Astronomy News

Webb Detects Carbon Dioxide and Hydrogen Peroxide on Charon’s Surface

Protopapa et al. detected carbon dioxide and hydrogen peroxide spectral signatures on Charon using Webb telescope observations (white), which extend the wavelength coverage of previous New Horizons flyby measurements (pink). Image credit: S. Protopapa / SwRI / NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / JHUAPL.
Oct 1, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using data from the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) onboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have detected carbon dioxide (CO2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on the frozen surface of Pluto’s moon Charon. Their findings provide new insights into the chemical processes and surface composition of Charon, which could help us understand the origin and evolution of icy bodies in the outer Solar System. Protopapa et al. detected...

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Cradled within the fiery petals of the Rosette Nebula is NGC 2244, the young star cluster which it nurtured. Image credit: CTIO / NOIRLab / DOE / NSF / AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / D. de Martin & M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.

NOIRLab Celebrates 5th Anniversary with Stunning Image of Rosette Nebula

Oct 1, 2024 by News Staff

The new image of the Rosette Nebula was taken by the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), mounted on NSF’s Víctor M. Blanco 4-m telescope at Cerro Tololo Inter-American...

An artist’s impression of Barnard b. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser.

Astronomers Detect Sub-Earth-Mass Exoplanet around Barnard’s Star

Oct 1, 2024 by News Staff

An exoplanet at least half the mass of Venus orbits Barnard’s star, the closest single star to the Sun, once every 3.15 days. An artist’s impression...

This map shows the distribution of matter in the local Universe; it shows how matter flows, i.e. along which trajectories (thin lines) the galaxies move. Image credit: Valade et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02370-0.

New Map Reveals Impressive Megastructures in Local Universe

Sep 30, 2024 by News Staff

The newly-developed map of the local Universe is based on the motions of 56,000 galaxies, according to a team of astrophysicists from the Leibniz Institute...

This Hubble image shows NGC 4694, a lenticular galaxy some 54 million light-years in the constellation of Virgo. The color image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in the ultraviolet, 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 / D. Thilker.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Stunning Shot of NGC 4694

Sep 30, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced an outstanding new image of the lenticular galaxy NGC 4694. This Hubble image shows...

An artist’s impression of an Earth-like planet in an orbit around a white dwarf. Image credit: Adam Makarenko.

Earth-Mass Exoplanet Found Orbiting Distant White Dwarf

Sep 26, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Keck II 10-m telescope have discovered evidence for an Earth-mass planet and a brown dwarf orbiting a white dwarf star. The planet...

Detailed information on the chemical makeup of GS-NDG-9422, captured by Webb’s NIRSpec (Near-Infrared Spectrograph) instrument, indicates that the light we see in this image is coming from the galaxy’s hot gas, rather than its stars. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / A. Cameron, University of Oxford.

Webb Discovers Early Galaxy with Odd Light Signature

Sep 25, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have spotted a galaxy with a never-before-seen light signature — indicating that its...

An artist’s illustration of the exoplanet WASP-107b. Image credit: Rachel Amaro, University of Arizona.

Webb Finds Evidence for East-West Asymmetry on Super-Puff Exoplanet WASP-107b

Sep 24, 2024 by News Staff

There is a significant difference between the two edges of the atmosphere of WASP-107b, a super-Neptune exoplanet about the size of Jupiter but only a...

(3122) Florence will pass safely by Earth on September 1, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles. Image credit: University of Colorado.

Earth Will Have Mini-Moon for Two Months: 2024 PT5

Sep 23, 2024 by Natali Anderson

The recently-discovered near-Earth asteroid called 2024 PT5 will become Earth’s mini-moon from September 29 until November 25, 2024. 2024 PT5...

This Hubble image shows IC 1954, a small barred spiral galaxy located 45 million light-years away in the constellation of Horologium. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Thilker / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.

Hubble Spots Small Spiral Galaxy with Glowing Bar in Its Core

Sep 23, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a stunning new image snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the barred spiral galaxy IC 1954. This Hubble image...

Siraj & Loeb explore the possibility that accretion flares resulting from the tidal disruption of small Oort Cloud bodies by a putative primordial black hole could power an observable optical signal that could be searched for with the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time. Image credit: Sci-News.com / Zdeněk Bardon / ESO.

Primordial Black Holes Could Be Detected Thanks to Their Influence on Solar System Planets

Sep 18, 2024 by News Staff

Primordial black holes are one of the strongest candidates for the Universe’s dark matter. In this scenario, their abundance would be large enough for...

GS-10578 represents a unique opportunity to study how the most massive galaxies in the Universe became -- and stayed -- quiescent. Image credit: Francesco D’Eugenio.

Supermassive Black Holes Can Starve Their Host Galaxies of Star-Forming Gas, Research Confirms

Sep 17, 2024 by News Staff

Astrononomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have detected that GS-10578, a massive, quiescent galaxy at redshift of 3.064 (look-back...

This Hubble image shows NGC 1559, a barred spiral galaxy some 32 million light-years away in the constellation of Reticulum. Image credit: Hubble / ESA / NASA / F. Belfiore / W. Yuan / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team / A. Riess / K. Takáts / D. de Martin & M. Zamani, ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Observes Hidden Depths of NGC 1559

Sep 16, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning new image of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1559. This Hubble image shows...

These images of R Doradus were taken with ALMA on July 18, July 27 and August 2, 2023. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Vlemmings et al.

Huge Bubbles Spotted on Surface of Giant Star R Doradus

Sep 13, 2024 by News Staff

These giant, hot bubbles of gas on the surface of R Doradus are approximately 75 times the size of our Sun, according to a paper published in the journal...

The Inouye Solar Telescope presents its first map of the solar coronal magnetic field signals as measured using the Zeeman Effect. Image credit: NSF / NSO / AURA / NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory.

Inouye Solar Telescope Creates Its First Detailed Maps of Sun’s Coronal Magnetic Fields

Sep 11, 2024 by News Staff

This milestone promises to enhance our understanding of the Sun’s atmosphere and how its changing conditions lead to impacts on our technology-dependent...

Snapshot of the ancient stellar flyby. The turquoise particles indicate the TNOs injected into the planet region by the flyby. The perturber star passed through the disk at a perihelion distance of 110 AU on the right-hand side of the picture. Image credit: Pfalzner et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02349-x.

Close Passage of Sun-Like Star Shaped Outer Solar System Billions of Years Ago, Research Suggests

Sep 10, 2024 by Natali Anderson

At least 140 million Sun-like stars in our Milky Way Galaxy are likely to have experienced a similar stellar flyby, according to new research by a team...

This VST image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 3312. Image credit: ESO / INAF / M. Spavone / E. Iodice.

VST Sees Jellyfish Galaxy in Hydra Cluster

Sep 10, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST) in Chile have captured a stunning image of the distorted spiral galaxy NGC 3312. This VST image shows...

In this image of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5668, Hubble was used to examine the surroundings of the Type II supernova event labeled SN 2004G, seeking to study the kinds of stars that end their lives as this kind of supernova. The color image is composed of near-infrared and optical observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). 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 / C. Kilpatrick.

Hubble Focuses on Star-Forming Spiral Galaxy

Sep 9, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided astronomers a detailed new image of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 5668. In this image of the barred spiral...

The galaxy cluster MACS-J0417.5-1154 is so massive it is warping the fabric of space-time and distorting the appearance of galaxies behind it, an effect known as gravitational lensing. This natural phenomenon magnifies distant galaxies and can also make them appear in an image multiple times, as Webb saw here. Two distant, interacting galaxies -- a face-on spiral and a dusty red galaxy seen from the side -- appear multiple times, tracing a familiar shape across the sky. Active star formation, and the face-on galaxy’s remarkably intact spiral shape, indicate that these galaxies’ interaction is just beginning. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / V. Estrada-Carpenter, Saint Mary’s University.

Webb Spots Distorted Galaxy Forming Cosmic Question Mark

Sep 5, 2024 by News Staff

It’s 7 billion years ago, and the Universe’s heyday of star formation is beginning to slow. What might our Milky Way Galaxy have looked like at that...

This Hubble image shows NGC 346, an open star cluster some 210,000 light-years in the constellation of Tucana. Image credit: NASA / ESA / C. Murray, Space Telescope Science Institute / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Ultraviolet Image of NGC 346

Sep 3, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a striking new photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the open cluster NGC 346, which resides in one of our...

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