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This image shows the quintuple star system J093010 (center). Image credit: Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg / SIMBAD.

Astronomers Discover Quintuple Star System

Jul 7, 2015 by News Staff

A team of astronomers led by Dr Marcus Lohr of the Open University, UK, has discovered the first five star system containing two eclipsing binary stars. This...

NuSTAR Discovers Five Hidden Black Holes

Jul 6, 2015 by News Staff

Using NASA’s Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) space observatory, astronomers have detected X-rays from five supermassive black holes previously...

This image shows the Milky Way-like spiral galaxy LEDA 89996. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

Hubble Sees Milky Way-Like Galaxy

Jul 6, 2015 by News Staff

The subject of this Hubble image is LEDA 89996, a spiral galaxy located in the constellation Dorado (Swordfish). This image shows the Milky Way-like spiral...

This image shows the open star cluster NGC 2367. Image credit: ESO / G. Beccari.

Astronomers Capture Stunning View of Open Cluster NGC 2367

Jul 1, 2015 by News Staff

Using the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, astronomers captured an extraordinary image of a young open...

This is an artistic impression of the Kepler-444 planetary system. Image credit: Tiago Campante / Peter Devine.

Even 11+ Billion-Year-Old Stars Have Earth-Like Planets

Jun 30, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational team of astronomers has determined precise ages and other fundamental properties of 33 Kepler stars with the so-called ‘solar-like oscillations.’...

The globular cluster Omega Centauri is seen in all its splendor in this image captured with the WFI camera from ESO’s La Silla Observatory. The image shows only the central part of the cluster. Image credit: ESO.

Astronomers Solve Mystery of ‘Blue Hook’ Stars

Jun 29, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers, led by Dr Francesca D’Antona from the INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Italy, has found that the so-called...

This image shows the compact dwarf galaxy SBS 1415+437. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

Hubble Captures Rare Wolf-Rayet Galaxy

Jun 29, 2015 by News Staff

The Advanced Camera for Surveys (or ACS), one of the Hubble Space Telescope’s advanced instruments, has taken a spectacularly detailed image of a galaxy...

Artist’s impression of a black hole feasting on matter from its companion star in a binary system. Image credit: ESA / ATG medialab.

V404 Cygni: Astronomers Detect Signs of Extraordinary Activity in Binary System

Jun 26, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using a fleet of orbiting telescopes, including ESA’s Integral satellite, NASA’s Swift satellite and the Japanese MAXI telescope, have...

The huge halo around the giant elliptical galaxy Messier 87 appears on this image. The image also reveals many other galaxies forming the Virgo Cluster, of which Messier 87 is the largest member. Image credit: Chris Mihos, Case Western Reserve University / ESO.

Astronomers Uncover Evidence of Messier 87’s Cannibalistic Past

Jun 25, 2015 by News Staff

A giant elliptical galaxy called Messier 87 merged with a medium-sized spiral galaxy in the last billion years, according to a comprehensive study of 300...

This artist’s concept shows the huge cloud of hydrogen bleeding off of the Neptune-sized exoplanet Gliese 436b. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / G. Bacon.

GJ 436b: Astronomers Discover Giant Comet-Like Tail on Neptune-Sized Exoplanet

Jun 25, 2015 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a group of astronomers has discovered an enormous cloud of hydrogen dispersing from the warm, Neptune-sized...

A set of four rings around Circinus X-1 can be seen in this composite image where X-rays from Chandra are red, green, and blue corresponding to low, medium, and high-energy X-rays respectively, which have been combined with a view in visible light from the Digitized Sky Survey. The sharp edges are caused by the large size of the X-ray rings compared to the relatively small field-of-view of the Chandra detectors, providing only partial coverage. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Wisconsin-Madison / S. Heinz et al / DSS.

Circinus X-1: Astronomers Discover X-ray Rings around Neutron Star

Jun 24, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton telescope have discovered a bright X-ray light echo in the form of...

This composite image shows ultra-diffuse galaxies in the Coma cluster: yellow circles show two of the 47 Dragonfly galaxies, and green circles are the ones discovered by the Subaru telescope. Image credit: NAOJ.

Astronomers Discover 854 Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies in Coma Cluster

Jun 23, 2015 by News Staff

A group of astronomers, led by Dr Jin Koda of the Stony Brook University, has discovered 854 ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in the Coma cluster using images...

This image shows the planetary nebula NGC 6153. Its central star is faint and of unknown spectral type. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA / Matej Novak.

NGC 6153: Hubble Snaps Gorgeous Picture of Distant Planetary Nebula

Jun 22, 2015 by News Staff

The Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has snapped a spectacular new image of a planetary nebula known as NGC...

This image shows a ground-based wide-field view of the region around HCG 16. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Digitized Sky Survey 2 / Davide De Martin.

Hubble Sees Weird Galactic Quartet

Jun 19, 2015 by News Staff

This beautiful image from the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 aboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows four (NGC 839, NGC 838, NGC 835, and NGC 833)...

In this image, the larger-scale structure of NGC 1097 is easily visible. Image credit: ESO / R. Gendler.

Astronomers Measure Mass of Supermassive Black Hole in NGC 1097

Jun 18, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, or ALMA, a network of several dozen radio dishes located in the high-elevation desert...

The artistic concept shows the planetary system Kepler-138 harboring the Mars-size planet Kepler-138b Kepler-138b. The sizes of the planets relative to the star have been exaggerated. Image credit: SETI Institute / Danielle Futselaar.

Kepler-138b: Astronomers Measure Mass of Mars-Size Exoplanet

Jun 18, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using data from NASA’s Kepler mission have determined the sizes and masses of three planets orbiting a star much fainter and cooler than...

This is an artist’s impression of the galaxy CR7. Image credit: M. Kornmesser / ESO.

CR7: Astronomers Discover Far-Off Galaxy Filled with First-Generation Stars

Jun 17, 2015 by News Staff

A group of astronomers headed by Dr David Sobral from the University of Lisbon, Portugal, has discovered by far the brightest galaxy yet found in the early...

This image shows the irregular blue compact dwarf galaxy UGC 11411 (center). The bright stars are foreground stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

Astronomers Capture Extraordinary View of UGC 11411

Jun 15, 2015 by News Staff

The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a striking new photo of a dwarf galaxy called UGC 11411. This...

This artist’s concept depicts a proposed helium-atmosphere planet called Gliese 436b. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Helium-Rich Gas Giants May Be Common in Milky Way Galaxy

Jun 12, 2015 by News Staff

Gaseous planets with helium-rich atmospheres may be common in our Galaxy, according to a new study accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal...