Tag Archive for 'VLT'

NGC 6240 harbors three supermassive black holes at its core: the northern black hole (N) is active and was known before; the zoomed-in new high-spatial resolution image shows that the southern component consists of two supermassive black holes (S1 and S2); the green color indicates the distribution of gas ionized by radiation surrounding the black holes; the red lines show the contours of the starlight from the galaxy and the length of the white bar corresponds to 1,000 light years. Image credit: P. Weilbacher, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam / NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage / STScI / AURA / Hubble Collaboration / A. Evans, University of Virginia, Charlottesville / NRAO / Stony Brook University.

Astronomers Find Three Supermassive Black Holes in NGC 6240

Nov 22, 2019 by News Staff

NGC 6240, a well-studied nearby galaxy system in the process of merging, contains three supermassive black holes at its core, two of which are active and...

Astronomers Observe Host Galaxy of Extremely Bright and Long Gamma-Ray Burst

Nov 21, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers have investigated the nature of a very bright and long-duration gamma-ray burst, GRB 190114C, by studying its environment. Hubble’s observations...

ESO’s Very Large Telescope captured this image of NGC 1404 with its FORS (FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph) instrument; the bright foreground star to the lower left of the frame is named HD 22862. Image credit: ESO.

ESO Releases Stunning Image of Elliptical Galaxy NGC 1404

Oct 30, 2019 by News Staff

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released a gorgeous new image taken by ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) of a giant elliptical galaxy called...

This image, taken by the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows the main-belt asteroid Hygiea. Image credit: ESO / P. Vernazza et al / MISTRAL algorithm / ONERA / CNRS.

Astronomers Measure Size and Shape of Main-Belt Asteroid Hygiea

Oct 29, 2019 by News Staff

Hygiea is the fourth largest main belt asteroid and the only known asteroid whose surface composition appears similar to that of the dwarf planet Ceres....

Freshly-Synthesized Strontium Detected in Neutron Star Merger

Oct 23, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have detected a freshly made heavy element, strontium, in the aftermath of GW170817, a merger of two...

This image, which combines data from ALMA, Hubble and MUSE, shows the barred spiral galaxy Messier 95. Image credit: ESO / R. Leaman / D. Gadotti / K. Sandstrom / D. Calzetti.

Astronomers Observe ‘Stellar Feedback’ in Spiral Galaxy Messier 95

Sep 3, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer...

Supermassive black holes at the cores of galaxies blast radiation and ultra-fast winds outward, as illustrated in this artist’s conception. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Ultramassive Black Hole Found in Elliptical Galaxy Holmberg 15A

Aug 5, 2019 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) have discovered an enormous black hole at the center of Holmberg 15A, a supergiant elliptical galaxy...

This VLT image shows the planetary nebula Abell 24. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Snaps Stunning Planetary Nebula Image: Abell 24

Jul 9, 2019 by News Staff

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released a beautiful photo taken by the FORS (FOcal Reducer and Spectrograph) instrument on the Very Large...

An artist’s impression of ASKAP finding a fast radio burst and determining its precise location. The Keck, VLT and Gemini South optical telescopes joined ASKAP with follow-up observations to image the host galaxy. Image credit: Andrew Howells / CSIRO.

Astronomers Pinpoint Location of Non-Repeating Fast Radio Burst

Jun 28, 2019 by News Staff

Fast radio bursts (FRBs) are brief radio emissions from distant astronomical sources. Some are known to repeat, but most are single bursts, occurring only...

Composite image of Uranus’ atmosphere and rings at radio wavelengths, taken with the ALMA in December 2017. Dark bands in Uranus’ atmosphere at these wavelengths show the presence of radiowave-absorbing molecules, in particular hydrogen sulfide gas, whereas bright regions like the north polar spot contain very few of these molecules. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / E. Molter and I. de Pater.

Astronomers Snap Thermal Images of Uranian Ring System

Jun 24, 2019 by News Staff

The rings of the ice giant Uranus are invisible to all but the largest telescopes — they weren’t even discovered until 1977. However, they are...

This artist’s illustration shows two gas giant exoplanets orbiting the young star PDS 70. Image credit: J. Olmsted, STScI.

Astronomers Directly Image Two Protoplanets around PDS 70

Jun 4, 2019 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) spectrograph on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have directly imaged two still-forming gas...

This VLT image shows the reflection nebula NGC 2023. Image credit: ESO.

ESO’s Very Large Telescope Snaps Beautiful Image of Reflection Nebula

May 14, 2019 by News Staff

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released an absolutely beautiful photo taken by its Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the reflection nebula NGC...

Using the MUSE, an integral-field spectrograph on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, Göttgens et al discovered the remains of a nova near the center of the globular cluster Messier 22. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / F. Göttgens, Institute for Astrophysics, University of Göttingen.

Astronomers Find Ancient Nova Remnant in Messier 22

Apr 30, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

A nova is a cataclysmic event on the surface of a white dwarf star in a binary stellar system that increases the overall brightness by several orders of...

This artist’s impression shows HR 8799e. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

GRAVITY Reveals Details of Storm-Wracked HR 8799e using Optical Interferometry

Mar 28, 2019 by News Staff

ESO’s GRAVITY instrument, a second generation imaging instrument installed on the Very Large Telescope Interferometer, has made the first direct observation...

This image, taken by the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile, shows the small, moderately bright reflection nebula NGC 1788. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Captures Most Detailed Image Ever Seen of NGC 1788

Mar 15, 2019 by News Staff

ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a stunning new photo of NGC 1788, a reflection nebula located in a dark and often neglected corner of the...

The HII region LHA 120-N 180B resides in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At only around 160,000 light-years away from the Earth, it is practically on our doorstep. Image credit: ESO / A. McLeod et al.

Astronomers Catch Jet from Fledgling Star in Large Magellanic Cloud

Feb 6, 2019 by News Staff

Deep within LHA 120-N 180B, an HII region located in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO’s Very...

ESO 577-24 was imaged by the FOcal Reducer/low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The FORS2 instrument captured the bright, central star, Abell 36, as well as the surrounding planetary nebula. The red and blue portions of this image correspond to optical emission at red and blue wavelengths, respectively. An object much closer to home is also visible in this image -- an asteroid wandering across the field of view has left a faint track below and to the left of the central star. And in the far distance behind the nebula a glittering host of background galaxies can be seen. Image credit: ESO.

Ghostly Planetary Nebula Glows in New VLT Image

Jan 22, 2019 by News Staff

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has released an absolutely beautiful photo taken by its Very Large Telescope (VLT) of a planetary nebula called...

Messier 61 is aligned face-on towards Earth, thus presenting us with a breathtaking view of its structure. The gas and dust of the intricate spiral arms are studded with billions of stars. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Captures Incredible Image of Messier 61

Jan 17, 2019 by News Staff

ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at the Paranal Observatory in Chile has captured an amazing new photo of the spiral galaxy Messier 61. Messier 61 is...

This image taken by ESO’s Very Large Telescope shows the binary system R Aquarii and the jets of material spewing from the stellar couple. Image credit: ESO / Schmid et al.

Astronomers Obtain Sharpest Ever Image of R Aquarii

Dec 27, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet Research (SPHERE) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have captured dramatic...

The VISIR instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope captured this stunning image of the 2XMM J160050.7-514245 system. Image credit: ESO / Callingham et al.

Astronomers Find Potential Gamma-Ray Burst Progenitor

Nov 22, 2018 by News Staff

Astronomers using ESO’s Very Large Telescope have observed an elaborate serpentine system sculpted by colliding stellar winds. The object, called 2XMM...

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