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The enlarged inset view reveals four images of SN Refsdal, spotted in 2014, arranged around a giant elliptical galaxy within the cluster. The light from the supernova passes so closely to the galaxy’s dense core that several light paths are redirected and focused toward Earth. The result is that astronomers see four images that form an Einstein Cross. The blue streaks wrapping around the galaxy are the stretched images of SN Refsdal’s parent spiral galaxy, which has been distorted by the warping of space. Computer models of the cluster predict that another image of the stellar blast will appear within 5 years. The red circle marks the possible location of the next supernova image. Astronomers may have missed an earlier appearance of the supernova in 1995, as marked by the blue circle. These multiple appearances of the exploding star are due to the various paths its light is taking through the maze of clumpy dark matter in the galactic grouping. Each image takes a different route through the cluster and arrives at a different time, due, in part, to differences in the length of the pathways the light follows to reach Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / S. Rodney, JHU / FrontierSN team / T. Treu, UCLA / P. Kelly, UC Berkeley / GLASS team / J. Lotz, STScI / Frontier Fields team / M. Postman, STScI / CLASH team / Z. Levay, STScI.

Light from Supernova Refsdal Helps Astronomers Measure Universe’s Expansion Rate

May 17, 2023 by News Staff

The gravitationally lensed Supernova (SN) Refsdal was discovered by University of Minnesota astronomer Patrick Kelly in 2014 in the field of MACS J1149.6+2223,...

This artist’s concept of shows the main-belt comet 238P/Read sublimating -- its water ice vaporizing as its orbit approaches the Sun. Image credit: NASA / ESA.

Webb Detects Water Vapor around Main-Belt Comet 238P/Read

May 16, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The new observations from the Near-Infrared Spectrograph (NIRSpec) aboard the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope show that the main-belt comet 238P/Read...

An artist’s impression of how astronomical forces affect the Earth’s motion, climate, and ice sheets. Image credit: NAOJ.

Astronomical Forcings Shaped Timing of Glacial Cycles during Early Pleistocene, Study Says

May 15, 2023 by News Staff

Glacial cycles during the Early Pleistocene epoch are characterized by a dominant 41,000-year periodicity and amplitudes smaller than those of glacial...

An artist’s impression of a black hole accretion. Image credit: John A. Paice.

Astronomers Observe Extraordinary Accretion Event in Distant Galaxy

May 15, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

AT2021lwx occurred nearly 8 billion years ago and was more than 10 times brighter than any known supernova explosion. The event was likely caused by the...

This Hubble image shows NGC 6325, a globular cluster some 26,000 light-years away in the constellation of Ophiuchus. The color image includes both optical and near-infrared observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Four 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 / E. Noyola / R. Cohen.

Hubble Space Telescope Spies Glittering Globular Cluster

May 15, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have captured a striking new photo of the densely packed globular cluster NGC 6325. This Hubble...

The highly variable magnetic field around the source of FRB 20190520B. Image credit: Di Li / ScienceApe / CAS.

Astronomers Detect Highly Variable Magnetic Field around Source of Repeating Fast Radio Burst

May 12, 2023 by News Staff

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief flashes of radio waves from distant galaxies that are probably emitted by neutron stars. Some FRBs repeat, which enables...

Ongoing star formation processes as observed by VIRCAM/VISTA in the VISIONS program. The top panel shows L1688 in the Ophiuchus star-forming complex, depicting several dozen prominent young stellar objects located within one of the closest embedded clusters to Earth. The young stars are surrounded by a highly structured cloud composed of gas and dust that is largely being shaped by young, optically revealed hot stars in the vicinity. The bottom panels further highlight the complex morphology of the gaseous, dusty neighborhood of partly concealed young stars in the Ophiuchus molecular clouds L1709 and L1689. Image credit: Meingast et al., doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202245771.

Astronomers Create Infrared Atlas of Five Nearby Star-Forming Regions

May 11, 2023 by News Staff

As part of the VISIONS survey program, astronomers have surveyed five nearby star-forming molecular cloud complexes associated with the constellations...

An artist’s impression of a supermassive black hole. Image credit: University of Hawai’i at Mānoa.

Astronomers Detect Supermassive Black Holes in ‘Cosmic Noon’ Galaxy Pairs

May 11, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers at Newcastle University and Colby College have developed a new technique to determine how likely it is that two galaxies are very close together...

This artist’s concept depicts the mini-Neptune exoplanet Gliese 1214b. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt, IPAC.

Webb Detects Water Vapor in Atmosphere of Gliese 1214b

May 11, 2023 by News Staff

Gliese 1214b is a so-called mini-Neptune, a smaller, denser version of Neptune that consists of a rocky core surrounded by a thick blanket of gas. This...

This Hubble image shows Arp 308, a pair of massive galaxies located some 250 million light-years away in the constellation of Cetus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Blakeslee, NOIRLab / W. Sparks, SETI Institute / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on Arp 308

May 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a beautiful new image of two massive galaxies, NGC 545 and NGC 547, collectively known as Arp 308. This Hubble image shows...

This image, taken with Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI), shows the dusty debris disk surrounding Fomalhaut A. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / A. Gáspár, University of Arizona / A. Pagan, STScI.

Webb Images Three Debris Belts around Fomalhaut A

May 9, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

New high-resolution images of the Fomalhaut A system from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope show three debris belts extending out to 23 billion...

This Hubble image shows eMACS J1823.1+7822, a massive cluster of galaxies some 9 billion light-years away in the constellation of Draco. The central cluster is mostly made of bright elliptical galaxies that are surrounded by a warm glow. Close to the cluster core is the stretched, distorted arc of a galaxy, gravitationally lensed by the cluster. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / H. Ebeling.

Hubble Spots Lensing Galaxy Cluster in Draco

May 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

eMACS J1823.1+7822 has so much mass that it acts as a gravitational lens, causing light from distant galaxies to bend around it. This Hubble image shows...

This Hubble image shows NGC 5283, a lenticular galaxy some 168 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Barth, University of California, Irvine / M. Revalski, STScI / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Observes NGC 5283

May 8, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a beautiful new image of the lenticular galaxy NGC 5283. This Hubble image shows NGC...

NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array is collecting data that astronomers will analyze for the type of emissions that only artificial transmitters make. Image credit: VLA / SETI.

VLA to Search for Radio Signals from Alien Civilizations

May 4, 2023 by News Staff

NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a powerful radio telescope situated about 80.5 km (50 miles) west of Socorro, New Mexico, is joining the...

This composite image shows the elliptical galaxy Centaurus A: blue color shows X-ray light captured by Chandra, orange represents X-rays detected by IXPE, and optical light seen by ESO is colored white and gray. Image credit: NASA / MSFC / IXPE / Ehlert et al. / CXC / SAO / ESO / WFI / J.Schmidt.

IXPE Observes Jet from Centaurus A’s Supermassive Black Hole

May 4, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Centaurus A is located 13 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus, and represents the fifth brightest galaxy in the sky. This composite...

This artist’s impression shows a distant gas cloud that contains different chemical elements, illustrated here with schematic representations of various atoms. Image credit: L. Calçada / M. Kornmesser / ESO.

VLT Detects Chemical Signatures of Universe’s First Stars in Distant Gas Clouds

May 4, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have detected three distant gas clouds whose chemical composition matches what they expect from the...

This image, taken with the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows the emission nebula Gum 10. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Focuses on Emission Nebula Gum 10

May 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have captured a striking new image of the large emission nebula Gum 10. This image,...

Zhang et al used artificial intelligence to search through radio signals recorded from FRB 121102. Image credit: Breakthrough Listen Initiative.

Study: Earth’s Mobile Tower Leakage Could Not Be Detected by Nearby Earth-Like Civilizations

May 3, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Mobile communication towers represent a relatively new but growing contributor to the total radio-leakage associated with planet Earth. In new research,...

An artist’s impression of the early Earth. Image credit: NASA.

Energetic Particles from Young Sun May Have Kickstarted Life on Early Earth

May 2, 2023 by News Staff

Life most likely started during the Hadean Eon (4.5 to 4 billion years ago). However, the environmental conditions which contributed to the complexity...