Astronomy News

Milky Way Galaxy Underwent Brief Period of Quasar-Like Activity 6 Million Years Ago

This artist’s impression shows our Milky Way Galaxy as it may have appeared 6 million years ago during a phase of quasar-like activity. Outside of that bubble, a pervasive ‘fog’ of million-degree gas might account for the galaxy’s missing matter of 130 billion solar masses. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick / CfA.
Aug 30, 2016 by News Staff

Milky Way’s center is currently a quiet place. But it wasn’t always this way – a new study published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters (arXiv.org preprint) shows that approximately six million years ago, the Galactic core blazed forth furiously. This artist’s impression shows our Milky Way Galaxy as it may have appeared 6 million years ago during a phase of quasar-like activity. Outside of that bubble, a pervasive ‘fog’ of million-degree...

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An artist’s conception of Planet Nine. Image credit: Robin Dienel.

Hunt for Planet Nine Reveals New Trans-Neptunian Objects

Aug 29, 2016 by News Staff

In the race to discover the recently proposed Planet Nine, a team of astronomers has discovered ten previously unknown objects beyond the orbit of the...

This Hubble WFPC2 image shows Alpha Centauri A (left) and Alpha Centauri B (right). Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Snaps Image of Alpha Centauri AB

Aug 29, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble Space Telescope team has released an incredible new image of the binary star Alpha Centauri AB. This Hubble WFPC2 image shows Alpha Centauri...

The ultra-diffuse galaxy Dragonfly 44 and its immediate surroundings. The galaxy consists almost entirely of dark matter, and has a remarkable appearance: it is a low surface brightness, spheroidal object that is peppered with faint, compact sources. Image credit: Pieter van Dokkum / Roberto Abraham / Gemini Observatory / SDSS / AURA.

Dragonfly 44: Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy Made Mostly of Dark Matter

Aug 25, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers using the W. M. Keck Observatory and the Gemini North telescope have found a galaxy that consists almost entirely of dark matter, the mysterious...

Blazars are the most common sources detected by NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. As matter falls toward the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center, some of it is accelerated outward at nearly the speed of light along jets pointed in opposite directions. When one of the jets happens to be aimed in the direction of Earth, as illustrated here, the galaxy appears especially bright and is classified as a blazar. Image credit: M. Weiss / CfA.

NASA Space Telescopes Reveal Unexpected Blazar Connection

Aug 24, 2016 by News Staff

Astronomers studying black-hole-powered galaxies called blazars have uncovered a surprising link between two very different wavelengths of the light these...

This artist’s impression shows Proxima b orbiting Proxima Centauri, which at only 4.23 light-years is the closest star to our Solar System. The double star Alpha Centauri AB also appears in the image between the exoplanet and Proxima itself. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

Earth-Mass Exoplanet Found in Habitable Zone around Proxima Centauri

Aug 24, 2016 by James Romero

A planet described as the ‘single most promising exoplanet discovered to date in terms of habitability’ and a ‘natural location where our civilization...

Artist’s impression of the disc and outflow around the massive protostar G11.92–0.61 MM1. Image credit: A. Smith / Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge.

Astronomers Find Heavyweight Protostar in Milky Way Galaxy

Aug 22, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has identified a massive protostar, G11.92–0.61 MM1 (MM1 for short), which could help scientists understand how...

This image, taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, shows the dwarf irregular galaxy NGC 5264. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Spies Dwarf Irregular Galaxy NGC 5264

Aug 22, 2016 by News Staff

This beautiful NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures a galaxy called NGC 5264. This image, taken with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys,...

In this artist’s conception GJ 1132b circles a red dwarf star. Image credit: Dana Berry.

Nearby Earth-Sized Exoplanet GJ 1132b Might Have Oxygen-Rich Atmosphere

Aug 19, 2016 by News Staff

In this artist’s conception GJ 1132b circles a red dwarf star. Image credit: Dana Berry. GJ 1132b, an extrasolar planet about 1.2 times the size and...

Close Encounters between Centaurs and Gas Giants Form Our Solar System’s ‘Pinky Rings’

Aug 19, 2016 by James Romero

Our gas giants strip the icy surface off minor planets to form miniature versions of Saturn’s famous rings throughout the outer solar system, according...

This is an infographic explaining the fact that 10 trillionths of your suntan comes from beyond our Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: Dan Hutton / ICRAR.

Extragalactic Light is Contributing to Your Suntan, Astronomers Say

Aug 17, 2016 by News Staff

Ten trillionths of your suntan comes from beyond our Milky Way Galaxy, according to a team of astronomers led by Prof. Simon Driver from the University...

Dresden Codex Venus Table Reveals Ancient Mayans Made Major Discovery in Astronomy, Math

Aug 17, 2016 by News Staff

The Preface of the Venus Table of the Dresden Codex, first panel on left, and the first three pages of the Table. Image credit: University of California,...

These Hubble images show small, ancient galaxies Pisces A (left) and Pisces B. Image credit: NASA / ESA / E. Tollerud, STScI.

Hubble Sees Two Dwarf Galaxies in Pisces

Aug 15, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured incredible images of two small, ancient galaxies in the constellation of Pisces. According to astronomers,...

This Hubble image shows DEM L71, a supernova remnant located 160,000 light-years away in the constellation of Dorado. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Y. Chu.

Distant Supernova Remnant Imaged by Hubble Space Telescope

Aug 15, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of the supernova remnant DEM L71, which is found in the constellation of Dorado. This Hubble image...

Artist’s impression of Planet Nine. Image credit: Tom Ruen / ESO.

Our Tilting Solar System Could Hint at Properties of Proposed Planet Nine

Aug 12, 2016 by James Romero

A Cornell University Professor’s recalculation of models linking a proposed 9th solar system planet to a slant in the orbital plane around our Sun could...

Messier 18. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Survey Telescope Observes Messier 18

Aug 10, 2016 by News Staff

ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope at Paranal Observatory, Chile, has captured a new image of the star cluster Messier 18, also known as NGC 6613 and M18. Messier...

This image, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the irregular galaxy NGC 2337. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Observes NGC 2337

Aug 8, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of nearby galaxy NGC 2337. This image, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on...

An artist’s concept of the implied distribution of Cepheids (blue) in the Milky Way. With the exception of a small clump in the Galactic center, the central 8,000 light years appear to have very few Cepheids, and hence very few young stars. Image credit: University of Tokyo.

Large Stellar Void Found in Our Milky Way Galaxy

Aug 4, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers has found that there is a huge region in the inner part of the Galactic disc that is devoid of stars known as Cepheids. An...

This artist’s concept depicts a super-Earth. Image credit: NASA / Ames / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Create Catalog of Potentially Habitable Earth-Like Exoplanets

Aug 4, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of astronomers from the United States and France has pinpointed which of 4,270 exoplanets discovered by NASA’s Kepler mission are most likely...

This is an artist's impression of an exoplanet. Image credit: Ron Miller.

Life as We Know It is Premature from Cosmic Perspective, Study Suggests

Aug 2, 2016 by News Staff

The Universe is 13.8 billion years old, while Earth formed 4.5 billion years ago. Some cosmologists think this time gap means that life on other planets...

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