Astronomy News

Powerful Winds Blow in Atmosphere of Nearby Brown Dwarf

An artist’s conception of 2MASS J10475385+2124234 illustrates magnetic field and atmosphere’s top, which were observed at different wavelengths to determine wind speeds. Image credit: Bill Saxton, NRAO / AUI / NSF.
Apr 10, 2020 by News Staff

Brown dwarfs are cool, dim objects that have a size between that of a gas giant, such as Jupiter or Saturn, and that of a Sun-like star. Sometimes called failed stars, they are too small to sustain hydrogen fusion reactions at their cores and their atmospheres share many characteristics with gas giant planets. Wind speeds in atmospheres of solar system gas giants can be derived by comparing the planet’s rotational periods in the infrared (tracing...

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Catastrophic Collapse of Giant Stars’ Magnetic Fields Powers Gamma-Ray Bursts

Apr 9, 2020 by News Staff

Gamma-ray bursts are the most energetic explosions in the Universe, beaming out huge jets of light-emitting plasma, which travel through space at 0.99...

This artist’s impression shows the evolution of the Universe beginning with the Big Bang on the left followed by the appearance of the Cosmic Microwave Background. The formation of the first stars ends the cosmic dark ages, followed by the formation of galaxies. Image credit: M. Weiss / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

Universe is Anisotropic on Large Scales, New Study Suggests

Apr 9, 2020 by News Staff

Space-based X-ray observations of hundreds of galaxy clusters suggest that the Universe may be different depending on which way astronomers look. The study...

This artist’s impression illustrates how high-speed jets from supermassive black holes would look. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / L. Calçada, ESO.

Astronomers Observe Relativistic Jet from Two Merging Spiral Galaxies

Apr 8, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the 8.2-m Subaru Telescope report the first unambiguous detection of a relativistic jet — a beam of charged particles that travels...

Venus in real colors, processed from Mariner 10 images. Image credit: Mattias Malmer / NASA.

Sulfur Gases May Play Prominent Role in Photochemistry of Exoplanet Atmospheres

Apr 7, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal Nature Astronomy, a team of planetary researchers from the United States and France studied the photochemical role...

An artist’s impression of the super-Earth Gliese 338Bb and its stars. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Gliese 338Bb: Super-Earth Found in Nearby Binary System

Apr 6, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using the CARMENES spectrograph at Calar Alto Observatory in Spain have discovered a super-Earth exoplanet orbiting an M-dwarf star in the...

This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 2273. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). It is based on data obtained through five filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / J. Greene.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Multiring Galaxy

Apr 6, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced an outstanding image of a spiral galaxy called NGC 2273. This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC...

Intermediate-Mass Black Hole Found in Outskirts of Lenticular Galaxy

Apr 1, 2020 by News Staff

A bright X-ray source in a massive star cluster in the outskirts of 6dFGS gJ215022.2-055059, a barred lenticular galaxy located about 806 million light-years...

An artist’s impression of MG J0414+0534. Image credit: Kindai University.

ALMA Uses Cosmic Lens to Capture Disturbed Gas Clouds in Distant Quasar

Mar 31, 2020 by News Staff

By combining the power of strong gravitational lensing with the capability of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers...

TESS Discovers Its First Thick-Disk Exoplanet

Mar 30, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have spotted an Earth-sized planet orbiting LHS 1815, a star in the thick disk...

This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 4651. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instrument. 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 / D. Leonard.

Hubble Snaps Stunning Image of NGC 4651

Mar 30, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a detailed image of a spiral galaxy called NGC 4651. This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 4651....

CO molecule radio emission-line intensities in Orion A, Aquila Rift, and Messeir 17 observed by the Star Formation Project and the Nobeyama 45-m Radio Telescope. Image credit: NAOJ.

Astronomers Map Out Three Nearby Molecular Clouds

Mar 25, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the Nobeyama 45-m Radio Telescope in Japan have carried out mapping observations toward three nearby molecular clouds: Orion A, Aquila...

Reynolds et al used Chandra to look for extraordinarily low-mass axion-like particles in the Perseus galaxy cluster, a group of galaxies located 240 million light-years away from Earth. The observation lasting over five days showed no evidence for certain axion-like particles, which some theorists think can explain dark matter. The lack of detection in these Chandra observations helps rule out some versions of string theory, a set of models intended to tie together all known forces, interactions, and particles. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Cambridge / Reynolds et al.

Astrophysicists Perform Test of String Theory

Mar 25, 2020 by News Staff

Astrophysicists using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory have looked for signs of an as-yet undetected particle predicted by string theory, a set of models...

The collision of two black holes. Image credit: Simulating eXtreme Spacetimes Project.

Astronomers Propose New Mechanism for Growth of Supermassive Black Hole Seeds

Mar 24, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

In a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal, a team of astronomers in Italy proposes that heavy seeds of supermassive black holes formed via the...

This Hubble image shows the barred spiral galaxy NGC 4618. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instruments. Three 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 / I. Karachentsev.

NGC 4618: Hubble Spots Spiral Galaxy with Single Arm

Mar 23, 2020 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an amazing new photo of an unusual spiral galaxy called NGC 4618. This Hubble image shows the barred spiral...

An artist’s impression of a quasar. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Olmsted, STScI.

Hubble Space Telescope Spots Quasar Tsunamis

Mar 20, 2020 by News Staff

Quasars are the ultra-bright cores of distant active galaxies. These objects are among the most distant and luminous objects known. Their central engines...

An artist’s impression of a double sunset on a ‘Tatooine’ exoplanet forming in a circumbinary disk that is misaligned with the orbits of its binary stars. Image credit: NRAO / AUI / NSF / S. Dagnello.

ALMA Observes Protoplanetary Disks around Binary Stars

Mar 19, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), a team of astronomers has found striking orbital geometries in circumbinary protoplanetary...

Time-averaged image of a general relativistic magnetohydrodynamic simulation of the supermassive black hole in Messier 87. Image credit: Johnson et al, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz1310.

Astronomers Discover Way to Get Sharp Images of Black Hole’s Photon Rings

Mar 19, 2020 by News Staff

In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) Collaboration released stunning images of the supermassive black hole in Messier 87, a giant elliptical...

This Hubble image shows a region of space called LHA 120-N150. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / I. Stephens.

Hubble Spots Nursery of Massive Stars in Large Magellanic Cloud

Mar 18, 2020 by News Staff

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning image of a huge HII region called LHA 120-N 150. This bright pink cloud...

An artist’s impression of two white dwarfs in the process of merging; depending on the combined mass, the system may explode in a thermonuclear supernova, or coalesce into a single heavy white dwarf, as with WD J0551+4135. Image credit: Mark Garlick / University of Warwick.

Astronomers Discover First Pulsating White Dwarf in Eclipsing Binary System

Mar 17, 2020 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers have spotted a pulsating white dwarf star in the binary stellar system SDSS J115219.99+024814.4 (SDSS J1152+0248 for short). An artist’s...

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