Astronomy News

Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole is Closer than Astronomers Thought

Position and velocity map of the Milky Way Galaxy; arrows show position and velocity data for 224 objects used to model the Galaxy; the solid black lines show the positions of the Galaxy’s spiral arms; the colors indicate groups of objects belonging the same arm. Image credit: NAOJ.
Nov 27, 2020 by News Staff

The distance between our Solar System and Sagittarius A*, the 4-million-solar-mass black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy, is approximately 25,800 light-years, about 1,900 light-years closer than previous estimate, according to an analysis of data from the Japanese VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometer) project VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry). Position and velocity map of the Milky Way Galaxy; arrows show position and velocity...

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This Hubble image shows the ultra-diffuse galaxy NGC1052-DF4. Image credit: van Dokkum et al, doi: 10.3847/2041-8213/ab0d92.

Tidal Stripping Explains Lack of Dark Matter in Ultra-Diffuse Galaxy NGC 1052-DF4

Nov 27, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have detected tidal tails in NGC 1052-DF4, a dark-matter-deficient galaxy some 65 million light-years...

This image, taken with the 8-m Gemini North telescope on Hawaii’s Maunakea, shows Earth’s minimoon 2020 CD3 (center, point source). The image combines three images each obtained using different filters to produce this color composite. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / G. Fedorets.

Earth’s Second Known Minimoon is Natural Object, Astronomers Say

Nov 25, 2020 by News Staff

In a new paper published in the Astronomical Journal, astronomers from the United States, Canada and Europe provide a detailed characterization of the...

This image shows thousands of newly-formed stars in the central part of Messier 83. This image is made up of observations from VLT’s MUSE instrument in the optical part of the spectrum. It is based on data obtained through six filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: TIMER Survey / ESO.

MUSE Observes Hidden Depths of Messier 83

Nov 23, 2020 by News Staff

Using the MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal Observatory in Chile, astronomers have imaged...

This Hubble image of the nearby active galaxy IC 5063 reveals a mixture of bright rays and dark shadows coming from the blazing core, home of a supermassive black hole. Image credit: Credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / STScI / W.P. Maksym, CfA.

Hubble Spots Shadow of Supermassive Black Hole’s Torus in IC 5063

Nov 23, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have observed spectacular large-scale dark and light rays beaming out of the bright center of IC...

Astronomers Catch Radio Jets from Distant Quasars

Nov 20, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from the Very Large Array Sky Survey (VLASS), astronomers have detected young radio-emitting jets from supermassive black holes in distant active...

The Blue Ring Nebula is located 6,197 light-years away in the constellation of Hercules. The nebula is 13 light years wide and is composed of hydrogen gas (blue) expanding from a central star, which is the remnant core of a stellar merger; red filaments are shockwave filaments from the merging event. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / M. Seibert, Carnegie Institution for Science / K. Hoadley, Caltech / GALEX Team.

Stellar Merger Produced Blue Ring Nebula Several Thousand Years Ago

Nov 19, 2020 by News Staff

In 2004, astronomers using NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer discovered an unusual, ring-shaped ‘blue’ nebula and the star at its center, TYC 2597-735-1....

Top: neurons and glial cells. Bottom: the Millennium Simulation of the Universe. Image credit: Center for Brain Injury and Repair, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine / Springel et al.

Human Brain’s Neuronal Network Has Similarities to Cosmic Web, Study Claims

Nov 18, 2020 by News Staff

In a paper published this week in the journal Frontiers of Physics, a duo of researchers from Italy investigated the similarities between the network of...

On May 24, 2020, four European radio telescopes detected two bright radio bursts from the SGR 1935+2154 magnetar. Image credit: Danielle Futselaar / Artsource.nl.

Fast Radio Burst from Galactic Magnetar SGR 1935+2154 is Repeating

Nov 18, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers have detected two more millisecond-duration radio bursts from SGR 1935+2154, a magnetar located over 14,000 light-years away in the constellation...

This photo shows a Centaur upper-stage rocket before being mated to an Atlas booster in 1966. Image credit: NASA.

Earth Has New, Temporary Mini-Moon: Rocket Booster from 1960s-Era

Nov 17, 2020 by News Staff

On November 8, 2020, our planet captured a tiny object — the Centaur upper stage rocket booster that helped lift NASA’s Surveyor 2 spacecraft toward...

An artist’s impression of glycine together with dark interstellar clouds in the lab. Image credit: Harold Linnartz.

Amino Acids Can Form Long Before Stars and Planets: Study

Nov 16, 2020 by News Staff

Glycine and other amino acids form in dense interstellar clouds well before they transform into new stars and planets, suggests a new study led by researchers...

An artist’s impression of the planetary system LHS 1140. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Three Planets Orbit Nearby Red Dwarf LHS 1140

Nov 16, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) and the Echelle SPectrograph for Rocky Exoplanets and Stable Spectroscopic Observations...

This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy UGC 12588. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible region of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Two 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 / R. Tully / Gagandeep Anand.

Hubble Space Telescope Looks at Faint Spiral: UGC 12588

Nov 16, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of a spiral galaxy called UGC 12588. This Hubble image shows the...

This composite image of the planetary nebula IC 4593 contains X-rays (Chandra) from gas that has been heated to over a million degrees. These high temperatures were likely generated by material that blew away from the shrunken core of the star and crashed into gas that had previously been ejected by the star. Visible light data from Hubble in the image show combinations of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. Image credit: NASA / CXC / UNAM / J. Toala et al. / STScI.

Chandra Finds Hot Bubble in Planetary Nebula IC 4593

Nov 13, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have spotted a bubble of ultrahot gas at the center of a planetary nebula called IC 4593. This composite...

This image shows the glow from the GRB 200522A kilonova caused by the merger of two neutron stars. Image credit: NASA / ESA / W. Fong, Northwestern University / T. Laskar, University of Bath.

Hubble Detects Unexplained Near-Infrared Emission from Neutron-Star Merger

Nov 13, 2020 by News Staff

Several billion years ago, a short gamma-ray burst unleashed more energy in a half-second than our Sun will produce over its entire 10-billion-year lifetime....

This composite image shows the galaxy cluster HSC J023336-053022, also known as ACT-CL J0233.6-0530 or XLSSC 105. Image credit: Green Bank Observatory / National Science Foundation / Subaru Telescope / National Astronomical Observatory of Japan / HSC-SSP Collaboration / ESA / XMM-Newton / XXL Survey Consortium.

Giant Galaxy Cluster Acts as Cosmic Furnace

Nov 12, 2020 by News Staff

HSC J023336-053022, a massive galaxy cluster located approximately 4 billion light-years away from Earth, is heating the material within it to hundreds...

These illustrations show three versions of a rocky planet with different amounts of internal heating from radioactive elements. The middle planet is Earth-like, with plate tectonics and an internal dynamo generating a magnetic field. The top planet, with more radiogenic heating, has extreme volcanism but no dynamo or magnetic field. The bottom planet, with less radiogenic heating, is geologically ‘dead,’ with no volcanism. Image credit: Melissa Weiss.

Internal Heating from Radioactive Elements May Be Crucial to Planet Habitability, Study Says

Nov 12, 2020 by News Staff

The thermal evolution of rocky planets depends on the heat input from three long-lived radiogenic elements: potassium, thorium, and uranium. Concentrations...

As the Universe evolves, matter concentrations are surrounded by gas halos getting hotter and bigger. Image credit: D. Nelson / Illustris Collaboration.

Universe is Getting Hotter, Says New Study

Nov 10, 2020 by News Staff

The mean temperature of gas across the Universe has increased more than 10 times over the last 10 billion years and reached about 2 million Kelvin today,...

This artist's impression shows the exoplanet Corot-7b, which is so close to its Sun-like host star that it must experience extreme conditions. Image credit: ESO / L. Calcada.

Weather Forecast for Lava Planet K2-141b: Rock Rains and Supersonic Winds

Nov 10, 2020 by News Staff

Using computer simulations, an international team of astronomers has studied the weather conditions on K2-141b, an Earth-size exoplanet with supersonic...

An artist’s impression of BDR J1750+3809. Image credit: Danielle Futselaar / ASTRON.

LOFAR Radio Telescope Directly Detects New Brown Dwarf

Nov 9, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope have discovered a new brown dwarf, a substellar object not quite massive enough to fuse...

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