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This artist’s concept shows the huge cloud of hydrogen bleeding off of the Neptune-sized exoplanet Gliese 436b. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / G. Bacon.

GJ 436b: Astronomers Discover Giant Comet-Like Tail on Neptune-Sized Exoplanet

Jun 25, 2015 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a group of astronomers has discovered an enormous cloud of hydrogen dispersing from the warm, Neptune-sized...

A set of four rings around Circinus X-1 can be seen in this composite image where X-rays from Chandra are red, green, and blue corresponding to low, medium, and high-energy X-rays respectively, which have been combined with a view in visible light from the Digitized Sky Survey. The sharp edges are caused by the large size of the X-ray rings compared to the relatively small field-of-view of the Chandra detectors, providing only partial coverage. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Wisconsin-Madison / S. Heinz et al / DSS.

Circinus X-1: Astronomers Discover X-ray Rings around Neutron Star

Jun 24, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton telescope have discovered a bright X-ray light echo in the form of...

This composite image shows ultra-diffuse galaxies in the Coma cluster: yellow circles show two of the 47 Dragonfly galaxies, and green circles are the ones discovered by the Subaru telescope. Image credit: NAOJ.

Astronomers Discover 854 Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies in Coma Cluster

Jun 23, 2015 by News Staff

A group of astronomers, led by Dr Jin Koda of the Stony Brook University, has discovered 854 ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in the Coma cluster using images...

This image shows the planetary nebula NGC 6153. Its central star is faint and of unknown spectral type. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA / Matej Novak.

NGC 6153: Hubble Snaps Gorgeous Picture of Distant Planetary Nebula

Jun 22, 2015 by News Staff

The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a spectacular new image of a planetary nebula known as NGC...

This image shows a ground-based wide-field view of the region around HCG 16. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Digitized Sky Survey 2 / Davide De Martin.

Hubble Sees Weird Galactic Quartet

Jun 19, 2015 by News Staff

This beautiful image from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows four (NGC 839, NGC 838, NGC 835, and NGC 833)...

In this image, the larger-scale structure of NGC 1097 is easily visible. Image credit: ESO / R. Gendler.

Astronomers Measure Mass of Supermassive Black Hole in NGC 1097

Jun 18, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA, a network of several dozen radio dishes located in the high-elevation desert...

The artistic concept shows the planetary system Kepler-138 harboring the Mars-size planet Kepler-138b Kepler-138b. The sizes of the planets relative to the star have been exaggerated. Image credit: SETI Institute / Danielle Futselaar.

Kepler-138b: Astronomers Measure Mass of Mars-Size Exoplanet

Jun 18, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler mission have determined the sizes and masses of three planets orbiting a star much fainter and cooler than...

This is an artist’s impression of the galaxy CR7. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

CR7: Astronomers Discover Far-Off Galaxy Filled with First-Generation Stars

Jun 17, 2015 by News Staff

A group of astronomers headed by Dr David Sobral from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, has discovered by far the brightest galaxy yet found in the early...

This image shows the irregular blue compact dwarf galaxy UGC 11411 (center). The bright stars are foreground stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

Astronomers Capture Extraordinary View of UGC 11411

Jun 15, 2015 by News Staff

The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new photo of a dwarf galaxy called UGC 11411. This...

This artist’s concept depicts a proposed helium-atmosphere planet called Gliese 436b. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Helium-Rich Gas Giants May Be Common in Milky Way Galaxy

Jun 12, 2015 by News Staff

Gaseous planets with helium-rich atmospheres may be common in our Galaxy, according to a new study accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal...

This is an artist’s concept of a hot Jupiter exoplanet. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Bacon, STScI.

Astronomers Discover Stratosphere on Hot Jupiter WASP-33b

Jun 11, 2015 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have detected a stratosphere – an atmospheric region that is very important to life –...

NGC 6503: Hubble Space Telescope Spots Lonely Galaxy

Jun 11, 2015 by News Staff

The sharp-eyed Wide Field Camera 3 aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the most detailed image yet of a galaxy called NGC 6503. This...

This image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows a butterfly-like nebula around the red giant star L2 Puppis. Image credit: ESO / Pierre Kervella.

ESO’s VLT Spies Butterfly-Like Planetary Nebula around L2 Puppis

Jun 10, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the SPHERE-ZIMPOL instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have confirmed the presence of the circumstellar dust disk around...

This composite image shows the gravitationally lensed galaxy SDP.81; the bright orange central region of the ring reveals the glowing dust in this distant galaxy; the surrounding lower-resolution portions of the ring trace the millimeter wavelength light emitted by carbon monoxide; the diffuse blue element at the center of the ring is from the intervening lensing galaxy. Image credit: ALMA / NRAO / ESO / NAOJ / B. Saxton / AUI / NSF / NASA / ESA / Hubble / T. Hunter.

ALMA Sees Star Nurseries in Gravitationally Lensed Galaxy SDP 81

Jun 8, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile have captured detailed images of the gravitationally...

This image shows the dwarf irregular galaxy PGC 18431. Image credit: ESA /Hubble / NASA.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Looks at Dwarf Galaxy PGC 18431

Jun 8, 2015 by News Staff

The Advanced Camera for Surveys on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken an image of the dwarf irregular galaxy PGC 18431. This image shows the...

This is an artist’s concept of a Type Ia supernova exploding in the intergalactic space between galaxies within a galactic cluster. Image credit: Alex Parker / NASA / SDSS.

Hubble Confirms Two Solitary Supernovae

Jun 5, 2015 by News Staff

New observations with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope confirm that two Type Ia supernovae discovered six years ago...

This image shows the scale and comparative brightness of Pluto’s small satellites. Charon is placed at the bottom for scale. The image illustrates that two of the moons are highly oblate and that the reflectivity among the moons varies from dark charcoal to the brightness of sand. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Field, STScI.

Astronomers Observe Chaotic Rotation of Pluto’s Small Moons

Jun 3, 2015 by News Staff

A team of astronomers using observations from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has found that two of Pluto’s small moons, Nix and Hydra, are not neatly...

This is an artist's impression of an exoplanet. Image credit: Ron Miller.

Terrestrial Exoplanets Have Circular Orbits, Say Astronomers

Jun 2, 2015 by News Staff

According to a team of astronomers at Aarhus University in Denmark, Earth-sized terrestrial planets orbit their host stars in circular patterns, much like...

This image of Messier 84 does not show the whole galaxy but only its very interesting center, and is likely to be the best image of the region ever captured. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Mysterious Galaxy Messier 84

Jun 1, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have photographed an unusual galaxy called Messier 84. This image of Messier 84 does not show the...