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In this image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) the red hypergiant star VY Canis Majoris is hidden behind an obscuring disc; the crosses are artifacts due to features in VLT’s SPHERE instrument. Image credit: ESO.

Hypergiant Star Caught in Act of Slimming Down

Nov 25, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

New observations from the Very Large Telescope at ESO’s Paranal Observatory in Chile show how enormous size of dust particles surrounding the hypergiant...

This illustration shows Earth surrounded by dark matter hairs. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Earth Might Be Surrounded by Dark Matter ‘Hairs’

Nov 24, 2015 by Enrico de Lazaro

Our planet, Jupiter and other compact bodies are surrounded by ultra-dense filaments of dark matter called ‘hairs,’ suggests Dr Gary Prézeau of NASA’s...

This Hubble image shows the elliptical galaxy LEDA 3087775. In this galaxy, some ribbons of dust notably obscure parts of the conglomerated galaxy’s central, bluish region; those dust lanes could be remnants of the spiral arms of the recently departed galaxies. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Zooms in on Distant Elliptical Galaxy

Nov 23, 2015 by Natali Anderson

This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is likely the best of an extremely distant galaxy known as LEDA 3087775. This Hubble image shows the...

LkCa 15b: Astronomers Capture Image of Exoplanet Forming around Young Star

Nov 19, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

A team of astronomers has captured a photo of an extrasolar planet in the making. Left: composite image of the young planetary system LkCa 15. Right: zoomed...

The VISTA telescope has discovered a horde of previously hidden giant galaxies that existed when the Universe was in its infancy. By discovering and studying more of these galaxies than ever before, astronomers have for the first time found out exactly when such galaxies first appeared. A few of the newly discovered early galaxies are shown in this image. Image credit: ESO / UltraVISTA Team / TERAPIX / CNRS / INSU / CASU.

VISTA Telescope Discovers Massive Galaxies in Early Universe

Nov 18, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Using the VISTA Survey Telescope at ESO’s La Silla Paranal Observatory, astronomers have discovered almost 600 new massive galaxies in the distant Universe. The...

This artistic rendering depicts an Earth-like exoplanet orbiting an evolved star that has formed a stunning planetary nebula; earlier in its life, this planet may have been like one of the eight newly discovered worlds orbiting in the habitable zones of their stars. Image credit: David A. Aguilar / CfA.

Kepler-438b: Red Dwarf May Have Stripped Away Atmosphere of Earth-Like Exoplanet

Nov 18, 2015 by Sergio Prostak

The atmosphere of Kepler-438b is thought to have been stripped away as a result of radiation emitted from the planet’s violent parent star, says a team...

Messier 87 is the dominant galaxy at the center of the neighboring Virgo cluster of galaxies. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team.

Astronomers Detect Stellar Pulsations in Messier 87

Nov 16, 2015 by Natali Anderson

A team of astronomers has measured the ‘heartbeats’ of stars within Messier 87, a giant elliptical galaxy located some 53 million light-years from...

Our Solar System is located at the center of the circle on this artist’s impression of the Milky Way Galaxy. The insert shows one view from the 3D visualization tool developed by the astronomers. Image credit: ESA / H. Bouy, CSIC-INTA / J. Alves, University of Vienna.

ESA’s Hipparcos Satellite Sheds New Light on Solar Neighborhood

Nov 16, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from ESA’s Hipparcos space astrometry mission have produced a 3D visualization of all of O and B type stars within 1,630 light...

This dramatic image shows the Hubble’s view of a dynamically young lenticular galaxy known as NGC 3610, which lies 72 million light-years away. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

NGC 3610: Hubble Team Releases Beautiful Image of Lenticular Galaxy

Nov 16, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a remarkable new view of a galaxy known as NGC 3610. This dramatic image shows the...

HD 189733b is shown here in front of its host star, HD 189733; a belt of wind around the equator of the planet travels at 5,400 mph from the heated day side to the night side. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick / University of Warwick.

HD 189733b: Astronomers Measure Wind Velocities on Hot Jupiter Exoplanet

Nov 13, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Using observations from the High Accuracy Radial velocity Planet Searcher (HARPS), a high-precision spectrograph on ESO’s 3.6-m telescope at La Silla...

Chemical makeup of the oldest stars in the Milky Way points to huge explosions called hypernovae. Image credit: ESO.

Astronomers Find 13 Billion Year Old Stars at Milky Way’s Center

Nov 12, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has discovered the oldest stars ever seen, dating from before the Milky Way Galaxy formed, when the Universe was just...

In this artist’s conception GJ 1132b circles a red dwarf star. Image credit: Dana Berry.

GJ 1132b: Astronomers Discover Earth-Sized Exoplanet 39 Light-Years Away

Nov 12, 2015 by News Staff

A team of astronomers has discovered a new rocky, Earth-sized exoplanet orbiting a star approximately 39 light-years away. In this artist’s conception...

An artist’s impression of the debris disc around J1228+1040 (left) at the same scale as Saturn and its rings (right). While the star has about 7 times smaller diameter than Saturn, it has a mass 2,500 times greater. Image credit: Mark Garlick, www.markgarlick.com / University of Warwick / ESO / NASA / Cassini.

VLT Captures Image of Debris Disk around Nearby White Dwarf

Nov 11, 2015 by News Staff

The sight of a massive asteroid being ripped apart by a white dwarf called SDSS J122859.93+104032.9 (J1228+1040 for short) and forming a debris disk has...

Left: a ground-based view of the Milky Way’s central bulge; giant dust clouds block most of the starlight coming from the galactic center. The Hubble Space Telescope, however, peered through a region (marked by the arrow) called the Sagittarius Window, which offers a keyhole view into the galaxy’s hub. Upper right: this is a small section of Hubble’s view of the dense collection of stars crammed together in the galactic bulge. Lower right: a sample of 4 out of the 70 brightest white dwarfs spied by Hubble in the Milky Way Galaxy’s central bulge. The numbers in the inset images correspond to the stars’ location in the larger Hubble view. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Calamida & K. Sahu, STScI / SWEEPS Science Team / A. Fujii.

Hubble Finds Ancient White Dwarfs in Milky Way’s Central Bulge

Nov 10, 2015 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have uncovered for the first time a population of ancient white dwarf stars embedded in the Milky...

Close-up view of LEDA 1852. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / N. Gorin, STScI / Judy Schmidt.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on Lonely Galaxy

Nov 9, 2015 by News Staff

A lonely spiral galaxy, LEDA 1852, has been captured in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space...

This is an artist’s impression of PSO J318.5-22. Image credit: MPIA / V. Ch. Quetz.

Astronomers Create Weather Map of Rogue Planet-Like Object

Nov 4, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers have detected layers of clouds – made up of hot dust and droplets of molten iron – on a planet-like object known as PSO J318.5338–22.8603...

This is an artist's impression of the super-Earth exoplanet GJ 1214b. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Bacon, STScI / L. Kreidberg and J. Bean, University of Chicago / H. Knutson, California Institute of Technology.

Astronomers Simulate Exotic Clouds on Mini-Neptune GJ 1214b

Nov 2, 2015 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the University of Washington and the University of Toronto is the first to simulate 3D exotic clouds in the atmosphere of an...

This Hubble image shows the lenticular galaxy Markarian 820. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / N. Gorin, STScI / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

NASA’s Hubble Snaps Beautiful Image of Lenticular Galaxy

Nov 2, 2015 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a remarkable view of the distant lenticular galaxy Markarian 820. This Hubble image...

Right: observations taken by the ESO’s Very Large Telescope show a protoplanetary disk around the young star MWC 758; the disk has two spiral arms that extend over 10 billion miles from the star. Left: a computer model reproduces the two-spiral-arm structure; the X is the location of a putative planet. Image credit: NASA / ESA / ESO / M. Benisty et al / Ruobing Dong / Zhaohuan Zhu.

Spiral Arms Around Young Stars May Be Evidence of Giant Planets, Scientists Say

Oct 30, 2015 by News Staff

Spiral-arm-like features seen around two newborn stars, SAO 206462 and MWC 758, may be evidence for the presence of giant, unseen planets, says a team...