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This artist’s impression shows a hot-Jupiter orbiting close to one of the stars in the star cluster Messier 67. Astronomers have found far more planets like this in the cluster than expected. This surprise result was obtained using a number of telescopes and instruments, among them the HARPS spectrograph at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. Image credit: L. Calcada / ESO.

Unexpected Excess of Hot-Jupiter Exoplanets in Messier 67

Jun 17, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers have found that there are far more so-called hot-Jupiter planets – gas giants that orbit very close to their parent stars – than...

Asteroid 2016 HO3 has an orbit around the Sun that keeps it as a constant companion of our planet. This is an artist’s impression of an asteroid. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick, Space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick / University of Cambridge.

Asteroid 2016 HO3 is Earth’s Quasi-Satellite, NASA Astronomers Say

Jun 16, 2016 by Natali Anderson

According to astronomers at NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object (NEO) Studies, a near-Earth asteroid designated 2016 HO3 is currently following a stable...

This artist’s impression shows the closest known protoplanetary disc, around the star TW Hydrae. The organic molecule methanol has been found by ALMA in this disc. This is the first such detection of the compound in a young planet-forming disc. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Methanol Detected in Protoplanetary Disc around Young Star TW Hydrae

Jun 15, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected gas-phase methanol (methyl alcohol) in the protoplanetary disc...

Astronomers applaud the first detection of a chiral molecule, propylene oxide, in interstellar space. On Earth, propylene oxide is a common compound used in making polyurethane plastics. Image credit: B. Saxton / NRAO / AUI / NSF / N.E. Kassim, Naval Research Laboratory / Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Chiral Molecule Detected in Interstellar Cloud Sagittarius B2

Jun 15, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using highly sensitive radio telescopes have detected, for the first time, a chiral molecule in interstellar space. Astronomers applaud the...

A hot Neptune-sized exoplanet behind its parent star. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Some Exoplanets May Be Much Smaller than Thought, Says New Study

Jun 14, 2016 by News Staff

Cloud or haze layers in the upper atmospheres of extrasolar planets may make them appear bigger than they really are, a study led by Dr. Helmut Lammer...

Comparison of the relative sizes of several circumbinary planets. Kepler-1647b is substantially larger than any of the previously known circumbinary planets. Image credit: Lynette Cook.

Kepler-1647b: Astronomers Discover Circumbinary Planet 3,700 Light-Years Away

Jun 13, 2016 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope have found a Jupiter-like exoplanet orbiting around a pair of Sun-like stars. Comparison of the relative...

This image, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows blue stars in the constellation of Sagittarius. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Observes Bright, Blue Stars in Sagittarius

Jun 13, 2016 by News Staff

This new image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope depicts blue stars in the constellation of Sagittarius. This image, taken with the Advanced...

Opaque Clouds on hot-Jupiters May Hide Atmospheric Water, Scientists Say

Jun 10, 2016 by News Staff

Hot, Jupiter-sized extrasolar planets often have cloud or haze layers in their atmospheres, and this may prevent astronomers from detecting atmospheric...

An artist’s impression of PTFO8-8695 b, which is believed to orbit a star in the constellation Orion every 11 hours. Image credit: A. Passwaters / Rice University.

Young Star Destroys Gas Giant Exoplanet

Jun 9, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers searching for the Milky Way’s youngest exoplanets have uncovered strong evidence for one unlike any other, a so-called ‘hot-Jupiter’...

This wide-field view is centered on the globular star cluster Messier 4 (also known as NGC 6121) in the constellation of Scorpius. It is a color composite made from exposures from the Digitized Sky Survey 2 (DSS2). Image credit: ESO / Digitized Sky Survey 2 / Davide De Martin.

Astrophysicists Record ‘Stellar Music’ from Milky Way’s Oldest Stars

Jun 8, 2016 by News Staff

A multinational team of astrophysicists has recorded the ‘sounds’ from some of the oldest stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. This wide-field view is centered...

Abell 2597 BCG. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF / Dana Berry / SkyWorks / ALMA / ESO / NAOJ.

Astronomers Observe Feeding Habits of Active Black Hole

Jun 8, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers have witnessed a cosmic weather event that has never been seen before — a cluster of giant gas clouds raining in on the supermassive...

An artist’s impression of the disc of material around Sagittarius A*. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

New Computer Algorithm Could Produce First Black Hole Images

Jun 7, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

An MIT-led team of scientists has developed a new algorithm – named the CHIRP (Continuous High-resolution Image Reconstruction using Patch priors) —...

The drizzle of stars scattered across this Hubble image forms a nearby irregular dwarf galaxy known as UGC 4879. Image credit: NASA / ESA.

Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on Lonely Dwarf Galaxy

Jun 6, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced this beautiful image of UGC 4879, the most isolated dwarf galaxy in the periphery of the Local Group of...

Canarias Einstein ring: the central lensing galaxy is shown in red and the blue Einstein ring is visible all around it. Image credit: M. Bettinelli et al / DECam / CTIO.

Canarias Einstein Ring: Astronomers Capture Rare Image of Lensed Galaxy

Jun 5, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers have spotted an almost complete Einstein ring — an image of a far-off galaxy lensed by gravity — in the vicinity of the Sculptor...

Radio image (top), made with the VLA, and optical image (bottom) made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot. The radio image shows the complex upwellings and downwellings of ammonia gas 18-56 miles (30-90 km) below the visible clouds. Image credit: Imke de Pater et al / NRAO / AUI / NSF / NASA / ESA.

VLA Radio Maps Reveal What’s Beneath Jupiter’s Thick Clouds

Jun 3, 2016 by News Staff

Scientists using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory have produced detailed radio maps of Jupiter’s...

Cosmic distance ladder. Image credit: NASA /ESA / A. Field, STScI / A. Riess, STScI & JHU.

Universe is Expanding Faster than Previously Thought

Jun 2, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have discovered that the Universe is expanding between 5% and 9% faster than previously calculated. Cosmic...

False-color Hubble image of the star-forming spiral galaxy J100054 (center). Image credit: Ximena Fernandez et al.

Astronomers Detect Atomic Hydrogen Emission in Galaxy 5 Billion Light-Years Away

Jun 2, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A group of astronomers led by Dr. Ximena Fernandez from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, has pushed the limits of radio astronomy to detect...

Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: Nick Risinger.

Milky Way Galaxy Has Mass of 700 Billion Suns, Canadian Astronomers Say

Jun 1, 2016 by News Staff

What is the total mass of our Milky Way Galaxy? The short answer, so far, is 7 x 1011 solar masses, says a team of astronomers at McMaster University,...

Emission nebula RCW 120. Image credit: ESA / Herschel / PACS / SPIRE / Hi-GAL Project / G. Li Causi, IAPS / INAF.

Herschel Maps Reveal Star-Forming Hubs across Milky Way’s Galactic Plane

May 31, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers from ESA’s Herschel mission have released a series of stunning maps of star-forming regions in the Milky Way’s Galactic plane. The emission...