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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...

This artist’s impression illustrates how high-speed jets from supermassive black holes would look. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / L. Calçada, ESO.

New Study Finds Link between Black Holes with Relativistic Jets, Galactic Mergers

May 29, 2015 by News Staff

A new study, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal (arXiv.org preprint), finds a link between the presence of supermassive black holes...

In this image of the central region of the elliptical galaxy NGC 3862, an extragalactic jet of material moving at nearly the speed of light can be seen at the three o’clock position. The jet of ejected plasma is powered by energy from a supermassive black hole at NGC 3862’s center. A sequence of Hubble images of knots (in red, green, and blue) shows them moving along the jet over a 20-year span of observing. Astronomers were surprised to discover that the central knot (green) caught up with and merged with the knot in front of it (blue). Image credit: NASA / ESA / E. Meyer, STScI.

Hubble Focuses on Extragalactic Jet

May 29, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have observed a collision between two knots of ejected matter in the extragalactic jet blasting out...

Images of HD 115600 showing a bright nearly edge-on debris ring located just beyond a Pluto-like distance to the star. Image credit: Thayne Currie et al.

Gemini Planet Imager Spots Kuiper Belt-like Dust Ring around HD 115600

May 27, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Gemini Planet Imager at the Gemini South telescope in Chile have identified a disc-shaped bright ring of dust around a nearby young...

This image of the nebula RCW 34 was taken using ESO’s Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. Image credit: ESO.

Astronomers Capture Image of Glowing Nebula RCW 34

May 27, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph (FORS) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile have released a new image of a spectacular...

This global view of Io was obtained by NASA’s Galileo spacecraft on 19 September 1997 at a range of more than 500,000 km (310,000 miles). In this image, deposits of sulfur dioxide frost appear in white and grey hues while yellowish and brownish hues are probably due to other sulfurous materials. Bright red materials and ‘black’ spots with low brightness mark areas of recent volcanic activity and are usually associated with high temperatures and surface changes. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizona.

Astronomers Spot Huge Lava Lake at Volcano Loki on Io

May 26, 2015 by News Staff

Scientists analyzing high-resolution images from the Large Binocular Telescope Observatory in Arizona have discovered an enormous lava lake on Io, the...