 6, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) have observed a supermassive black hole acting like a ‘monumental fountain’...

This image shows the binary star system 2MASS J18082002-5104378. Image credit: Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg / SIMBAD / DSS2.

One of Milky Way’s Oldest Stars Discovered

Nov 6, 2018 by News Staff

2MASS J18082002-5104378 B, an ultra metal-poor star located some 1,950 light-years away from Earth, is approximately 13.53 billion years old, making it...

This Hubble image shows the blue compact dwarf galaxy ESO 338-4. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Spots Beautiful Dwarf Galaxy

Nov 5, 2018 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has delivered an unrivalled snapshot of a small galaxy called ESO 338-4. This Hubble image shows the blue compact dwarf...

This Hubble image shows the Serpens Nebula, a stellar nursery about 1,300 light-years away. Within the nebula, in the upper right of the image, a shadow is created by the protoplanetary disk surrounding HBC 672. While the disk of debris is too tiny to be seen even by Hubble, its shadow is projected upon the cloud in which it was born. In this view, the feature, the Bat Shadow, spans approximately 200 times the diameter of our own Solar System. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI.

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Cosmic ‘Bat Shadow’

Nov 1, 2018 by News Staff

Like a fly that wanders into a flashlight’s beam, a protoplanetary disk surrounding the young star HBC 672 is casting a giant shadow, nicknamed the ‘Bat...

This visualization uses data from simulations of orbital motions of gas swirling around at about 30% of the speed of light on a circular orbit around the supermassive black hole. Image credit: ESO / GRAVITY Collaboration / L. Calçada.

Astronomers Observe Interstellar Material Orbiting Close to Milky Way’s Central Black Hole

Oct 31, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the GRAVITY instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) have detected flares of infrared radiation coming from the...

Artist’s conception of NASA’s Kepler space telescope. Image credit: NASA / Ames / Dan Rutter.

NASA Ends Kepler Space Telescope’s Science Operations

Oct 31, 2018 by News Staff

NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope, which spent nine years in deep space collecting data that detected thousands of exoplanets, has run out of fuel needed...

A radio image of hydrogen gas in the Small Magellanic Cloud as observed by CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope. Image credit: Naomi McClure-Griffiths et al / CSIRO’s ASKAP Telescope.

Small Magellanic Cloud is Losing Its Star-Forming Material, Astronomers Find

Oct 31, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using CSIRO’s Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) telescope has discovered that a nearby dwarf galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud has...

This image from Spitzer’s IRAC and MIPS instruments shows the Cat’s Paw Nebula. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Spitzer Observes Cat’s Paw Nebula

Oct 30, 2018 by News Staff

New images from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope show the star-forming region NGC 6334, also known as the Cat’s Paw Nebula or Bear Claw Nebula. This...

This Hubble image shows the strong-lensing galaxy cluster SDSS J0915+3826. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Gravitational Lens Takes Hubble Deeper into Universe

Oct 29, 2018 by News Staff

SDSS J0915+3826, a giant group of galaxies located approximately 4 billion light-years away, is so massive that its gravity bends light like a lens, making...

An artist’s impression of the Kordylewski dust cloud in the night sky. Image credit: Gábor Horváth.

Astronomers Confirm Existence of Kordylewski Dust Clouds

Oct 29, 2018 by News Staff

A research team from Hungary has confirmed the existence of two enigmatic celestial objects called Kordylewski dust clouds (KDCs) — large concentrations...

IC 63 is classified as both a reflection nebula (as it is reflecting the light of a nearby star) and as an emission nebula (as it releases hydrogen-alpha radiation); both effects are caused by the gigantic star Gamma Cassiopeiae; the radiation of this star is also slowly causing the nebula to dissipate. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

‘Ghost Nebula’ Glows in Amazing New Hubble Photo

Oct 26, 2018 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a new photo of a stunning and slightly eerie nebula called IC 63. IC 63 is classified as both a reflection...

This vivid picture of NGC 2467 was captured with the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Image credit: ESO.

ESO’s Very Large Telescope Observes NGC 2467

Oct 25, 2018 by News Staff

The Very Large Telescope (VLT), a telescope facility operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern...

An illustration of a compact, multi-planet system. Image credit: Michael S. Helfenbein / Yale University.

Compact Multi-Planet Systems are More Common around Metal-Poor Stars, Astronomers Says

Oct 25, 2018 by News Staff

A team of U.S. astronomers has discovered that small planetary systems with multiple planets are more likely to form around stars that have lower amounts...

In this composite image of Kes 75, high-energy X-rays observed by Chandra are colored blue and highlight the pulsar wind nebula surrounding the pulsar, while lower-energy X-rays appear purple and show the debris from the explosion. Image credit: X-rays – NASA / CXC / NCSU / S. Reynolds; optical – PanSTARRS.

Milky Way’s Youngest Pulsar Confirmed

Oct 23, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have confirmed that a supernova remnant called Kes 75 contains the youngest known pulsar in our Milky...

This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 5033. The image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). It is based on data obtained through two filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Snaps Beautiful Image of NGC 5033

Oct 22, 2018 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a vivid image of the unbarred spiral galaxy NGC 5033. This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 5033....

An artist’s impression of a habitable exoplanet orbiting a red dwarf. Image credit: Sci-News.com / NASA.

Ultraviolet Superflares May Threaten Exoplanet Habitability near Young Red Dwarfs

Oct 19, 2018 by News Staff

Stellar superflares from young red dwarfs may make conditions uninhabitable on fledgling planets, according to the new results of the Habitable Zones and...

The Hyperion proto-supercluster is the largest and most massive structure yet found at such a remote time and distance -- about 2.3 billion years after the Big Bang. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada & Olga Cucciati et al.

Astronomers Find Proto-Supercluster of Galaxies in Early Universe

Oct 18, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have spotted a gigantic galaxy proto-supercluster in the early Universe, just 2.3 billion years after the...

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