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A burst from FRB 180916 arrives at the LOFAR telescope; the higher frequency radio waves (purple) arrive earlier than the lower frequency radio waves (red); the inset shows an optical image from the host galaxy of the fast radio burst source and the position of the source in the host galaxy. Image credit: D. Futselaar / S.P. Tendulkar / ASTRON.

LOFAR Detects Lowest-Frequency Fast Radio Bursts to Date

Apr 16, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR), astronomers from the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) have found that fast radio bursts include...

This artist’s concept shows a hypothetical aquaplanet around the binary star system of Kepler-35. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Identify Five Multiple Star Systems with Permanent Habitable Zone

Apr 15, 2021 by Sergio Prostak

Kepler-34, Kepler-35, Kepler-38, Kepler-64 and Kepler-413 — multiple star systems located between 2,764 and 5,933 light-years away in the constellations...

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.

Physicists Use Rapidly-Spinning Black Holes to Look for Dark Matter

Apr 14, 2021 by News Staff

Ultralight bosons — hypothetical particles with masses less than a billionth the mass of an electron — could be responsible for the Universe’s...

This Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster Abell 2813. The color image was compiled using observations taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instruments. Several filters were used to sample various optical wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Coe et al.

Hubble Sees Lensing Galaxy Cluster Abell 2813

Apr 12, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A huge galaxy cluster called Abell 2813 has so much mass that it acts as a gravitational lens, causing light from more distant galaxies to bend around...

This is a mosaic image, one of the largest ever taken by Hubble of the Crab Nebula, a 6-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star’s supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers recorded this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054, as did, almost certainly, Native Americans. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Hester / A. Loll, Arizona State University.

Study: Crab Pulsar’s X-rays Brighter during ‘Giant Radio Pulses’

Apr 9, 2021 by News Staff

Located 6,500 light-years away in the constellation of Taurus, the Crab Nebula and its pulsar formed in a supernova whose light reached Earth in July 1054;...

Four of the newfound quadruply-imaged quasars are shown here; from top left and moving clockwise, the objects are: GraL J1537-3010 or Wolf’s Paw; GraL J0659+1629 or Gemini’s Crossbow; GraL J1651-0417 or Dragon’s Kite; GraL J2038-4008 or Microscope Lens. The fuzzy dot in the middle of the images is the lensing galaxy, the gravity of which is splitting the light from the quasar behind it in such a way to produce four quasar images. Image credit: Gaia Gravitational Lenses group.

Astronomers Discover Twelve New Quadruply-Imaged Quasars

Apr 9, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers from the Gaia Gravitational Lenses group have identified 12 quadruply-imaged gravitationally-lensed quasars using machine-learning methods...

Spitzer Discovers Three Most Rapidly-Rotating Brown Dwarfs

Apr 8, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope have identified three fastest-spinning ultracool dwarfs ever found: 2MASS J03480772-6022270, 2MASS J12195156+3128497,...

This image from NASA’s Galileo spacecraft shows a volcanic explosion on Io. Image credit: NASA / JPL / University of Arizon.

ALMA Detects Volcanic Gases in Atmosphere of Io

Apr 7, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers from India have detected acetone, disulfur monoxide, and carbon monoxide...

This artist’s conception shows the brilliant light of two quasars residing in the cores of two galaxies that are in the chaotic process of merging. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Olmsted, STScI.

Astronomers Discover Two Very Distant Double Quasars

Apr 7, 2021 by News Staff

The two newly-discovered pairs of quasars, J0749+2255 and J0841+4825, existed 10 billion years ago and resided in the cores of merging galaxies, according...

This Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster CHIPS1911+4455. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team.

Astronomers Discover Three New Galaxy Clusters

Apr 6, 2021 by News Staff

As part of the Clusters Hiding in Plain Sight (CHiPS) survey, astronomers have discovered three new galaxy cluster candidates and confirmed two of them:...

This composite image shows the barred spiral galaxy Messier 61. The color image is made up of observations from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile in the 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 / ESO / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.

Hubble Captures Stunning New Image of Messier 61

Apr 5, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 61. This composite image...

This composite image shows a Chandra X-ray image of Uranus from 2002 (pink) superimposed on an optical image from the Keck-I Telescope obtained in 2004. Image credit: NASA / CXO / University College London / Dunn et al.

Chandra Detects X-Ray Emission from Uranus

Apr 1, 2021 by News Staff

Uranus, the seventh planet from the Sun, and its ring system appear to mainly produce X-ray emission by scattering solar X-rays, but some may also come...

An artist’s impression of what the surface of the interstellar comet 2I/Borisov might look like. Image credit: ESO / M. Kormesser.

Interstellar Comet 2I/Borisov is One of Most Pristine Comets Known

Mar 31, 2021 by News Staff

Two teams of astronomers have performed polarimetric observations of 2I/Borisov, the first active extrasolar comet ever detected in our Solar System, using...

An artist’s impression of an intermediate-mass black hole. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Astronomers Use Gravitational Lensing Effect to Detect Intermediate-Mass Black Hole

Mar 30, 2021 by News Staff

A gravitationally lensed gamma-ray burst, designated GRB 950830, helped astronomers detect a black hole about 55,000 times more massive than the Sun. An...

This image, taken by the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows the emission nebula Sharpless 2-305. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Focuses on Emission Nebula Sharpless 2-305

Mar 30, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have produced a spectacularly detailed image of a bubble of hot hydrogen gas called Sharpless 2-305...

An artist’s impression of the ultra-short-period sub-Neptune exoplanet TOI-1634b. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Ultra-Short-Period Sub-Neptune Found Orbiting TOI-1634

Mar 29, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the HARPS-N spectrograph at the 3.6-m Telescopio Nazionale Galileo, astronomers...

This Hubble image shows a small portion of the Veil Nebula, which is located 2,400 light-years away in the constellation of Cygnus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Z. Levay.

Hubble Team Releases Reprocessed Image of Veil Nebula

Mar 29, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A small portion of the Veil Nebula, which is part of a supernova remnant called the Cygnus Loop, was featured in previous Hubble photos, but now new processing...

This image shows an artist’s impression of winds in Jupiter’s stratosphere near the planet’s south pole, with the blue lines representing wind speeds; these lines are superimposed on a real image of Jupiter, taken by the JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno spacecraft. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada / NASA / JPL-Caltech / SwRI / MSSS.

ALMA Detects Strong Winds in Stratosphere of Jupiter

Mar 25, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have revealed incredibly powerful winds — with speeds of up to 1,450 kmh...

This EHT image shows the polarized view of the black hole in Messier 87. The lines mark the orientation of polarization, which is related to the magnetic field around the shadow of the black hole. Image credit: EHT Collaboration.

EHT Captures Polarized-Light Image of Messier 87’s Supermassive Black Hole

Mar 24, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) — a planet-scale array of eight ground-based radio telescopes (ALMA, APEX, the IRAM 30-m telescope,...