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Globular clusters could be up to 4 billion years younger than previously thought. This image shows a binary star system within a globular cluster. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick / University of Warwick.

Globular Star Clusters May Be Significantly Less Ancient than Previously Thought

Jun 7, 2018 by News Staff

Once thought to be formed soon after the Universe itself, new research from the Universities of Warwick and Auckland finds globular clusters may be only...

Two spiral galaxies NGC 5426 and NGC 5427 are locked in a swirling dance in this image from the VIMOS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Image credit: Juan Carlos Muñoz / ESO.

ESO’s Very Large Telescope Watches Galactic Dance

Jun 6, 2018 by News Staff

Two similarly-sized spiral galaxies — NGC 5426 and NGC 5427 — swing past each other in a cosmic dance choreographed by gravity. Two spiral...

The first artist’s illustration shows a key part of the process that created this new black hole, as the two neutron stars spin around each other while merging. The purple material depicts debris from the merger. Image credit: NASA / CXC / M.Weiss.

Recent Gravitational-Wave Event Likely Created Low-Mass Black Hole

Jun 5, 2018 by News Staff

A new study using X-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory indicates that the neutron star merger that became the gravitational wave source,...

This Hubble image shows the dwarf galaxy IC 4870. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Observes Dwarf Galaxy IC 4870

Jun 5, 2018 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has delivered an unrivalled snapshot of the nearby dwarf galaxy IC 4870. This Hubble image shows the dwarf galaxy IC...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Does Small Fraction of Dark Matter Particles Carry Electric Mini-Charge?

Jun 4, 2018 by News Staff

A duo of astrophysicists is proposing a new model for the invisible material that makes up most of the Universe: it’s possible that a small fraction...

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Messy Result of Galactic Collision: NGC 3256

Jun 1, 2018 by News Staff

A gorgeous new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows NGC 3256, an impressive example of a peculiar galaxy that is actually the relict of...

This image from the 256-megapixel OmegaCAM camera on ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope shows the Tarantula Nebula and its rich surroundings in great detail. It reveals a cosmic landscape of star clusters, glowing gas clouds and the scattered remains of supernova explosions. Image credit: ESO.

ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope Captures Tarantula Nebula

May 30, 2018 by News Staff

ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile has captured the sharpest image ever of the Tarantula Nebula and its rich surroundings. This...

In this Hubble image the light from a distant galaxy, nearly 9.5 billion light-years away, has been warped into a giant arc of light in the galaxy cluster SDSS J1156+1911. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Sees Giant Gravitational Arc

May 29, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found a giant arc of light behind SDSS J1156+1911, a cluster of hundreds of galaxies located...

One of the six dark galaxy candidates detected by the team. Image credit: Marino et al, doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/aab6aa.

Astronomers Detect Six Dark Galaxies in Early Universe

May 25, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have detected six dark galaxies,...

PSR B1957+20 is seen in the background through the cloud of gas enveloping its brown dwarf companion. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick / Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics, University of Toronto.

Plasma Lenses Amplify Pulsar Emission in Rare Binary System

May 24, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

A group of astronomers at the University of Toronto in Canada has performed one of the highest resolution observations in the history of astronomy by observing...

Gas in the Orion A molecular cloud; each of the three colors (red, green and blue) represents a different velocity range. Image credit: National Science Foundation / S. Kong, J. Feddersen & H. Arce, CARMA-NRO Orion Survey Team.

Astronomers Create Detailed Map of Orion A Molecular Cloud

May 22, 2018 by News Staff

The new map, created by astronomers from Yale University and elsewhere, provides unprecedented detail of the structure of the Orion A molecular cloud,...

An artist’s impression of a rocky asteroid. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick, Space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick / University of Cambridge.

Asteroid 2015 BZ509 Came from Interstellar Space 4.5 Billion Years Ago

May 22, 2018 by News Staff

2015 BZ509, an object in Jupiter’s co-orbital region with a retrograde motion around the Sun, is the first known asteroid to have been captured from...

This test image from one of the four cameras aboard NASA’s TESS spacecraft captures a swath of the southern sky along the plane of the Milky Way. Image credit: NASA / MIT / TESS.

NASA’s TESS Telescope Takes Its First Image

May 21, 2018 by News Staff

An image taken by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) shows a swath of the southern sky along the plane of our Milky Way Galaxy. Illustration...

At first glance, this Hubble image is dominated by the glow of the swirling spiral to the lower left of the frame. However, this galaxy is far from the most interesting spectacle here -- behind it sits the galaxy cluster SDSS J0333-0651. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Focuses on Massive Cluster of Galaxies

May 21, 2018 by News Staff

Galaxy clusters are the largest stable systems in the Universe. They can contain thousands of galaxies all held together by the glue of gravity. A spectacular...

These six images represent the variety of star-forming regions in nearby galaxies. The galaxies -- part of LEGUS survey -- are two dwarf galaxies (UGC 5340 and UGCA 281) and four large spiral galaxies (NGC 4258, NGC 3368, NGC 3627, and NGC 6744). They are between 19 million and 42 million light-years from Earth. The images are a blend of UV and visible light from Hubble’s WFC3 and ACS instruments. Image credit: NASA / ESA / LEGUS Team.

Hubble Surveys Star-Forming Galaxies in Local Universe

May 18, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have completed the sharpest, most comprehensive UV-light survey of star-forming galaxies in the local...

This Hubble image shows the Whirlpool Galaxy (NGC 5194) and its companion galaxy, NGC 5195. Image credit: NASA / ESA / S. Beckwith, STScI / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA.

Astronomers Spot Giant Cloud of Ionized Hydrogen near Whirlpool Galaxy

May 17, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

A research team led by Case Western Reserve University astronomers has found a never-before seen cloud of ionized gas associated with the Whirlpool Galaxy,...

This Hubble image shows the bipolar planetary nebula Menzel 3. Image credit: NASA / ESA/ Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / R. Sahai, Jet Propulsion Lab / B. Balick, University of Washington.

Herschel Detects Unusual Laser Emission from Ant Nebula

May 17, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESA’s Herschel Space Observatory have discovered an unusual laser emission from the planetary nebula Menzel 3 (often referred to as...

Astronomers Find Evidence for Stars Forming Only 250 Million Years after Big Bang

May 17, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has used observations from ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array...

This image from the VISTA Hemispheric Survey shows the ultra-luminous quasar SMSS J215728.21-360215.1 (center). Image credit: Wolf et al.

Scientists Find ‘Fastest-Growing’ Supermassive Black Hole Known in Universe

May 16, 2018 by Enrico de Lazaro

A supermassive black hole in the center of the ultra-luminous quasar SMSS J215728.21-360215.1 (J2157-3602 for short) devours a mass equivalent to our Sun...