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In this illustration of the center of the Milky Way, stars are seen to be in close orbit around Sagittarius A*. Image credit: Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva, Spaceengine / M. Zamani, NOIRLab.

Astrophysicists Make Most Precise Measurement Yet of Milky Way’s Central Black Hole Mass

Dec 15, 2021 by News Staff

Sagittarius A*, supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, has a mass of 4.3 million times that of the Sun, according to an analysis...

All-sky map of the Milky Way in motion using the Gaia data. Areas with significant motion are shown in black/purple and those with relatively low motion in yellow. A number of large scale filamentary disc structures are evident about the midplane. The map also shows the Magellanic Clouds and their connecting stellar bridge to left, while the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy currently being torn apart can be seen on the right (main body). Image credit: Laporte et al., doi: 10.1093/mnrasl/slab109.

Astronomers Find Fossil Spiral Arms in Milky Way Galaxy

Dec 15, 2021 by News Staff

Using data from ESA’s Gaia satellite and archival spectroscopic surveys, astronomers have mapped the Milky Way disk substructure at distances over 10,000...

An analysis of citizen scientist photos of a 2018 STEVE event show the purple and green light emissions occur at different altitudes but along the same magnetic field lines; this indicates they’re driven by the same region of the magnetosphere nearly 30,000 km above Earth’s surface. Image credit: Neil Zeller.

Study: Different STEVE Emissions are Driven by Same Narrow Region in Earth’s Magnetosphere

Dec 14, 2021 by News Staff

A rare upper-atmosphere phenomenon called Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE) has been well documented by amateur aurora watchers from...

WISE images of the BD+60 1417 system. Image credit: Léopold Gramaize / Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project.

Jupiter-Like Planetary Object Spotted 146 Light-Years Away

Dec 13, 2021 by News Staff

A team of professional astronomers and citizen scientists from the Backyard Worlds: Planet 9 project has discovered a planetary-mass object co-moving with...

This Hubble image shows NGC 3568, a barred spiral galaxy some 57 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. The color image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instruments in the ultraviolet, near-infrared, and optical parts of the spectrum. 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 / M. Sun.

Hubble Space Telescope Snaps Beautiful Image of NGC 3568

Dec 13, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the brilliance of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3568. This Hubble image shows NGC 3568, a barred spiral...

This is a composite view of X-rays, molecular gas, and warm ionized gas near the Milky Way’s center (yellow represents Hubble data, blue is Chandra data, green is ALMA data, and red is VLA data). The orange-colored features are of glowing hydrogen gas. One such feature, at the top tip of the jet is interpreted as a hydrogen cloud that has been hit by the outflowing jet. The jet scatters off the cloud into tendrils that flow northward. Farther down near the black hole are X-ray observations of superheated gas colored blue and molecular gas in green. These data are evidence that the black hole occasionally accretes stars or gas clouds, and ejects some of the superheated material along its spin axis. The graphic of a translucent, vertical white fan is added to show the suggested axis of a mini-jet from the supermassive black hole at the Galaxy’s heart. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Gerald Cecil, University of North Carolina / Joseph DePasquale, STScI.

Astronomers Spot Nuclear Jet near Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole

Dec 10, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers have uncovered evidence that Sagittarius A*, the 4-million-solar-mass black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, is not a sleeping monster...

An artist’s impression of b Centauri b and its host stars. Image credit: ESO / L. Calçada.

SPHERE Directly Images Wide-Orbit Gas Giant in Nearby Binary System

Dec 9, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Named b Centauri (AB)b (or b Centauri b), the newfound exoplanet is estimated to be only 15 million years old and 10 times the mass of Jupiter, according...

This image shows the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula, which is located near the center of the even larger Chamaeleon I dark cloud. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NSF’s NOIRLab / J. Miller, Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab / D. de Martin, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula Captured by Gemini South Telescope

Dec 9, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) on Gemini South telescope have imaged the Chamaeleon Infrared Nebula, which is located near...

VLA image of the Messier 87 radio jet, made at multiple radio frequencies. The jet seen in this image is about 8,000 light-years long. This image clearly shows the corkscrew-like helical structure in the inner part of the jet, which originates at the bright spot at the left, at the core of the galaxy, where a supermassive black hole resides. Image credit: Sophia Dagnello / NRAO / AUI / NSF / Pasetto et al., doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ac3a88.

Astronomers Spot Double-Helix Structure in Messier 87

Dec 8, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array have captured unprecedented high-fidelity radio images of a jet of material propelled from the...

Astronomers Discover New Dark-Matter-Free Galaxy

Dec 7, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States have found no trace of dark matter in AGC 114905, a gas-rich ultra-diffuse galaxy...

Beta Crucis. Image credit: Naskies at en.wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Astronomers Measure Mass and Age of Beta Crucis A

Dec 6, 2021 by News Staff

Beta Crucis is represented in the flags of Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Samoa. Beta Crucis. Image credit: Naskies at en.wikipedia...

This Hubble image shows NCG 7329, a spiral galaxy located some 149 million light-years away in the constellation of Tucana. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Riess et al.

Hubble Looks at Spiral Galaxy NCG 7329

Dec 6, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an amazing photo of the spiral galaxy NCG 7329. This Hubble image shows NCG 7329, a spiral galaxy located...

An artist’s rendering of a classical nova. Image credit: David Hardy, www.astroart.org.

New Type of Binary Star Observed

Dec 3, 2021 by News Staff

Using new data from ESA’s Gaia star-mapping satellite, the Zwicky Transient Facility, and the Shane Telescope at Lick Observatory, astronomers have observed...

An artist’s impression of the sub-Earth exoplanet Gliese 367b. Image credit: SPP 1992 (Patricia Klein).

Iron-Rich Sub-Earth Exoplanet Found Orbiting Gliese 367

Dec 3, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have identified a dense, ultra-short-period sub-Earth planet transiting the bright,...

The dwarf spheroidal galaxy Leo I is 30 times smaller than the Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: ESA / Gaia / DPAC / SDSS.

Dwarf Galaxy Leo I Hosts Strangely Massive Black Hole, Astronomers Say

Dec 2, 2021 by News Staff

A black hole in the center of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy called Leo I is almost as massive as the central black hole of our own Milky Way Galaxy. The dwarf...

Photons emitted near rotating black holes encode quantum information that can be measured by actual quantum information technology. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Astrophysicists Search for Gravitational-Wave Signals from Ultralight Boson Clouds

Dec 1, 2021 by News Staff

Theories of beyond Standard Model physics allow for the production of ultralight bosons — hypothetical particles with masses less than a billionth...

Coadded images of comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein (C/2014 UN271) from 2018 and 2020, showing coma with a sunward asymmetry; coadded images from several Kuiper Belt objects and asteroids show examples of moving objects of similar brightness that are known to have no coma. Image credit: Farnham et al., doi: 10.3847/PSJ/ac323d.

Study: Giant Comet Bernardinelli-Bernstein is Among Solar System’s Most Distant Active Comets

Dec 1, 2021 by News Staff

Comet C/2014 UN271 Bernardinelli-Bernstein, the largest comet ever discovered, was already exhibiting coma at heliocentric distances 23.8 and 21.2 AU,...

This image, taken with the MUSE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows two bright galactic nuclei, each housing a supermassive black hole, in NGC 7727. Image credit: ESO / Voggel et al.

Astronomers Find Two Supermassive Black Holes in NGC 7727

Dec 1, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The supermassive black hole pair, located in the peculiar galaxy NGC 7727, is about 89 million light-years away from Earth, making it the record holder...

This Hubble image shows NGC 6891, a planetary nebula located 11,784 light-years away in the constellation of Delphinus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Hajian, University of Waterloo / H. Bond, Pennsylvania State University / B. Balick, University of Washington / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Spots Beautiful Planetary Nebula: NGC 6891

Nov 30, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced an outstanding image of a planetary nebula called NGC 6891. This Hubble image shows...