Astronomy News

3D Motions of Stars in Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy Hint at Underlying Dark Matter

This image, taken with the Wide Field Imager camera on the 2.2-m MPG/ESO telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows the Sculptor dwarf galaxy. Image credit: ESO.
Nov 28, 2017 by News Staff

Based on the combination of data taken 12 years apart by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and ESA’s Gaia mission, astronomers have pinned down for the first time 3D motions of individual stars in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy, shedding new light on the underlying distribution of invisible dark matter that pervades the galaxy. The results are published in the journal Nature Astronomy. This image, taken with the Wide Field Imager camera on the 2.2-m...

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This image from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array shows a central ring of matter and a crescent structure within the circumstellar disk around V1247 Orionis. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / S. Kraus, University of Exeter.

Astronomers Find Dust Trap in Circumstellar Disk around V1247 Orionis

Nov 28, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have identified a so-called dust trap — a region where dust particles can...

This Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster Abell 2537. The image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by Hubble’s ACS and WFC3 instruments. Five 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 Observes Galaxy Cluster Abell 2537

Nov 27, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a vivid image of a galaxy cluster called Abell 2537. This Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster Abell...

This MUSE image shows a huge cloud of gas around the distant quasar 4C 10.29. Image credit: Arrigoni Battaia et al / ESO.

Astronomers Spot Giant Nebula around Distant Quasar

Nov 24, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile have discovered an enormous cloud of gas around an extremely distant quasar called 4C 10.29. This...

Hypervelocity space dust is a unique entity in planetary systems like our Solar System, which is able to go past and enter the atmosphere of planets, collect samples of those planets and deposit samples of other planets. Image credit: Jonny Lindner.

Space Dust May Transport Biological Particles between Distant Planets, New Study Suggests

Nov 22, 2017 by News Staff

Streams of space dust that continually bombard Earth’s atmosphere could deliver microbial life and life essential molecules from distant planets, or...

Our Milky Way Galaxy is organized into spiral arms of giant stars that illuminate interstellar gas and dust. The Sun is in a finger called the Orion Spur. Overlaid is a graphic of galactic longitude in relation to our Sun. Image credit: NASA / Adler / University of Chicago / Wesleyan / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Find Very Old Stars in Solar Neighborhood

Nov 21, 2017 by News Staff

A research team led by Georgia State University astronomers has discovered some of the oldest stars in our solar neighborhood by determining their locations...

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

Interstellar Asteroid Oumuamua is Dark Red, Highly-Elongated Rocky or Metallic Object, Astronomers Say

Nov 21, 2017 by News Staff

In October 2017, astronomers were surprised by an asteroid that came racing into our Solar System from interstellar space. Now, they have determined that...

The ‘Cosmic Snake’ galaxy. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Cosmic Snake

Nov 20, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of the ‘Cosmic Snake’ galaxy, an extremely distant galaxy peppered with clumpy regions of intense...

This artist’s impression shows the super-Earth 55 Cancri e orbiting the Sun-like star 55 Cancri A. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Super-Earth 55 Cancri e Could Have Thick, Earth-Like Atmosphere

Nov 20, 2017 by News Staff

A hot, rocky exoplanet called 55 Cancri e likely has an atmosphere thicker than Earth’s, with ingredients that could be similar to those of Earth’s...

Composite image of the Abell 2744 region, with radio, X-Ray, and optical data combined. Image credit: Pearce et al / Bill Saxton / NRAO / AUI / NSF / Chandra / Subaru / ESO.

Astronomers Capture Stunning Galaxy-Cluster Collision

Nov 19, 2017 by News Staff

A multi-wavelength composite image from several orbiting and ground-based telescopes captures an ongoing cosmic collision between at least four galaxy...

HAWC map for the region around Geminga (about 815 light-years away in the constellation Gemini) and PSR B0656+14 (about 940 light-years away). Image credit: John Pretz.

Nearby Pulsars Shed Light on Origin of Excess Antimatter

Nov 17, 2017 by News Staff

Astrophysicists using the High-Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory in Mexico have detected the extended emission of high-energy gamma...

An artist’s impression of an accretion disk around a black hole. Image credit: XMM-Newton / ESA / NASA.

X-Rays from Accretion Disks around Rotating Black Holes Can Act as Carriers of Quantum Information

Nov 17, 2017 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal New Astronomy, theoretical physicist Ovidiu Racorean suggests that X-ray photons emitted by accretion disks around...

This illustration shows a stream of material from a star as it is being devoured by a supermassive black hole in a tidal disruption flare. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

New Type of Highly Energetic Cosmic Explosion Discovered

Nov 16, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers have spotted a new type of extremely energetic cosmic explosion they think originates from a very massive star or the environment of a supermassive...

This artist’s impression shows Ross 128b, with its red dwarf parent star in the background. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Ross 128b: Astronomers Find Exo-Earth Orbiting Nearby Red Dwarf

Nov 15, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A rocky exoplanet roughly the same size as Earth has been discovered orbiting a nearby low-mass star, thanks to new data gathered by ESO’s High Accuracy...

Artist’s impression of two starburst (star-forming) galaxies beginning to merge in the early Universe. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF.

ALMA Spots Pair of Extremely Rare Hyper-Luminous Starburst Galaxies

Nov 13, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered a pair of astoundingly bright and spectacularly massive galaxies...

This image of the dwarf galaxy NGC 4625 is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Two 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 Space Telescope Observes NGC 4625

Nov 13, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of a dwarf galaxy called NGC 4625. This image of the dwarf galaxy NGC 4625 is a composite of separate...

SN 2014J. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Y. Yang, Texas A&M University & Weizmann Institute of Science.

Hubble Captures Distant Supernova’s Light Echoes

Nov 10, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has observed an extremely rare cosmic phenomenon, called a ‘light echo,’ in Messier 82, a star-forming galaxy located...

When Comet 96P/Machholz appeared in SOHO’s view in 2012, astronomers discovered two tiny comet fragments some distance ahead of the main body, signaling the comet was actively changing. This time around they have detected a third fragment -- another breadcrumb in the trail that indicates 96P/Machholz is still evolving. Image credit: ESA / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / SOHO / Steele Hill.

ESA and NASA Solar Observatories Snap Sungrazing Comet

Nov 9, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and NASA’s Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) have captured amazing photos of...

Artist’s impression of a Type II supernova. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Bacon, STSci.

Supernova Discovery Challenges Theories of How Certain Stars End Their Lives

Nov 9, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers led by Las Cumbres Observatory has found a remarkable object in a nearby galaxy: a star that exploded multiple times...

Color composite image of HATLAS J090045.4+004125 (also known as G09 83808): the blue channel represents data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the red channel the data collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. Image credit: Zavala et al, doi: 10.1038/s41550-017-0297-8.

Astronomers Find One of Universe’s Earliest Galaxies

Nov 7, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers have spotted the second most distant dusty, starburst galaxy ever found in the Universe. The find is reported this week in the journal Nature...

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