Astronomy News

Astronomers Capture Reverse Shock Emission from Record-Breaking Gamma-Ray Burst

ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory recorded 20 dust rings, 19 of which are shown here in arbitrary colors. The image merges observations made two and five days after GRB 221009A erupted. Dark stripes indicate gaps between the detectors. A detailed analysis shows that the widest ring visible here, comparable to the apparent size of a full Moon, came from dust clouds located about 1,300 light-years away. The innermost ring arose from dust at a distance of 61,000 light-years -- on the other side of our Galaxy. Image credit: ESA / XMM-Newton / M. Rigoselli, INAF.
Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers have provided vital information in the global effort to understand GRB 221009A, one of the nearest and possibly the most-energetic gamma-ray burst ever observed. ESA’s XMM-Newton X-ray observatory recorded 20 dust rings, 19 of which are shown here in arbitrary colors. The image merges observations made two and five days after GRB 221009A erupted. Dark stripes indicate gaps between the detectors. A detailed analysis shows that the widest...

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The TRAPPIST-1 system is remarkable for its seven planets that are similar in size, mass, density, and stellar heating to the rocky planets Venus, Earth, and Mars in our own Solar System. This illustration shows what the rocky planet TRAPPIST-1b could look like based on the new study. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / J. Olmsted, STScI.

Webb Measures Temperature of TRAPPIST-1b

Mar 28, 2023 by News Staff

The dayside of TRAPPIST-1b, the innermost planet in the seven-planet system TRAPPIST-1, has a temperature of about 227 degrees Celsius (441 degrees Fahrenheit),...

This Hubble image shows Z 229-15, a spiral galaxy located 390 million light-years away in the constellation of Lyra. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Barth / R. Mushotzky.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Very Luminous Seyfert Galaxy

Mar 27, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have taken a beautiful picture of the luminous spiral galaxy Z 229-15, which is found in the constellation...

An artist’s impression of the TOI-1266 planetary system. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Astronomers in Hunt for Rocky Exoplanets in Venus Zone

Mar 23, 2023 by News Staff

To facilitate studies of exo-Venus candidates, astronomers from the University of California, Riverside, the University of California, Santa Cruz, Brown...

Hartwig et al. shed a new light on solving the mystery of the first stars from the complex data set of Galactic archaeology surveys. Image credit: Kavli IPMU.

Universe’s First Stars were Born in Small Clusters, Study Suggests

Mar 23, 2023 by News Staff

In unveiling the nature of the first stars, the main astronomical clue is the elemental compositions of the second generation of stars, observed as extremely...

This artist’s impression shows ‘Oumuamua, the first interstellar object discovered in our Solar System. Recent observations show that the object is moving faster than predicted while leaving the Solar System. Astronomers assume that venting material from its surface due to solar heating is responsible for this behavior. This outgassing can be seen in this artist’s impression as a subtle cloud being ejected from the side of the object facing the Sun. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / ESO / M. Kornmesser.

Astronomers Offer New Explanation for Interstellar Object Oumuamua’s Unusual Acceleration

Mar 23, 2023 by News Staff

The previously unreconciled acceleration of 1I/2017 U1 ‘Oumuamua, a strange object of extrasolar origin discovered on October 19, 2017 by the Pan-STARRS...

An artist’s impression of a gas-giant exoplanet. Image credit: Sci.News.

Low-Mass Stars are Able to Host Giant Jupiter-Like Exoplanets, Study Suggests

Mar 22, 2023 by News Staff

Gas giants, like other planets, form from protoplanetary disks of material around protostars. According to core accretion theory, they first form a core...

This artist’s illustration shows the ejection of a cloud of debris after NASA’s DART spacecraft collided with the asteroid Dimorphos. Image credit: ESO / M. Kornmesser.

VLT Observes Aftermath of Collision between DART and Dimorphos

Mar 21, 2023 by News Staff

On September 26, 2022, NASA’s DART spacecraft collided with the asteroid Dimorphos in a controlled test of our asteroid deflection capabilities. The...

This Hubble image shows a portion of Messier 55, a globular cluster located some 20,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagittarius. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Sarajedini, Florida Atlantic University / M. Libralato, STScI, ESA & JWST / Gladys Kober.

Hubble Space Telescope Takes Close Look at Messier 55

Mar 21, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a brilliant photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the globular cluster Messier 55. This Hubble image shows a portion...

Some exoplanets have one side permanently facing their star while the other side is in perpetual darkness. The ring-shaped border between these permanent day and night regions is called a terminator zone. Image credit: Ana Lobo / University of California, Irvine.

Exoplanetary ‘Terminator Zones’ Have Potential to Support Alien Life, Study Suggests

Mar 20, 2023 by News Staff

Rocky exoplanets orbiting red dwarf (M-dwarf) stars are among the most promising and abundant astronomical targets for detecting habitable climates. Planets...

This Hubble image shows the jellyfish galaxy JW100 (seen edge-on in the lower right). Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Gullieuszik / GASP Team.

Hubble Focuses on Jellyfish Galaxy JW100

Mar 20, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Streams of star-forming gas dripping from the disk of a spiral galaxy called JW100 are formed by a process called ram pressure stripping, and their resemblance...

An artist’s impression of a blazar. Image credit: DESY / Science Communication Lab.

NASA’s Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope Captures Dynamic Gamma-Ray Sky

Mar 15, 2023 by News Staff

The new animation shows the gamma-ray sky’s frenzied activity during a year of observations by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) aboard NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray...

This image shows WR 124, a star located approximately 15,000 light-years away in the constellation of Sagitta. The star displays the characteristic diffraction spikes of Webb’s Near-infrared Camera (NIRCam), caused by the physical structure of the telescope itself. NIRCam effectively balances the brightness of the star with the fainter gas and dust surrounding it, while Webb’s Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) reveals the nebula’s structure. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / STScI / Webb ERO Production Team.

Webb Captures Extremely Luminous and Hot Wolf-Rayet Star

Mar 15, 2023 by News Staff

Wolf-Rayet stars are in the process of casting off their outer layers, resulting in their characteristic halos of gas and dust. The new Webb images of...

The first epoch of COSMOS-Web NIRCam observations obtained on January 5 and 6, 2023, including the F115W, F150W, F277W, and F444W filters as a color composite. Image credit: COSMOS-Web / Casey et al. / RIT / UT Austin / IAP / CANDIDE.

New Webb Images Offer Treasure Trove of Early Galaxies

Mar 13, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers from the COSMOS-Web program released mosaic images taken in early January 2023 by the Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam) and Mid-Infrared Instrument...

This Hubble image shows UGCA 307, a dwarf galaxy some 26 million light-years away in the constellation of Corvus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Tully.

Hubble Spots Diminutive Dwarf Galaxy

Mar 13, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

NASA has released a stunning photo taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the dwarf galaxy UGCA 307. This Hubble image shows UGCA 307, a dwarf...

This Webb image shows the massive galaxy cluster RX J2129.6+0005; due to gravitational lensing, this observation contains three different images of a distant galaxy that hosted the Type Ia supernova event AT 2022riv. Image credit: NASA / ESA / CSA / Webb / P. Kelly.

Webb Sees Three Images of Same Supernova-Hosting Galaxy

Mar 10, 2023 by Enrico de Lazaro

Light from the distant supernova-hosting galaxy was gravitationally lensed by the foreground galaxy cluster RX J2129.6+0005 (RX J2129 for short). This...

V883 Orionis is a unique protostar whose temperature is just hot enough that the water in its circumstellar disk has turned to gas, making it possible for radio astronomers to trace the water’s origins. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

Deuterium-Enriched Water Ties Protoplanetary Disks to Comets and Protostars

Mar 9, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected gaseous water in the planet-forming disk around V883 Orionis, a...

This image features 3C 297 that is lonelier than expected after it likely pulled in and absorbed its former companion galaxies. In this new composite image, Chandra data is colored purple, VLA data is red and Gemini data is green. Visible light and infrared data from Hubble (blue and orange respectively) have also been included. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Torino / Missaglia et al. / ESA / STScI & International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Chandra Finds Surprisingly Lonely Galaxy in Early Universe

Mar 9, 2023 by News Staff

3C 297 is located about 9.2 billion light-years away in the constellation of Virgo and contains a quasar, a supermassive black hole pulling in gas at the...

This image shows the Vela pulsar wind nebula: light blue represents X-ray polarization data from IXPE; pink and purple colors correspond to data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory; the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope contributed the stars in the background. Image credit: IXPE / NASA / MSFC / Fei Xie / CXC / SAO / STScI / Hubble / Chandra / Judy Schmidt / Kimberly Arcand / Nancy Wolk.

Polarized X-ray Detection Sheds New Light on Vela Pulsar Wind Nebula

Mar 8, 2023 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) — a collaboration between NASA and the Italian Space Agency — have observed...

This schematic shows the layers of Earth’s atmosphere, from the troposphere to the thermosphere. SOFIA observes from within the stratosphere and studied the ratio of main oxygen to heavy oxygen in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere, up to an altitude of about 200 km (124 miles). Image credit: NASA / SOFIA / L. Proudfit.

SOFIA Makes First Detection of Oxygen-18 in Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere of Earth

Mar 8, 2023 by News Staff

In the lower atmosphere of Earth, oxygen contains a higher fraction of the heavy isotope 18O than ocean water does. This enrichment is a signature of biological...

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