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An artist’s impression of an accretion disk around a black hole. Image credit: XMM-Newton / ESA / NASA.

X-Rays from Accretion Disks around Rotating Black Holes Can Act as Carriers of Quantum Information

Nov 17, 2017 by News Staff

In a paper published in the journal New Astronomy, theoretical physicist Ovidiu Racorean suggests that X-ray photons emitted by accretion disks around...

This illustration shows a stream of material from a star as it is being devoured by a supermassive black hole in a tidal disruption flare. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

New Type of Highly Energetic Cosmic Explosion Discovered

Nov 16, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers have spotted a new type of extremely energetic cosmic explosion they think originates from a very massive star or the environment of a supermassive...

This artist’s impression shows Ross 128b, with its red dwarf parent star in the background. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Ross 128b: Astronomers Find Exo-Earth Orbiting Nearby Red Dwarf

Nov 15, 2017 by Natali Anderson

A rocky exoplanet roughly the same size as Earth has been discovered orbiting a nearby low-mass star, thanks to new data gathered by ESO’s High Accuracy...

Artist’s impression of two starburst (star-forming) galaxies beginning to merge in the early Universe. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF.

ALMA Spots Pair of Extremely Rare Hyper-Luminous Starburst Galaxies

Nov 13, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered a pair of astoundingly bright and spectacularly massive galaxies...

This image of the dwarf galaxy NGC 4625 is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Advanced Camera for Surveys onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Two 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.

Hubble Space Telescope Observes NGC 4625

Nov 13, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of a dwarf galaxy called NGC 4625. This image of the dwarf galaxy NGC 4625 is a composite of separate...

SN 2014J. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Y. Yang, Texas A&M University & Weizmann Institute of Science.

Hubble Captures Distant Supernova’s Light Echoes

Nov 10, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has observed an extremely rare cosmic phenomenon, called a ‘light echo,’ in Messier 82, a star-forming galaxy located...

When Comet 96P/Machholz appeared in SOHO’s view in 2012, astronomers discovered two tiny comet fragments some distance ahead of the main body, signaling the comet was actively changing. This time around they have detected a third fragment -- another breadcrumb in the trail that indicates 96P/Machholz is still evolving. Image credit: ESA / NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / SOHO / Steele Hill.

ESA and NASA Solar Observatories Snap Sungrazing Comet

Nov 9, 2017 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) and NASA’s Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) have captured amazing photos of...

Artist’s impression of a Type II supernova. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Bacon, STSci.

Supernova Discovery Challenges Theories of How Certain Stars End Their Lives

Nov 9, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers led by Las Cumbres Observatory has found a remarkable object in a nearby galaxy: a star that exploded multiple times...

Color composite image of HATLAS J090045.4+004125 (also known as G09 83808): the blue channel represents data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the red channel the data collected by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. Image credit: Zavala et al, doi: 10.1038/s41550-017-0297-8.

Astronomers Find One of Universe’s Earliest Galaxies

Nov 7, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers have spotted the second most distant dusty, starburst galaxy ever found in the Universe. The find is reported this week in the journal Nature...

The starburst galaxy NGC 253 and the radio spectra obtained with ALMA. Image credit: ESO / J. Emerson / VISTA / ALMA / NAOJ / NRAO / Ando et al / Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit.

ALMA Spots Huge ‘Molecular Reservoir’ in Nearby Starburst Galaxy NGC 253

Nov 7, 2017 by News Staff

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have found eight molecular clouds in the heart of NGC 253, an active starburst...

The spiral galaxy A1689B11 sits behind the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1689 that acts as a lens, producing two magnified images of the spiral galaxy in different positions in the sky. Image credit: James Josephides.

Astronomers Discover Most Ancient Spiral Galaxy

Nov 6, 2017 by News Staff

Using data from the Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) on the Gemini North telescope in Hawai’i, astronomers have identified what they...

This image, taken with ACS and WFC3 cameras on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the massive galaxy cluster Abell 1300. Seven 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.

Hubble Spots Massive Galaxy Cluster: Abell 1300

Nov 6, 2017 by News Staff

NASA has released a stunning image snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope of the galaxy cluster Abell 1300. This image, taken with ACS and WFC3 cameras...

This artist’s impression shows how the newly-discovered dust belts around Proxima Centauri may look. This sketch is not to scale -- to make Proxima b clearly visible it has been shown further from the star and larger than it is in reality. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Astronomers Find Two Dust Belts around Proxima Centauri

Nov 5, 2017 by News Staff

Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have detected dust belts around Proxima Centauri, the star closest to our Sun....

Chakrabarti et al identify an overlooked region that may prove to be rife with orbiting black holes and the origin of gravitational-wave chirps heard by the two Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors in the United States and the Virgo detector in Italy. This Hubble image shows the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1300. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team / STScI / AURA / P. Knezek, WIYN.

Merging Black Hole Binaries Might Lurk in Outskirts of Huge Spiral Galaxies

Nov 1, 2017 by News Staff

Conditions favorable for mergers of massive black holes exist in the outer gas disks of massive spiral galaxies, according to a study led by Rochester...

Artist’s impression of the cool red star NGTS-1 above the hot-Jupiter NGTS-1b. Image credit: Mark Garlick, University of Warwick.

Discovery of Hot-Jupiter NGTS-1b Challenges Planet Formation Theories

Nov 1, 2017 by News Staff

Dr. Daniel Bayliss, an astronomer at the University of Warwick, and colleagues has discovered a giant gaseous planet orbiting a small M-dwarf star 600...

This image combines an image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in the optical and observations of the Jovian aurora in the ultraviolet. Image credit: NASA / ESA.

Jupiter’s Northern and Southern X-Ray Auroras Pulse Independently

Oct 31, 2017 by News Staff

High-energy X-ray emissions at Jupiter’s south pole consistently pulse every 11 minutes; meanwhile those at the gas giant’s north pole are erratic:...

Using a combination of the Biblical text and an ancient Egyptian text, Professor Humphreys and Dr. Graeme Waddington were able to refine the dates of the Egyptian pharaohs. Image credit: Pete Linforth.

Annular Solar Eclipse of 1207 BC Helps Date Egyptian Pharaohs

Oct 30, 2017 by News Staff

In a paper published on October 1 in the journal Astronomy & Geophysics, independent scholar and astrophysicist Graeme Waddington and University of...

This Hubble image shows the gigantic galaxy cluster Abell 665. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Rich Galaxy Cluster

Oct 30, 2017 by News Staff

A new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows Abell 665, one of the richest galaxy clusters known. This Hubble image shows the gigantic galaxy...

A/2017 U1 (center). Image credit: Paulo Holvorcem & Michael Schwartz, Tenagra Observatories.

Astronomers Spot Interstellar Object in Our Solar System: A/2017 U1

Oct 29, 2017 by News Staff

For the first time, astronomers think they’ve spotted an asteroid (or perhaps a comet) in the Solar System that came from interstellar space. A/2017...