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This image of the exceptional quasar J0529-4351 is from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey DR10; a neighboring M star appears in red. Image credit: Wolf et al., doi: 10.1038/s41550-024-02195-x.

Astronomers Discover Most Luminous Quasar Ever Observed

Feb 21, 2024 by Sergio Prostak

The black hole in the newly-discovered quasar SMSS J052915.80-435152.0 (hereafter called J0529-4351) accretes around one solar mass per day onto an existing...

An artist’s conception of the clouds flowing out from the center of the Milky Way, entrained in a very hot wind that has accelerated them to velocities of many hundreds of km per second. Image credit: NSF / GBO / P. Vosteen.

Astronomers Spot Hundreds of Massive Gas Clouds Escaping Milky Way’s Center

Feb 20, 2024 by News Staff

Using new 21-cm radio observations made with NSF’s Green Bank Telescope, astronomers have discovered over 250 neutral gaseous clouds being blasted out...

This Hubble image shows IC 3476, a dwarf spiral galaxy located 54 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices. This image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the near-infrared and optical parts of the spectrum. It is based on data obtained through two filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Sun.

Hubble Spots Dwarf Spiral Galaxy in Coma Berenices

Feb 19, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced a spectacular image of the dwarf spiral galaxy IC 3476, which is found in the constellation...

This Webb image shows ZF-UDS-7329, a rare massive galaxy that formed very early in the Universe. Image credit: Glazebrook et al., doi: 10.1038/s41586-024-07191-9.

Webb Discovers Massive Quiescent Galaxy with Old Stellar Population in Early Universe

Feb 16, 2024 by News Staff

The formation of galaxies by gradual hierarchical co-assembly of baryons and cold dark matter halos is a fundamental paradigm underpinning modern astrophysics...

Glein et al. found evidence for hydrothermal or metamorphic activity deep within the icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake. Image credit: Southwest Research Institute.

Webb Finds Evidence of Hydrothermal Processes in Interiors of Eris and Makemake

Feb 15, 2024 by News Staff

The icy dwarf planets Eris and Makemake have surfaces bearing methane ice of unknown origin. According to an analysis of data from the NASA/ESA/CSA James...

Free-floating binary Jupiter-mass objects are common even when present stellar and planetary theory cannot account for its existence. Image credit: Gemini Observatory / Jon Lomberg.

Astronomers Discover Binary System of Free-Floating Planetary-Mass Objects

Feb 14, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The JuMBO 24 binary system resides in the Orion Nebula, a diffuse nebula located approximately 1,350 light-years away in the constellation of Orion. Free-floating...

Arredondo et al. looked at four silicate-rich asteroids using the FORCAST instrument on NASA’s SOFIA observatory to isolate the mid-infrared spectral signatures indicative of molecular water on two of them: Iris and Massalia. Image credit: NASA / Carla Thomas / Southwest Research Institute.

SOFIA Detects Molecular Water on Nominally Dry Asteroids

Feb 13, 2024 by News Staff

Using the FORCAST instrument on NASA’s retired Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), astronomers have obtained mid-infrared spectra...

This is an artist's impression of the SN 1987A remnant. The image is based on real data and reveals the cold, inner regions of the remnant, in red, where tremendous amounts of dust were detected and imaged by ALMA. This inner region is contrasted with the outer shell, lacy white and blue circles, where the blast wave from the supernova is colliding with the envelope of gas ejected from the star prior to its powerful detonation. Image credit: ALMA / ESO / NAOJ / NRAO / Alexandra Angelich, NRAO / AUI / NSF.

Astronomers Employ Novel Technique for Searching for Alien Technosignatures

Feb 13, 2024 by News Staff

Technosignatures are any measurable property that may provide evidence of extraterrestrial technology. The search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI)...

Hundreds of thousands of stars are contained in this image of the Sagittarius C region from ESO’s Very Large Telescope. Image credit: ESO / F. Nogueras-Lara.

Sagittarius C Region Contains Hundreds of Thousands of Solar Masses of Young Stars: Study

Feb 12, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Sagittarius C lies just 300 light-years from Sagittarius A*, a supermassive black hole at the center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Hundreds of thousands of...

Daly et al. found Sagittarius A* is spinning with 60% of the maximum possible rate of spin, a limit set by material not being able to travel faster than the speed of light. This image shows Sagittarius A* in X-ray light from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. Image credit: NASA / CXC / University of Wisconsin / Bai et al.

Milky Way’s Supermassive Black Hole is Spinning Very Rapidly, New Research Shows

Feb 12, 2024 by News Staff

Sagittarius A*, the 4.3-million-solar-mass black hole that resides at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, is spinning so quickly it is warping the spacetime...

This Hubble image shows IRAS 16562-3959, a star-forming region some 5,900 light-years away in the constellation of Scorpius. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Fedriani / J. Tan.

Hubble Snaps Stunning Image of Nearby Star-Forming Region

Feb 12, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured this vivid image of IRAS 16562-3959, a beautiful star-forming region in the constellation...

The galaxy AM 1054-325 has been distorted into an S-shape from a normal pancake-like spiral shape by the gravitational pull of a neighboring galaxy, seen in this Hubble image; a consequence of this is that clusters of newborn stars form along a stretched-out tidal tail for thousands of light-years, resembling a string of pearls. Image credit: NASA / ESA / STScI / Jayanne English, University of Manitoba.

Hubble Finds Clusters of Newborn Stars in Tidal Tails of Merging Galaxy Systems

Feb 8, 2024 by News Staff

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have observed seven interacting galaxy systems that have long, tadpole-like tidal tails of gas,...

This Hubble image shows ESO 185-IG013, a luminous blue compact galaxy some 260 million light-years away in the constellation of Telescopium. Image credit: NASA / ESA / R. Chandar, University of Toledo / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Spots Luminous Blue Compact Galaxy

Feb 8, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

A dazzling new photo from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the luminous blue compact galaxy ESO 185-IG013, which is found in the constellation...

This Hubble image shows UGC 3912, a small spiral galaxy located 63 million light-years away in the constellation of Canis Minor. Image credit: NASA / ESA / C. Kilpatrick, Northwestern University / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Looks at Distorted Spiral Galaxy

Feb 7, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a remarkable new view of the spiral galaxy UGC 3912. This Hubble image shows UGC 3912,...

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.

Which Came First: Supermassive Black Holes or Galaxies? New Insights from Webb

Feb 6, 2024 by News Staff

New insights from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope upend theories of how black holes shape the cosmos, challenging classical understanding that...

This Hubble image shows the NGC 5410-LEDA 49896 galaxy pair. Image credit: NASA / ESA / D. Bowen, Princeton University / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Captures Collision of Two Small Galaxies

Feb 6, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The Hubble team has released a beautiful image of two small, interacting galaxies: NGC 5410 (larger galaxy) and LEDA 49896. This Hubble image shows the...

This image from the Gemini South telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, shows NGC 4753, a lenticular galaxy some 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Image credit: International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / J. Miller, International Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Rodriguez, International Gemini Observatory & NSF’s NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NSF’s NOIRLab.

Gemini South Telescope Focuses on Peculiar Lenticular Galaxy NGC 4753

Feb 6, 2024 by News Staff

NGC 4753’s prominent and complex network of dust lanes that twist around its galactic nucleus define its ‘peculiar’ classification and are the likely...

An artist’s impression of the super-Earth exoplanet TOI-715b. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Astronomers Find Super-Earth Exoplanet in Habitable Zone of TOI-715

Feb 5, 2024 by Natali Anderson

Using data from NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have discovered and characterized a habitable zone planet orbiting the...

The lenticular galaxy NGC 274 is visible on the right side of this Hubble image, and the barred spiral galaxy NGC 275 is at left. Image credit: NASA / ESA / R. Foley, University of California - Santa Cruz / Gladys Kober, NASA & Catholic University of America.

Hubble Space Telescope Snaps Close-Up of Arp 140

Feb 5, 2024 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced an outstanding image of the interacting, spiral-lenticular galaxy pair Arp 140. The lenticular galaxy...