Astronomy News

Photons from Dwarf Galaxies Reionized Early Universe, New Research Suggests

Astronomers estimate 50,000 sources of near-infrared light are represented in this Webb image of the galaxy cluster Abell 2744. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / I. Labbe, Swinburne University of Technology / R. Bezanson, University of Pittsburgh / A. Pagan, STScI.
Feb 29, 2024 by News Staff

The reionization of the Universe occurred some 500 to 900 million years after the Big Bang. It represents the transformation of neutral hydrogen into ionized gas and marks the end of the ‘Dark Ages’ in cosmic history. Now, astronomers using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope have obtained the spectra of eight ultra-faint dwarf galaxies that existed less than a billion years after the Big Bang. Their observations could help settle a long-running...

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This ALMA image shows the water vapor (shades of blue) in the protoplanetary disk around HL Tauri; near the center of the disk, where the young star lives, the environment is hotter and the gas brighter; the red-hued rings are previous ALMA observations showing the distribution of dust around the star. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Facchini et al.

ALMA Detects Water Vapor in Protoplanetary Disk around Young Star

Feb 29, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The water molecule is a key ingredient in the formation of planetary systems. Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)...

The asteroid moonlet Dimorphos as seen by NASA’s DART spacecraft 11 seconds before impact. DART’s on board DRACO imager captured this image from a distance of 68 km (42 miles). This image was the last to contain all of Dimorphos in the field of view. Image credit: NASA / Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

Asteroid Moonlet Dimorphos May Have Been Reshaped Following Impact from NASA’s DART Mission

Feb 28, 2024 by News Staff

On September 26, 2022, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission successfully impacted Dimorphos, the natural satellite of the binary near-Earth...

This Webb image shows NGC 1559, a barred spiral galaxy some 32 million light-years away in the constellation of Reticulum. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / A. Leroy / J. Lee / PHANGS Team.

Webb Snaps Breathtaking New Image of NGC 1559

Feb 28, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope has captured a new photo of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1559. This Webb image shows NGC 1559, a barred spiral...

Composite-color image of A2744-QSO1. Image credit: Furtak et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07184-8.

Webb Finds Surprisingly Massive Black Hole in Early Universe

Feb 27, 2024 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, astronomers have observed an extremely red, quasar-like object — named A2744-QSO1 — behind...

An artist’s impression of WD 0816-310, a magnetic white dwarf located 63 light-years away in the constellation of Puppis. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

VLT Detects ‘Metal Scar’ on Surface of White Dwarf Star

Feb 27, 2024 by News Staff

Dynamically active planetary systems orbit a significant fraction of white dwarf stars. These stars often exhibit surface metals accreted from debris disks....

The discovery image of the Uranian moon S/2023 U1 using the Magellan telescope on November 4, 2023. Image credit: Scott Sheppard.

Astronomers Discover New Moons around Uranus and Neptune

Feb 26, 2024 by News Staff

The three newly-discovered moons — S/2023 U1, S/2002 N5 and S/2021 N1 — are the faintest ever found around Uranus and Neptune using ground-based...

The Radcliffe Wave next to our Sun (yellow dot), inside a cartoon model of the Milky Way. Blue dots are clusters of baby stars. The white line is a theoretical model by Konietzka et al. that explains the current shape and motion of the wave. The magenta and green lines show how the wave will move in the future. Image credit: Ralf Konietzka / Alyssa Goodman / WorldWide Telescope.

Radcliffe Wave is Oscillating, Astronomers Find

Feb 26, 2024 by News Staff

Our Sun lies within 300 parsecs (around 1,000 light-years) of the 2,700-parsec- (around 9,000-light-year-) long sinusoidal chain of dense gas clouds known...

This Hubble image shows NGC 1841, a globular cluster some 162,000 light-years away in the constellation of Mensa. The color image includes ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared observations from both Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Three 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 / A. Sarajedini / F. Niederhofer.

Hubble Focuses on Globular Cluster NGC 1841

Feb 26, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the globular cluster NGC 1841, which is found within the Large Magellanic Cloud. This...

Webb observed the best evidence yet for emission from a neutron star in SN 1987A. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / C. Fransson, Stockholm University / M. Matsuura, Cardiff University / M.J. Barlow, University College London / P.J. Kavanagh, Maynooth University / J. Larsson, KTH Royal Institute of Technology.

Webb Detects Emission from Neutron Star in Supernova 1987A Remnant

Feb 23, 2024 by News Staff

SN 1987A is the only supernova visible to the naked eye in the last 400 years and the most studied supernova in history. The event was a core-collapse...

Study: There Are More Temperate Exoplanets in Binary Stellar Systems than Previously Known

Feb 22, 2024 by News Staff

In a new study, astronomers from Yale University and MIT examined the joint spin-orbit and orbit-orbit distribution for exoplanets residing in binary and...

Multiwavelength image of the massive galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414. Image credit: NASA / CXC / SAO / Omoruyi et al. / STScI / Tremblay et al. / ASTRON / LOFAR / NASA / CXC / SAO / N. Wolk.

Astronomers Detect Mega-Eruption from Supermassive Black Hole in Distant Galaxy Cluster

Feb 22, 2024 by News Staff

Some of the gas sent gas away from the supermassive black hole — which is located in the center of the galaxy cluster SDSS J1531+3414 (SDSS J1531...

This image of the exceptional quasar J0529-4351 is from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey DR10; a neighboring M star appears in red. Image credit: Wolf et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02195-x.

Astronomers Discover Most Luminous Quasar Ever Observed

Feb 21, 2024 by Sergio Prostak

The black hole in the newly-discovered quasar SMSS J052915.80-435152.0 (hereafter called J0529-4351) accretes around one solar mass per day onto an existing...

An artist’s conception of the clouds flowing out from the center of the Milky Way, entrained in a very hot wind that has accelerated them to velocities of many hundreds of km per second. Image credit: NSF / GBO / P. Vosteen.

Astronomers Spot Hundreds of Massive Gas Clouds Escaping Milky Way’s Center

Feb 20, 2024 by News Staff

Using new 21-cm radio observations made with NSF’s Green Bank Telescope, astronomers have discovered over 250 neutral gaseous clouds being blasted out...

This Hubble image shows IC 3476, a dwarf spiral galaxy located 54 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. This image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the near-infrared and optical parts of the spectrum. 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 Spots Dwarf Spiral Galaxy in Coma Berenices

Feb 19, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced a spectacular image of the dwarf spiral galaxy IC 3476, which is found in the constellation...

This Webb image shows ZF-UDS-7329, a rare massive galaxy that formed very early in the Universe. Image credit: Glazebrook et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07191-9.

Webb Discovers Massive Quiescent Galaxy with Old Stellar Population in Early Universe

Feb 16, 2024 by News Staff

The formation of galaxies by gradual hierarchical co-assembly of baryons and cold dark matter halos is a fundamental paradigm underpinning modern astrophysics...

Glein et al. found evidence for hydrothermal or metamorphic activity deep within the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute.

Webb Finds Evidence of Hydrothermal Processes in Interiors of Eris and Makemake

Feb 15, 2024 by News Staff

The icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake have surfaces bearing methane ice of unknown origin. According to an analysis of data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James...

Free-floating binary Jupiter-mass objects are common even when present stellar and planetary theory cannot account for its existence. Image credit: Gemini Observatory / Jon Lomberg.

Astronomers Discover Binary System of Free-Floating Planetary-Mass Objects

Feb 14, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The JuMBO 24 binary system resides in the Orion Nebula, a diffuse nebula located approximately 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion. Free-floating...

Arredondo et al. looked at four silicate-rich asteroids using the FORCAST instrument on NASA’s SOFIA observatory to isolate the mid-infrared spectral signatures indicative of molecular water on two of them: Iris and Massalia. Image credit: NASA / Carla Thomas / Southwest Research Institute.

SOFIA Detects Molecular Water on Nominally Dry Asteroids

Feb 13, 2024 by News Staff

Using the FORCAST instrument on NASA’s retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), astronomers have obtained mid-infrared spectra...

This is an artist's impression of the SN 1987A remnant. The image is based on real data and reveals the cold, inner regions of the remnant, in red, where tremendous amounts of dust were detected and imaged by ALMA. This inner region is contrasted with the outer shell, lacy white and blue circles, where the blast wave from the supernova is colliding with the envelope of gas ejected from the star prior to its powerful detonation. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Alexandra Angelich, NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Astronomers Employ Novel Technique for Searching for Alien Technosignatures

Feb 13, 2024 by News Staff

Technosignatures are any measurable property that may provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)...

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