Astronomy News

Denser Molecular Clouds Are Not More Efficient at Forming Stars, Astrophysicists Say

This composite image shows RCW 106, a star-forming region located in the southern constellation Norma, approximately 12,000 light-years away from Earth. The image imposes a red map of dense gas, imaged with the ArTéMiS camera at APEX, over an optical image taken with ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope. Image credit: ESO / M. Mattern et al.
Aug 19, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Despite recent progress, the question of what regulates the star formation efficiency in galaxies remains one of the most debated problems in astrophysics. According to the dominant picture, star formation is regulated by turbulence and feedback, and the star formation efficiency is 1-2% per local free-fall time. In an alternate scenario, the star formation rate in galactic disks is linearly proportional to the mass of dense gas above a critical density...

read more...
This Hubble image shows UGC 11861, a barred spiral galaxy located 69 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Cepheus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / C. Kilpatrick.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Image of Little-Known Barred Spiral Galaxy

Aug 19, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced a beautiful image of the barred spiral galaxy UGC 11861. This Hubble image shows UGC...

Keogram of (a) all-sky camera and (b) HySCAI, and (c) time evolution of space-averaged spectrum of aurora emission measured by HySCAI on October 20-21, 2023. Image credit: Yoshinuma et al., doi: 10.1186/s40623-024-02039-y.

Researchers Capture First Two-Dimensional Spectral Images of Aurorae

Aug 16, 2024 by News Staff

Two-dimensional (2D) aurora images with full spectrum have been captured by scientists in Japan using the newly-developed hyperspectral camera for auroral...

Jarmak et al. used Webb, shown in the bottom right corner of this illustration, to confirm the presence of hydrated minerals on the surface of Psyche. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute.

Study: Asteroid Psyche Originated beyond Solar System’s Snow Line and Later Migrated to Main Belt

Aug 13, 2024 by News Staff

Planetary scientists using spectral data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have confirmed the detection of hydroxyl molecules on the surface...

This Webb image shows Messier 106, a spiral galaxy located 20 million light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / J. Glenn.

Webb Observes Hidden Depths of Messier 106

Aug 12, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a stunning new image snapped by the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope of the active, central part of the nearby spiral galaxy Messier...

Gaia spotted potential moons around 352 asteroids not known to have a companion. Image credit: ESA.

ESA’s Gaia Mission Discovers 352 New Binary Asteroid Candidates

Aug 12, 2024 by News Staff

Binary asteroids have attracted the attention of the scientific community due to their interesting properties and the significant impact they have on our...

This Hubble image shows LEDA 12535, a barred spiral galaxy some 320 million light-years away in the constellation of Perseus. The color composite was assembled from images taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light. It is based on data obtained through three filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / I. Chilingarian.

Hubble Snaps Striking Barred Spiral Galaxy Image

Aug 12, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a striking new photo of LEDA 12535, a barred spiral galaxy situated in the famous Perseus...

An artist’s impression of the magnetar Swift J1818.0-1617. Image credit: NSF / AUI / NRAO / S. Dagnello.

VLBA Discovers New Insights about Fastest-Spinning Magnetar

Aug 8, 2024 by News Staff

Swift J1818.0-1617 is located approximately 22,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. An artist’s impression of the magnetar Swift...

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the star cluster Terzan 5. Image credit: F. Ferraro / NASA / ESA / ESO.

Astronomers Find Ten New Pulsars in Terzan 5

Aug 5, 2024 by News Staff

Using data from the MeerKAT radio telescope and NSF’s Green Bank Telescope, astronomers have discovered ten new millisecond plusars in the globular cluster...

This Hubble image shows the barred spiral galaxy LEDA 857074. The color image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in the near-infrared part of the spectrum. Four 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 / R.J. Foley.

Hubble Spots Supernova-Hosting Galaxy with Distorted Spiral Arms

Aug 5, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have taken an image of the barred spiral galaxy LEDA 857074. This Hubble image shows the barred spiral...

Conceptual image of an exoplanet with an advanced extraterrestrial civilization. Structures on the right are orbiting solar panel arrays that harvest light from the parent star and convert it into electricity that is then beamed to the surface via microwaves. The exoplanet on the left illustrates other potential technosignatures: city lights (glowing circular structures) on the night side and multi-colored clouds on the day side that represent various forms of pollution, such as nitrogen dioxide gas from burning fossil fuels or chlorofluorocarbons used in refrigeration. Image credit: NASA / Jay Freidlander.

Astronomers Propose New Technosignature: Silicon-Based Solar Panels

Aug 2, 2024 by News Staff

In a new paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, Dr. Ravi Kopparapu of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and colleagues assessed the potential...

This artist’s concept shows what happened when two massive clusters of galaxies, collectively known as MACS J0018.5+1626, collided: the dark matter in the galaxy clusters (blue) sailed ahead of the associated clouds of hot gas, or normal matter (orange); both dark matter and normal matter feel the pull of gravity, but only the normal matter experiences additional effects like shocks and turbulence, which slow it down during collisions. Image credit: W.M. Keck Observatory / Adam Makarenko.

Astronomers See Decoupling of Dark and Normal Matter in Collision of Two Galaxy Clusters

Aug 1, 2024 by News Staff

The two galaxy clusters, known collectivity as MACS J0018.5+1626, each contain thousands of galaxies and are located billions of light-years away from...

Rotational motion of young (blue) and old (red) stars similar to the Sun (orange). Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt / SSC / Caltech.

Milky Way’s Thin Disk Formed Less Than One Billion Years from Big Bang, New Study Suggests

Aug 1, 2024 by News Staff

Using data from ESA’s Gaia mission, astronomers have found a large number of metal-poor stars older than 13 billion years on orbits similar to that of...

Clough et al. proposed a formalism for studying warp drive spacetimes dynamically and produced the first fully consistent numerical-relativity waveforms for the collapse of a warp drive bubble.

Warp Drive Collapse Should Generate Gravitational Waves, Theoretical Astrophysicists Claim

Jul 31, 2024 by News Staff

The principle idea behind a warp drive is that instead of exceeding the speed of light directly in a local reference frame, a ‘warp bubble’ could traverse...

This Hubble image shows IC 3430, a dwarf galaxy around 45 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. The color image includes both optical and near-infrared observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). It is based on data obtained through two filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Sun.

Hubble Space Telescope Spies IC 3430

Jul 29, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a remarkable new view of the dwarf elliptical galaxy IC 3430. This Hubble image shows...

This image of Epsilon Indi Ab was taken with the coronagraph on Webb’s MIRI instrument. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / STScI / E. Matthews, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy.

Webb Directly Images Temperate Super-Jupiter around Epsilon Indi A

Jul 24, 2024 by News Staff

Astronomers using Webb’s MIRI (Mid-Infrared Instrument) have imaged Epsilon Indi Ab, a gas giant several times the mass of Jupiter located around 12...

This collection of images was released to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Chandra. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO.

Chandra Marks 25 Years in Space with Collection of 25 Stunning Images

Jul 23, 2024 by News Staff

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Chandra team has released a set of 25 new images of cosmic objects and phenomena. This...

This artist’s conception shows the galaxy merger and its two central black holes. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / M. Weiss, NRAO, AUI & NSF.

Astrophysicists May Have Solved ‘Final Parsec Problem’ of Supermassive Black Hole Mergers

Jul 23, 2024 by News Staff

New calculations reveal that pairs of supermassive black holes can merge into a larger black hole because of previously overlooked behavior of dark matter...

In this image, the person on the left (Scarlett Johansson) is real, while the person on the right is AI-generated. Their eyeballs are depicted underneath their faces. The reflections in the eyeballs are consistent for the real person, but incorrect (from a physics point of view) for the fake person. Image credit: Adejumoke Owolabi / CC BY 4.0.

Scientists Use Astronomy Techniques to Detect Deepfakes

Jul 22, 2024 by News Staff

Want to spot a deepfake? Look for the stars in their eyes, says a team of astronomers at the University of Hull. They suggest that AI-generated fakes can...

This Hubble image shows NGC 3430, a spiral galaxy some 100 million light-years in the constellation of Leo Minor. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). It is based on data obtained through two filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / C. Kilpatrick.

Hubble Sees Spiral Galaxy NGC 3430

Jul 22, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

In this new image, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has focused its lens on the central part of the spiral galaxy NGC 3430. This Hubble image shows...

© 2011-2025. Sci.News. All Rights Reserved. | Back to top