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Artist impression of the protoplanetary disc around MWC 480. Image credit: B. Saxton / NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Complex Organic Molecules Detected in Protoplanetary System MWC 480

Apr 8, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have detected the presence of complex carbon-based molecules – methyl cyanide...

This composite image shows the gravitationally lensed galaxy SDP.81; the bright orange central region of the ring reveals the glowing dust in this distant galaxy; the surrounding lower-resolution portions of the ring trace the millimeter wavelength light emitted by carbon monoxide; the diffuse blue element at the center of the ring is from the intervening lensing galaxy. Image credit: ALMA / NRAO / ESO / NAOJ / B. Saxton / AUI / NSF / NASA / ESA / Hubble / T. Hunter.

ALMA Images of Lensed Galaxy SDP.81 Reveal Einstein Ring

Apr 8, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have captured stunning images of a gravitationally lensed galaxy called HATLAS...

This is a close-up of the central region of the globular cluster Messier 22, as observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

Hubble Space Telescope Views Globular Cluster Messier 22

Apr 6, 2015 by News Staff

This newly released Hubble image shows Messier 22, the brightest globular cluster visible from the northern hemisphere. This is a close-up of the central...

A growing black hole can be seen at the center of a faraway galaxy in this artist’s concept. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Black Holes Don’t Erase Information, Study Shows

Apr 3, 2015 by News Staff

Some scientists have argued for decades that black holes are the ultimate vaults, entities that suck in information and then evaporate without leaving...

VLA Observations Shed More Light on How Massive Stars Form

Apr 3, 2015 by News Staff

A multinational team of astronomers, led Dr Carlos Carrasco-Gonzalez of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large...

This Hubble image shows ghostly green filaments, lying within galaxy 2MASX J22014163+1151237. This filament was illuminated by a blast of radiation from a quasar - a very luminous and compact region that surrounds the supermassive black hole at the center of its host galaxy. Its bright green hue is a result of ionized oxygen, which glows brightly at green wavelengths. Image credit: NASA / ESA / W. Keel, University of Alabama.

Hubble Captures Mysterious ‘Quasar Ghosts’

Apr 2, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have photographed eight unusual looped structures – ephemeral ‘ghosts’ of quasars that flickered...

The Planck all-sky map at submillimeter wavelengths; the band running through the middle corresponds to dust in the Milky Way Galaxy; the black dots indicate the location of the proto-cluster candidates identified by Planck and subsequently observed by Herschel. The inset images showcase some of the observations made by Herschel’s SPIRE instrument; the contours represent the density of galaxies. Image credit: ESA / Planck Collaboration / H. Dole / D. Guéry / G. Hurier / IAS / University Paris-Sud / CNRS / CNES.

Astronomers Discover Over 200 Young Galactic Clusters in Distant Cosmos

Apr 1, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers using data from two ESA’s space telescopes, Planck and Herschel, has identified more than 200 proto-clusters of...

This is a Hubble Space Telescope photo of NGC 3021. Image credit: NASA / ESA / A. Riess, STScI.

Gorgeous New Image from Hubble Space Telescope Shows Spiral Galaxy NGC 3021

Mar 30, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning new image of the spiral galaxy...

This image shows an artistic representation of an active supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy. Image credit: ESA / ATG medialab.

Astronomers See Supermassive Black Hole in Action

Mar 30, 2015 by News Staff

A team of astronomers, led by Dr Francesco Tombesi of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and the University of Maryland, has observed two related phenomena...

Artist’s impression of the terrestrial exoplanet Gliese 667 Cb with the Gliese 667 A/B binary in the background. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

Rocky Exoplanets around Binary Stars May Be Widespread, Astrophysicists Say

Mar 30, 2015 by News Staff

According to astrophysicists Dr Scott Kenyon of the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and Dr Ben Bromley of the University of Utah, terrestrial, Earth-like...

This composite image shows the motion of the dusty cloud G2 as it closes in, and then passes, Sagittarius A* - the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole. Image credit: A. Eckart / ESO.

G2: Astronomers Observe Mysterious Dusty Cloud at Milky Way’s Center

Mar 29, 2015 by News Staff

A group of astronomers headed by Dr Andreas Eckart from the University of Cologne, Germany, has made the best observations so far of a dusty red object...

This image was obtained on 10 September 2007 by NASA's Cassini spacecraft, at a distance of approximately 3.3 million km from Saturn. Rhea - Saturn's second largest moon - is visible against the bluish backdrop of the planet's northern hemisphere. Mimas - Saturn's seventh largest moon - appears as a speck against the ring shadows on planet's western limb. Image credit: NASA / JPL / Space Science Institute.

New Method Precisely Measures Rotation Period of Saturn

Mar 28, 2015 by News Staff

A day on Saturn lasts 10 hours 32 minutes 45 seconds (+/- 46 seconds), says a group of astronomers led by Dr Ravit Helled of Tel Aviv University, Israel. This...

This Hubble image shows the galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1-2403; shown in blue is a map of the dark matter found within the cluster. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Harvey / R. Massey / HST Frontier Fields.

Colliding Galaxy Clusters Offer Clues to Dark Matter

Mar 26, 2015 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers led by Dr David Harvey of the Observatory of Sauverny in Switzerland and the University of Edinburgh, UK, has studied...

This image shows the Sculptor dwarf galaxy. Image credit: ESO / Digitized Sky Survey 2.

Astronomers Discover Two Extremely Old Stars in Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy

Mar 25, 2015 by News Staff

A group of astronomers led by Dr Joshua Simon from the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington has discovered two stars in the Sculptor...

Terrestrial exoplanet and its moons. Image credit: Luciano Mendez / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Inner Solar System May Have Harbored Super-Earths 4.5 Billion Years Ago

Mar 24, 2015 by News Staff

A new study, published March 23 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests that Jupiter’s inward-outward migration early in the...

NGC 5023 is seen edge-on in this new image from NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.

Hubble Sees Edge-On Spiral Galaxy NGC 5023

Mar 23, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a spectacular new image of the spiral galaxy NGC 5023. NGC 5023 is seen edge-on in this...

This image shows the remnant of CK Vulpeculae; the image was created from a combination of visible-light images from the Gemini telescope, blue, a submillimeter map showing the dust from the SMA, green, and finally a map of the molecular emission from APEX and the SMA, red. Image credit: ESO / T. Kamiński.

Ground-Based Telescopes Reveal Secrets of Enigmatic Nova CK Vulpeculae

Mar 23, 2015 by News Staff

According to an international group of astronomers led by Dr Tomasz Kamiński of ESO and the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany,...

This is a composite, false-color image of the supernova remnant Sagittarius A East. Image credit: R. M. Lau et al.

Supernova Dust Factory Found at Milky Way’s Galactic Center

Mar 20, 2015 by News Staff

Astronomers using NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), the world’s largest airborne astronomical observatory, have...

This Hubble Space Telescope image shows the local dwarf galaxy NGC 5253; superimposed is the gas (fuzzy red to yellow) as seen by the Submillimeter Array; the bright white area is Cloud D. Image credit: J. L. Turner et al.

Astronomers Spot Mysterious Star-Forming Cluster in Nearby Galaxy NGC 5253

Mar 20, 2015 by News Staff

According to a group of astronomers led by Prof Jean Turner of the University of California, Los Angeles, more than a million infant stars are forming...