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The gas giant K2-132b expands as its host star evolves into a red giant. The energy from the host star is transferred from the planet’s surface to its deep interior, causing turbulence and deep mixing in the planetary atmosphere. The planet orbits its star every 9 days and is located about 2,000 light years away from us in the constellation Virgo. Upper left: schematic of the K2-132 system on the main sequence. Lower left: schematic of the K2-132 system now. The host star has become redder and larger, irradiating the planet more and thus causing it to expand. Image credit: Karen Teramura, University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy.

Astronomers Find Twin Hot-Jupiters: K2-132b and K2-97b

Dec 20, 2017 by News Staff

A research team led by University of Hawaii astronomers has found two remarkably similar gas giants orbiting very close to their parent red-giant stars. The...

This artist’s conception shows a hypothetical rocky exoplanet in the Alpha Centauri system. Image credit: Michael S. Helfenbein.

Astronomers Search for Rocky Exoplanets in Alpha Centauri System

Dec 20, 2017 by News Staff

There may be small, rocky planets in the nearby Alpha Centauri triple-star system that have been overlooked, according to a new study published in the...

This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar asteroid ‘Oumuamua. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Breakthrough Listen: No Artificial Signals Found Emanating from Interstellar Asteroid Oumuamua

Dec 19, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers from the Breakthrough Listen initiative are reporting preliminary results and making initial data available from its observations of 1I/2017...

This artist’s impression shows ‘Oumuamua. Image credit: Joy Pollard / Gemini Observatory / AURA / NSF.

Interstellar Asteroid Oumuamua Has Grayish-Red Organic-Rich Surface Layer, Astronomers Say

Dec 19, 2017 by News Staff

In October 2017, astronomers made a surprising discovery with the Pan-STARRS1 telescope in Hawai’i — 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua, the first asteroid...

The Orion Nebula in the new map of the southern sky. Image credit: Australian National University.

New Map of Southern Sky is Most Detailed Ever Produced

Dec 18, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the Australian National University has created the most comprehensive map of the southern sky ever. The Orion Nebula in the new...

Eight Exoplanets Orbit Sun-Like Star Kepler-90

Dec 15, 2017 by News Staff

A team of researchers reports the discovery of an eighth planet orbiting Kepler-90, a Sun-like star approximately 2,545 light-years from Earth in the constellation...

This Hubble image shows NGC 5256, a pair of galaxies in its final stage of merging. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

New Hubble Image Captures Collision of Two Disk Galaxies: NGC 5256

Dec 14, 2017 by News Staff

NASA has released a beautiful photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of NGC 5256, a striking example of two disk galaxies that are about to...

This OmegaCAM image shows the stellar nursery Sharpless 29. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

ESO’s OmegaCAM Observes Stellar Nursery Sharpless 29

Dec 14, 2017 by News Staff

The OmegaCAM, a wide-field imager installed on ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope at Cerro Paranal in Chile has captured a glittering view of the stellar nursery...

The stars in the globular star cluster Messier 79 look a lot like a blizzard in a snow globe in this Hubble image. Image credit: NASA / ESA / S. Djorgovski, Caltech / F. Ferraro, University of Bologna.

Hubble Team Releases Incredible Image of Globular Cluster Messier 79

Dec 13, 2017 by News Staff

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the globular star cluster Messier 79. The stars in the globular star cluster Messier 79 look a lot like...

This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar asteroid -- 1I/2017 U1 (’Oumuamua). Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Breakthrough Listen Initiative to Observe First Interstellar Asteroid

Dec 12, 2017 by News Staff

The Breakthrough Listen initiative — the largest ever scientific research program aimed at finding evidence of alien civilizations — announced...

This Hubble image shows Abell 2163, one of the richest and most distant galaxy clusters known. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Observes Galaxy Cluster Abell 2163

Dec 11, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking image of a rich cluster of galaxies called Abell 2163. This Hubble image shows Abell 2163,...

New Research Shows Black Holes Have Significantly Weaker Magnetic Fields than Originally Thought

Dec 8, 2017 by News Staff

A sudden flare from a low-mass black hole in the binary system V404 Cygni has offered astrophysicists a unique opportunity to make precise measurements...

Artist’s impression of a pair of galaxies from the early Universe. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF / D. Berry.

ALMA Finds Two Extremely Massive Star-Forming Galaxies in Very Early Universe

Dec 7, 2017 by News Staff

New observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) push back the epoch of massive-galaxy formation even further by identifying...

Artist’s conception of the most-distant supermassive black hole ever discovered, which is part of ULAS J134208.10+092838.61, a quasar from just 690 million years after the Big Bang. It is surrounded by neutral hydrogen, indicating that it is from the period called the Epoch of Reionization, when the Universe’s first light sources turned on. Image credit: Robin Dienel / Carnegie Institution for Science.

Astronomers Discover Most Distant Known Supermassive Black Hole

Dec 7, 2017 by News Staff

An international group of astronomers has discovered and measured the distance to the most distant supermassive black hole ever found. Artist’s conception...

The hot-Jupiter WASP-18b. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Astronomers Detect Carbon Monoxide-Rich Upper Atmosphere around Hot-Jupiter WASP-18b

Dec 6, 2017 by News Staff

WASP-18b, a hot-Jupiter exoplanet located approximately 325 light-years from Earth, has a stratosphere that’s loaded with carbon monoxide, but has no...

This artist’s concept shows two super-Earth exoplanets, K2-18b and c, orbiting the red dwarf star K2-18. Image credit: Alex Boersma.

Nearby Red Dwarf Hosts Two Super-Earth-Sized Exoplanets — One in Its ‘Habitable Zone’

Dec 6, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has found that a little-known exoplanet called K2-18b could be a scaled-up version of Earth, and also discovered the...

X-ray source LGGS J004527.30+413254.3. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Washington / T. Dorn-Wallenstein et al / ESA / J. Dalcanton et al / R. Gendler.

Double Supermassive Black Hole ‘Photobombs’ Andromeda Galaxy

Dec 5, 2017 by News Staff

Using X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and optical data from ground-based telescopes, astronomers have spotted what could be the most...

This image, taken with the Wide-Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the spiral galaxy LEDA 53183. Three 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.

Hubble Sees Explosive Spiral Galaxy: LEDA 53183

Dec 4, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has delivered an unrivalled snapshot of a spiral galaxy called LEDA 53183. This image, taken with the Wide-Field Camera...

This color image shows the Hubble Ultra Deep Field region, as observed with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Image credit: ESO / MUSE HUDF Collaboration.

ESO’s MUSE Instrument Explores Hubble Ultra Deep Field

Dec 1, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have observed the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF),...