Astronomy News

HAT-P-26b: Unexpectedly Primitive Atmosphere Discovered around Neptune-Mass Exoplanet

The atmosphere of the Neptune-mass exoplanet HAT-P-26b is unexpectedly primitive, composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. By combining observations from Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, Wakeford et al determined that, unlike Neptune and Uranus, the exoplanet has relatively low metallicity. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
May 12, 2017 by News Staff

Astronomers have discovered that HAT-P-26b — a ‘warm Neptune’ orbiting a dwarf star approximately 437 light-years from Earth — has an atmosphere composed almost entirely of hydrogen and helium. A paper reporting this discovery is published in the journal Science. The atmosphere of the Neptune-mass exoplanet HAT-P-26b is unexpectedly primitive, composed primarily of hydrogen and helium. By combining observations from Hubble and Spitzer...

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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 Create Detailed Map of Loki Patera, Most Active Volcanic Site on Jupiter’s Moon Io

May 11, 2017 by News Staff

Taking advantage of a rare orbital alignment between Jupiter’s moons Io and Europa, a research team led by scientists at the University of California...

This artist’s impression displays TRAPPIST-1 and its planets reflected in a surface. Image credit: NASA / R. Hurt / T. Pyle.

TRAPPIST-1 System’s Planetary Harmonies Save It from Destruction

May 11, 2017 by News Staff

The recently discovered TRAPPIST-1 planetary system has a unique configuration, according to new research from the University of Toronto, Canada. This...

An artist’s conception of SIMP0136, a planetary-like member of the 200-million-year-old Carina-Near group. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Jonathan Gagne.

One of Nearest Brown Dwarfs is Actually Free-Floating Giant Planet, Astronomers Say

May 10, 2017 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by the Carnegie Institution has discovered that what scientists had previously thought was one of the closest brown dwarfs to...

This Hubble image shows the unusual object LEDA 18516. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Image Captures Collision of Two Spiral Galaxies

May 8, 2017 by News Staff

This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope captures an ongoing cosmic collision between two massive galaxies. This Hubble image shows the...

With the final observation of the distant galaxy cluster Abell 370 -- approximately 6 billion light-years away -- the Frontier Fields program came to an end. Abell 370 is one of the very first galaxy clusters in which astronomers observed the phenomenon of gravitational lensing, the warping of spacetime by the cluster’s gravitational field that distorts the light from galaxies lying far behind it. This manifests as arcs and streaks in the picture, which are the stretched images of background galaxies. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / HST Frontier Fields.

Abell 370: Hubble Team Releases New ‘Frontier Fields’ Image

May 4, 2017 by News Staff

This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is one of the best ever views of the massive galaxy cluster Abell 370. The image (hi-res version)...

This VISTA image of the Small Magellanic Cloud shows millions of stars. Image credit: ESO / VISTA / VMC.

VISTA Telescope Takes Biggest Infrared Image Ever of Small Magellanic Cloud

May 3, 2017 by News Staff

This enormous image (zoomable version), captured with ESO’s Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope (VISTA), is the largest infrared image (43,223 x 38,236...

Artist’s illustration of the Epsilon Eridani system. In the right foreground, the Jupiter-mass planet Epsilon Eridani b is shown orbiting its star at the outside edge of an asteroid belt. In the background can be seen another narrow asteroid or comet belt plus an outermost belt similar in size to our Solar System’s Kuiper Belt. The similarity of the structure of the Epsilon Eridani system to our Solar System is remarkable, although Epsilon Eridani is much younger than our Sun. Image credit: NASA / SOFIA / Lynette Cook.

Epsilon Eridani System is Remarkably Similar to Our Own

May 3, 2017 by News Staff

New observations from the joint German-U.S. Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the largest airborne observatory in the world, indicate...

This X-ray image of the hot gas in the Perseus Cluster was made from 16 days of Chandra observations. An oval highlights the location of an enormous wave found to be rolling through the gas. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Stephen Walker et al.

Astronomers Find Enormous Wave of Hot Gas Rolling through Nearby Galaxy Cluster

May 2, 2017 by News Staff

A wave spanning 200,000 light-years (about twice the size of our Milky Way Galaxy) is rolling through the Perseus Cluster, according to observations from...

This image snapped by Hubble’s WFC3 camera shows the spiral galaxy NGC 5917, which lies in the constellation Libra, about 87 million light-years away. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Looks at NGC 5917

May 1, 2017 by Sergio Prostak

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this stunning image of the spiral galaxy NGC 5917. This image snapped by Hubble’s WFC3 camera shows...

This artist’s concept shows the Earth-mass exoplanet OGLE-2016-BLG-1195Lb. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Frozen Earth-Mass Exoplanet Discovered 12,750 Light-Years Away

Apr 28, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Using a planet-hunting technique called gravitational microlensing, astronomers have detected an Earth-mass planet orbiting an ultracool dwarf 12,750 light-years...

Map of the cosmic microwave background; the insets show the environment of the Cold Spot. The angular diameter of the vast supervoid aligned with the Cold Spot, which exceeds 30 degrees, is marked by the white circles. Image credit: ESA Planck Collaboration / Gergö Kránicz.

When Universes Collide: Galaxy Redshift Survey Hints at Exotic Origin for Mysterious ‘Cold Spot’

Apr 26, 2017 by News Staff

According to the results of a redshift survey of nearly 7,000 galaxies, a gigantic ‘hole’ in the Universe is unlikely to explain a ‘Cold Spot’...

This image shows the irregular galaxy NGC 7250, which lies in the constellation Lacerta, about 31 million light-years away. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Observes Irregular Galaxy NGC 7250

Apr 24, 2017 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced this beautiful image of the galaxy NGC 7250. This image shows the irregular galaxy NGC 7250, which lies...

Hubble’s view on iPTF16geu. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Spots Multiply-Imaged, Gravitationally Lensed Type Ia Supernova

Apr 21, 2017 by News Staff

The powerful vision of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has allowed astronomers to analyze for the first time the multiple images of a gravitationally...

The Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope in Green Bank, West Virginia, the United States. Image credit: Jiuguang Wang / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Breakthrough Listen Search for Intelligent Life: First Results

Apr 21, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Breakthrough Listen — the largest ever research program aimed at finding evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth — has released its eleven...

This image of a pair of spiral galaxies NGC 4302 and NGC 4298 was released to celebrate the 27th anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA / ESA / M. Mutchler, STScI.

Hubble Celebrates 27th Anniversary with Photo of Galaxy Pair NGC 4302-NGC 4298

Apr 20, 2017 by News Staff

In celebration of the 27th anniversary of the launch of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope in 1990, astronomers used the legendary telescope to take a...

This composite of 30 images of the asteroid 2014 JO25 was generated with radar data collected using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar. The radar images were collected on April 18, 2017. At the time, 2014 JO25 was 1.9 million miles (3 million km) from Earth. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / GSSR.

2014 JO25: Stunning Images of Large Asteroid Captured by NASA Radar — Just Before Earth Flyby

Apr 19, 2017 by Natali Anderson

Using NASA’s Goldstone Solar System Radar in Mojave Desert, California, astronomers have captured radar images of the rotating, two-lobed asteroid 2014...

The super-Earth exoplanet LHS 1140b is located in the liquid water habitable zone surrounding its parent star, LHS 1140. Image credit: M. Weiss, CfA.

LHS 1140b: Potentially Habitable Super-Earth Found Orbiting Nearby Red Dwarf

Apr 19, 2017 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers have discovered a ‘super-Earth’ exoplanet in the habitable zone of LHS 1140, a small, cool star in the constellation of Cetus, approximately...

Ahn et al found two ultra-compact dwarf galaxies, VUCD3 and M59cO, with supermassive black holes. The findings suggest that these dwarf galaxies are likely tiny leftovers of larger galaxies that were stripped of their outer layers after colliding into other, larger galaxies Messier 87 and Messier 59, respectively. Image credit: NASA / Space Telescope Science Institute.

Researchers Find Supermassive Black Holes in Two Ultra-Compact Dwarf Galaxies

Apr 18, 2017 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers and astrophysicists, led by University of Utah, has detected supermassive black holes in two ultra-compact dwarf galaxies:...

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

Study: Earth-Like Circumbinary Exoplanets Could Be Habitable

Apr 17, 2017 by News Staff

A study by Dr. Siegfried Eggl of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Dr. Max Popp of Princeton University and the Max Planck Institute of Meteorology...

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