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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...

This image, taken with ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope, shows NGC 7727, a peculiar galaxy some 69 million light-years away in the constellation of Aquarius. Image credit: ESO / VST-ATLAS Team / Durham University / CASU / WFAU.

VST Sees Messy Result of Cosmic Collision

Nov 30, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope (VST), astronomers have captured this image of the peculiar galaxy NGC 7727. This image, taken with ESO’s VLT Survey...

Daly et al. used atom probe tomography to directly observe an average ~1 mol% enrichment in water and hydroxyls in the solar-wind-irradiated rim of an olivine grain from the S-type asteroid Itokawa. Image credit: Curtin University.

Part of Earth’s Water Came from the Sun, New Study Suggests

Nov 29, 2021 by News Staff

The solar wind, comprised of solar particles largely made of hydrogen ions, created water on the surface of dust grains carried on asteroids that smashed...

An artist’s rendition of the ultrahot Jupiter TOI-1518b and its parent star. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Ultrahot Gas Giant Found Circling TOI-2109

Nov 29, 2021 by Natali Anderson

With an extremely short orbital period of 0.67 days (16 hours), the newly-discovered ultrahot Jupiter — named TOI-2109b — has the shortest...

This Hubble image shows NGC 1317, a small spiral galaxy some 55 million light-years away in the constellation of Fornax. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.

Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on NGC 1317

Nov 29, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a striking new photo of the small spiral galaxy NGC 1317. This Hubble image shows NGC...

This Hubble image shows the Herbig-Haro object HH 45 in the reflection nebula NGC 1977. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Bally, University of Colorado at Boulder / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Spots Herbig-Haro Object in NGC 1977

Nov 26, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have observed HH 45, a Herbig-Haro object embedded in the nebula NGC 1977. This Hubble image shows...

Hubble captured a bright jet (orange object at the bottom center of the image) from the protostar Parengo 2042 in this image of NGC 1977. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Bally, University of Colorado at Boulder / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Captures Bright Protostellar Jet in NGC 1977

Nov 25, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The bright stellar jet is being emitted by Parengo 2042, a protostar that resides within the reflection nebula NGC 1977. Hubble captured a bright jet (orange...

An artist’s conception of the HR 858 planetary system. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

K2 Mission Discovers 366 New Exoplanet Candidates

Nov 24, 2021 by News Staff

Using photometric data from NASA’s Kepler/K2 mission, astronomers have identified 747 unique planet candidates and 57 multiplanet systems; of these candidates,...

This Hubble image shows a part of the Flame Nebula, a large star-forming region in the constellation Orion that lies about 1,400 light-years from Earth. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / K. Stapelfeldt, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Looks for Protoplanetary Objects in Flame Nebula

Nov 24, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have spotted several ‘proplyds’ and ‘globulettes’ in the Flame Nebula. This Hubble image...

This artist’s illustration depicts what Chu et al. think is happening in the binary system KPD 0005+5106. The data suggest the white dwarf (blue sphere) is blasting a companion object (brown and red object on right), which is either a low-mass star or planet, with waves of heat and radiation. The white dwarf is also pulling material from the companion into a disk around itself, which the artist shows in orange, before it slams into its north and south poles. This process is contributing to the destruction of the companion through powerful gravitational forces. Image credit: NASA / CXC / M. Weiss / ASIAA / Chu et al.

Hard X-Ray Emission from White Dwarfs Reveals Their Hidden Companions

Nov 23, 2021 by News Staff

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton satellite, astronomers have investigated unusual X-ray activity in three white dwarfs:...

This artist’s illustration shows NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft in the outer Solar System. In the background lies the Sun and a glowing band representing Zodiacal Light, caused by sunlight reflecting off of dust. Image credit: Joe Olmsted / STScI.

New Horizons Detects Galactic Lyman-alpha Emissions

Nov 23, 2021 by News Staff

Hydrogen is the most abundant element. When a neutral hydrogen atom gets blasted with energy, its electron can be boosted to a larger orbit with a higher...

An artist’s impression of LAMOST J024048.51+195226.9, the fastest spinning confirmed white dwarf and only second ever magnetic propeller known. Image credit: Mark Garlick / University of Warwick.

Astronomers Spot Rapidly Spinning White Dwarf

Nov 23, 2021 by News Staff

A white dwarf in the binary system LAMOST J024048.51+195226.9 (J0240+1952 for short) completes a full rotation once every 24.93 seconds, making it the...

This Hubble image shows the Prawn Nebula. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Tan, Chalmers University of Technology / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Observes Prawn Nebula

Nov 23, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a striking image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showing a small section of the Prawn Nebula (IC 4628). This...