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This artist’s concept depicts select exoplanetary discoveries made to date by NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA / W. Stenzel.

Astronomers Confirm 1,284 New Kepler Exoplanets

May 11, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

A team of astronomers from NASA and Princeton University has confirmed that 1,284 extrasolar objects by NASA’s planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft are indeed...

This illustration shows KIC 8462852 behind a shattered comet. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

KIC 8462852: New Study Supports Natural Causes to Explain Behavior of Unusual Star

May 10, 2016 by News Staff

Results of a new study in the Astrophysical Journal (arXiv.org preprint) make it far less likely that KIC 8462852 is the home star of an advanced alien...

This Hubble image shows NGC 6814, a face-on grand-design spiral galaxy. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

NGC 6814: Hubble Space Telescope Sees Grand-Design Spiral

May 9, 2016 by Natali Anderson

This new image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is likely the best of the grand-design spiral galaxy NGC 6814. This Hubble image shows NGC 6814,...

This is an artist's impression of an exoplanet. Image credit: Ron Miller.

Astrobiologists Make List of Biosignature Gases to Guide Search for Extraterrestrial Life

May 6, 2016 by Natali Anderson

According to a team of scientists led by Prof. Sara Seager from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gases emitted by alien life forms on habitable...

This image shows NGC 1332, a giant elliptical galaxy with a black hole at its center whose mass has been measured at high precision by ALMA. Image credit: Carnegie-Irvine Galaxy Survey.

Scientists Determine Mass of NGC 1332’s Supermassive Black Hole

May 6, 2016 by Sergio Prostak

An international team of astronomers led by Dr. Aaron Barth of the University of California, Irvine, has derived a precise measurement of the mass of a...

Zeta Andromedae. Image credit: Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg / SIMBAD.

Zeta Andromedae: Surface Images of Nearby Active Star Give Insight into Sun’s Infancy

May 5, 2016 by News Staff

An international group of astronomers led by Dr. Rachael Roettenbacher from the University of Michigan has used cutting-edge techniques to create direct...

Planet Nine Remains Elusive

May 4, 2016 by News Staff

Earlier this year California Institute of Technology scientists Konstantin Batygin and Mike Brown presented strong evidence for Planet Nine, a hypothesized...

This artist’s impression shows an imagined view of the three planets orbiting the ultracool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / N. Risinger, skysurvey.org / ESO.

Three Earth-Sized Exoplanets Found around Ultracool Dwarf TRAPPIST-1

May 2, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of astronomers led by Dr. Michaël Gillon from the University of Liège has discovered three Earth-sized exoplanets around a nearby ultracool dwarf...

This Hubble image shows NGC 4394, a barred spiral galaxy located 53.8 million light-years away from Earth, in the constellation Coma Berenices. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Snaps Photo of Beautiful Barred Spiral NGC 4394

May 2, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new photo of a barred spiral galaxy called NGC 4394. This Hubble image shows NGC 4394, a barred...

NASA’s SDO spacecraft captured this image of an M6.7 class solar flare on April 17, 2016. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / SDO / Genna Duberstein.

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory Captures 4K View of Mid-Level Flare

Apr 27, 2016 by News Staff

On April 17, 2016, an active region on the Sun released an M6.7 class solar flare, captured here by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). Solar flares...

This artist’s concept shows Makemake and its moon, MK 2. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Alex Parker, Southwest Research Institute.

MK 2: Astronomers Discover Tiny Moon Orbiting Makemake

Apr 27, 2016 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered a tiny, dark moon orbiting the dwarf planet Makemake, one of several dwarf planets...

This Hubble image shows the massive star cluster NGC 339. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Sees Massive Star Cluster in Small Magellanic Cloud

Apr 25, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of the star cluster NGC 339. This Hubble image shows the massive star cluster NGC 339....

NGC 4111. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope Spots Elegant Galaxy

Apr 22, 2016 by Natali Anderson

This new image from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope shows the beautiful and elegant galaxy NGC 4111. NGC 4111. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy...

This Hubble image, released to celebrate its 26th year in orbit, shows the Bubble Nebula, an emission nebula located 7,100 light-years away. This image allows us to fully appreciate the almost perfectly symmetrical shell which gives the nebula its name. The bright star visible just to the left of center is the Wolf-Rayet star SAO 20575. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble Heritage Team.

Hubble Celebrates 26th Anniversary with Incredible Image of Bubble Nebula

Apr 22, 2016 by Natali Anderson

In celebration of the 26th anniversary of the launch of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have captured an amazing image of the Bubble Nebula...

This picture shows four views of the 10 December 2013 solar flare from SDO, STEREO, and Hinode. The current sheet is a long, thin structure, especially visible in the views on the left. Image credit: NASA / JAXA / SDO / STEREO / Hinode / Zhu et al.

Three Solar Observatories Hone in on Powerful Solar Flare

Apr 20, 2016 by News Staff

During a December 2013 solar flare, three solar-watching satellites — NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), the agency’s Solar and Terrestrial...

This is a mosaic image, one of the largest ever taken by Hubble of the Crab Nebula, a 6-light-year-wide expanding remnant of a star’s supernova explosion. Japanese and Chinese astronomers recorded this violent event nearly 1,000 years ago in 1054, as did, almost certainly, Native Americans. Image credit: NASA / ESA / J. Hester / A. Loll, Arizona State University.

Interstellar Iron Found on Moon’s Surface: Confirmation of Supernovae in Solar Neighborhood

Apr 19, 2016 by Natali Anderson

An international team of researchers, led by Dr. Gunther Korschinek from the Technical University of Munich, has detected radioactive iron-60 in samples...

This infrared image shows IC 417, an emission nebula that is energized by hot, massive blue stars. A cluster of young stars called ‘Stock 8’ can be seen at center right; the light from this cluster carves out a bowl in the nearby dust clouds, seen here as green fluff. Along the sinuous tail in the center and to the left, groupings of red point sources are also young stars. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / 2MASS.

Astronomers Snap Incredible Image of Spider Nebula

Apr 18, 2016 by News Staff

This infrared image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope and the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) shows an emission nebula known as IC 417. This infrared...

Composite image of the gravitational lens SDP.81 showing the distorted ALMA image of the more distant galaxy (red arcs) and the Hubble optical image of the nearby lensing galaxy (blue center object). By analyzing the distortions in the ring, astronomers have determined that a dark dwarf galaxy (data indicated by white dot near left lower arc segment) is lurking nearly 4 billion light-years away. Image credit: Y. Hezaveh, Stanford University / ALMA / NRAO / ESO / NAOJ / NASA / ESA / Hubble Space Telescope.

Astronomers Spot Dwarf Dark-Matter Dominated Galaxy 4 Billion Light-Years Away

Apr 15, 2016 by News Staff

Analysis of the very high resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the gravitational lens SDP.81 reveals a dwarf...

This is an artist’s impression of PSO J318.5-22. Image credit: MPIA / V. Ch. Quetz.

Free-Floating Giant Planet Analog Found 95 Light-Years Away

Apr 14, 2016 by Natali Anderson

An international team of astronomers has discovered one of the youngest and brightest free-floating, planet-like objects within relatively close proximity...