Astronomy News | Sci.News

Putirka & Xu present the first estimates of rock types on exoplanets that once orbited polluted white dwarfs -- stars whose atmospheric compositions record the infall of formerly orbiting planetary objects. Image credit: NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. da Silva / M. Zamani & M. Kosari, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Rocky Exoplanets are More Diverse and Exotic than Previously Thought

Nov 3, 2021 by News Staff

Most rocky exoplanets are exotic in composition and mineralogy, according to an analysis of the chemical composition of the so-called ‘polluted’ white...

Graphic showing the orbit of stars around a supermassive black hole before, left, and after, right, a gravitational kick. Image credit: Steven Burrows / JILA.

Astronomers Solve Mystery of Strangely-Shaped Mass of Stars in Andromeda Galaxy’s Center

Nov 3, 2021 by News Staff

The Andromeda galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy 2.5 million light-years from Earth. Otherwise known as Messier 31, it hosts a double nucleus, which is well-explained...

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

Two Planets in HD 3167 System are on Perpendicular Orbits, Astronomers Say

Nov 2, 2021 by Natali Anderson

The super-Earth HD 3167b is close to orbiting within the stellar equatorial plane, while the mini-Neptune HD 3167c orbits above the poles of the host star,...

An artist’s impression of the sub-Neptune TOI-2285b and its parent star. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Temperate Sub-Neptune Found Orbiting Nearby Red Dwarf

Nov 1, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and several ground-based telescopes, astronomers have discovered and confirmed a...

This Hubble image shows NGC 6984, a barred spiral galaxy some 164 million light-years away in the constellation of Indus. The color image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in the ultraviolet, near-infrared, and optical parts of the spectrum. Six 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 / D. Milisavljevic.

Hubble Sees Elegant Spiral Galaxy: NGC 6984

Nov 1, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 6984. This Hubble image shows...

An artist’s impression of the hot-Jupiter exoplanet HAT-P-68b and its parent star HAT-P-68 (also known as GSC 1925-01046 and 2MASS 07535598+2356176), a K5-type dwarf star with a mass of 0.68 solar masses and a radius of 0.67 solar radii. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Astronomers Measure Amount of Carbon and Oxygen in Hot Jupiter’s Atmosphere

Oct 29, 2021 by News Staff

Using the Immersion GRating INfrared Spectrometer (IGRINS) at the Gemini South Observatory on Cerro Pachon, Chile, astronomers have measured carbon-to-hydrogen...

This Hubble image shows the carbon star CW Leonis. The image incorporates observations from 2011 and 2016 by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The star is brightest in the red filters, R and I, and therefore the simmering orange color pervading the center of the image well represents the real color of the star. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / T. Ueta / H. Kim.

Hubble Observes Red Giant Star CW Leonis

Oct 29, 2021 by News Staff

CW Leonis, which is located 400 light-years away in the constellation of Leo, is a carbon star — a luminous type of red giant star with a carbon-rich...

An artist’s impression of the binary system MAXI J1820+070. Image credit: John Paice.

Warped Accretion Disk Spotted around Stellar-Mass Black Hole

Oct 28, 2021 by News Staff

Variations in the brightness of light seen from around a stellar-mass black hole in the binary system MAXI J1820+070 were caused by a huge warp in its...

Several instruments joined forces to produce this image of the G237 protocluster, identifying its galaxies in different colors representing different wavelengths of observations. The image on the right zooms in on the central region of G237. Image credit: ESA / Herschel / XMM-Newton / NASA / Spitzer / NAOJ / Subaru / Large Binocular Telescope / ESO / VISTA / Polletta et al. / Koyama et al.

New Galaxy Protocluster Discovered in Early Universe

Oct 28, 2021 by News Staff

The newly-discovered protocluster, named PHz G237.01+42.50 (G237 for short), contains over 60 members, including blue star-forming galaxies and active...

This image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope shows a Godzilla-like nebula in the constellation of Sagittarius. Four colors (blue, cyan, green, and red) represent different wavelengths of infrared light: blue and cyan represent wavelengths primarily emitted by stars; dust and organic molecules called hydrocarbons appear green; and warm dust that’s been heated by stars or supernovae appears red. Image credit: NASA/ Spitzer / JPL-Caltech.

Spitzer Spots ‘Godzilla-Like Nebula’

Oct 27, 2021 by News Staff

NASA has released an incredibly beautiful image of a nebula, a cloud of gas and dust captured by the agency’s Spitzer Space Telescope. This image from...

An artist’s impression of the Proxima Centauri system. Image credit: Lorenzo Santinelli.

Signal of Interest from Proxima Centauri Was Not Alien Technosignature, Astronomers Say

Oct 26, 2021 by Natali Anderson

In 2019, astronomers with the Breakthrough Listen project observed Proxima Centauri using CSIRO’s Parkes ‘Murriyang’ radio telescope. They detected...

This image from ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows the central region of NGC 5248, a spiral galaxy located some 59 million light-years away in the constellation of Boötes. Image credit: ESO / VLT / MUSE / TIMER Survey.

VLT Focuses on Spiral Galaxy NGC 5248

Oct 26, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have imaged the innermost regions of the compact intermediate spiral galaxy NGC 5248. This image from...

False-color image of SN 2020fqv in its host galaxy system NGC 4567 and NGC 4568; the location of the supernova is shown in the inset. The image is composed of a pre-explosion single-band HST/WFPC2 image in the F606W filter with the color information from ground-based images obtained using the Nickel Telescope at Lick Observatory. The image of SN 2020fqv and the area outside of HST field of view is also from Nickel. Image credit: Joseph Depasquale / STScI.

Astronomers Observe ‘Rosetta Stone of Supernovae’

Oct 25, 2021 by News Staff

A Type II core-collapse supernova called SN 2020fqv exploded in NGC 4568, a member of a pair of colliding unbarred spiral galaxies; the other member of...

Super-Jupiter Found Circling Very Young, Very Low Mass Star

Oct 25, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The discovery of a super-Jupiter exoplanet around the M-type dwarf star 2MASS J04372171+2651014 challenges models of planet formation by either core accretion...

This Hubble image shows the barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903. The color image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by Hubble’s ACS and WFC3 instruments. Six 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 / L. Ho / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.

Hubble Captures Striking New Image of Spiral Galaxy NGC 2903

Oct 25, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced an outstanding image of the central part of the isolated barred spiral galaxy NGC 2903. This Hubble image...

An artist’s impression of a white dwarf -- in this case a white dwarf in the MV Lyrae system -- accreting as it draws in material from a companion star. Image credit: Helena Uthas.

TESS Finds Pulsating White Dwarf in TW Pictoris System

Oct 19, 2021 by News Staff

The white dwarf observed by NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) is a member of the binary system TW Pictoris and is known to be accreting...

Illustrated map of Milky Way Galaxy shown with the position and size of proposed filaments; inset shows a more detailed view of the Local environments, and the position of Local Bubble and various nearby dust clouds. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / R. Hurt, SSC & Caltech / J. West.

Solar System May Be Surrounded by Tunnel-Like Magnetic Structure, Astronomers Say

Oct 19, 2021 by News Staff

The North Polar Spur and the Fan Region are two bright, large-scale radio structures that are seen on opposite sides of the sky. According to new research,...

This WISE multicolor image shows NGC 1605, a binary open cluster located 8,480 light-years away in the constellation of Perseus. It was first discovered on December 11, 1786 by the German-born British astronomer William Herschel. Image credit: NASA / WISE / Camargo, arXiv: 2109.14664.

Astronomer Discovers Ancient Binary Open Cluster in Milky Way

Oct 18, 2021 by Sergio Prostak

An open cluster called NGC 1605 is in fact two merging open clusters with evidence of tidal streams, according to new research by Professor Denilso Camargo...

This composite image shows two interacting galaxies NGC 7752 and NGC 7753, collectively known as Arp 86. The image is composed of infrared, optical and ultraviolet observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Victor M. Blanco 4-m Telescope, and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Nine 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 / Dark Energy Survey / J. Dalcanton.

Hubble Spots Beautiful Pair of Interacting Galaxies

Oct 18, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope provides a detailed look at the galaxy pair Arp 86. This composite image shows two interacting...