Astronomy News

Giant ‘Blinking’ Star Spotted in Milky Way’s Central Region

An artist’s impression of the VVV-WIT-08 binary system. Image credit: Amanda Smith, University of Cambridge.
Jun 11, 2021 by News Staff

A giant star called VVV-WIT-08 exhibited a smooth, eclipse-like drop in brightness to a depth of 97% in 2012; minimum brightness occurred in April 2012 and the total event duration was a few hundred days, according to an analysis of data from the VISTA Variables in the Via Lactea survey (VVV), a project using the British-built VISTA telescope in Chile and operated by ESO. An artist’s impression of the VVV-WIT-08 binary system. Image credit: Amanda...

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An artist’s impression of FRB 110523 reaching Earth; the colors represent the burst arriving at different radio wavelengths, with long wavelengths (red) arriving seconds after short wavelengths (blue). Image credit: Jingchuan Yu / Beijing Planetarium.

CHIME Telescope Discovers 535 New Fast Radio Bursts

Jun 11, 2021 by News Staff

The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) has detected 535 new fast radio bursts — including 18 repeating sources — during...

An artist’s rendering of the Neptune-like exoplanet TOI-1231b. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Neptune-Like Exoplanet Found Circling Nearby Red Dwarf

Jun 10, 2021 by Sergio Prostak

Astronomers using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) have discovered a temperate, Neptune-sized planet orbiting the M-dwarf star TOI-1231. An...

The open star cluster NGC 2516. Image credit: Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg / SIMBAD / DSS2.

Open Cluster NGC 2516 is at least 1,600 Light-Years Long, Study Shows

Jun 9, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A young open cluster called NGC 2516 has a classical tidal radius of 10 parsecs (33 light-years) and a halo of stars spanning at least 500 parsecs (1,600...

This image, taken by the FORS2 instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, shows the grand design spiral galaxy Messier 99. It is based on data obtained through four filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: ESO.

VLT Observes Grand Design Spiral Galaxy Messier 99

Jun 7, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

ESO has released a beautiful photo taken by the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) of the spiral...

This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 4680. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Four filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Riess et al.

Hubble Captures Spectacular Image of NGC 4680

Jun 7, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced an outstanding image of the beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 4680. This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy...

Astronomers Detect High-Energy Gamma Rays from Afterglow of Long Gamma-Ray Burst

Jun 4, 2021 by News Staff

Long gamma-ray bursts are bright flashes of extragalactic gamma rays produced during the collapse of a massive star. A gamma-ray burst itself lasts only...

An artist’s conception of Cep A HW2, showing a wide-angle wind originating close to the star and an accretion disk, with a much narrower jet farther away. Image credit: Bill Saxton, NRAO, AUI & NSF.

VLA Focuses on Inner Region of Massive Protostellar Jet

Jun 3, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers using NSF’s Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) have observed the fast-moving jet of material ejected by Cep A HW2, a massive protostar...

This image shows Valparaiso 1, a young open cluster located 7,500 light-years away in the constellation of Scutum. Image credit: Gabriel Pérez Díaz, SMM & IAC.

New Open Cluster Discovered: Valparaiso 1

Jun 3, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Using astrometric, photometric and optical spectroscopy data from ESA’s Gaia mission and the 2MASS survey, astronomers have discovered a large, populous,...

VST mosaic of the Hydra I: NGC 3311 and NGC 3309 are the two brightest cluster galaxies located close to the image center; the 27 low-surface brightness galaxies are marked as white circles; cyan squares show the 12 ultra-diffuse galaxies. Image credit: Iodice et al., doi: 10.1051/0004-6361/202038523.

Astronomers Find Twelve Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies in Hydra I Cluster

Jun 1, 2021 by Natali Anderson

Astronomers using ESO’s VLT Survey Telescope, a 2.6-m wide-field optical survey telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile, have discovered 27 low-surface...

The SCORPIO field. Image credit: Umana et al.

ASKAP Detects Compact Radio Sources in Milky Way’s Galactic Plane

May 31, 2021 by News Staff

A team of radio astronomers using CSIRO’s Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) has mapped the entire area of the Stellar Continuum Originating from Radio...

This deep field image from the Dark Energy Survey is teeming with galaxies; in fact, nearly every single object in this image is a galaxy; some exceptions include a couple of dozen asteroids as well as a few handfuls of foreground stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy. Image credit: Dark Energy Survey / DOE / FNAL / DECam / CTIO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / T.A. Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage & NOIRLab / M. Zamani, NOIRLab / D. de Martin, NOIRLab.

Dark Energy Survey Makes Most Precise Measurements Yet of Universe’s Composition and Growth

May 31, 2021 by News Staff

Over the course of six years, astronomers with the Dark Energy Survey (DES) surveyed 5,000 square degrees — almost one-eighth of the entire sky —...

This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 691. The image includes optical and infrared observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument. Four filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Riess / M. Zamani.

Hubble Captures Striking New Image of NGC 691

May 31, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured an absolutely beautiful photo of a spiral galaxy called NGC 691. This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy...

This panorama shows the central region of the Milky Way Galaxy. It builds on previous surveys from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and other telescopes, and expands Chandra’s high-energy view farther above and below the plane of the Galaxy than previous imaging campaigns. X-rays from Chandra are orange, green, and purple, showing different X-ray energies, and the radio data from MeerKAT are gray. Image credit: NASA / CXC / UMass / Q.D. Wang / NRF / SARAO / MeerKAT.

New Map Reveals X-Ray-Emitting Threads and Plume-Like Structures near Milky Way’s Center

May 28, 2021 by News Staff

Using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa, an astronomer from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst has...

This Hubble image shows the trailing arms of the spiral galaxy NGC 2276. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the ultraviolet, visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). It is based on data obtained through five filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / P. Sell / L. Shatz.

Hubble Spots Magnificent Interacting Galaxy: NGC 2276

May 27, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shot this image of a spiral galaxy called NGC 2276. This Hubble image shows the trailing arms of the spiral galaxy...

The 3D density map of the local dark matter: X-mark at the center denotes the Milky Way Galaxy; dots denote galaxies, and arrows denote estimated directions of motion derived from the gradient of the reconstructed gravitational potential. Image credit: Hong et al., doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/abf040.

New Map of Local Dark Matter Reveals ‘Bridges’ between Galaxies

May 26, 2021 by News Staff

A team of astrophysicists from the United States and Korea has created a new dark-matter distribution map using a neural network-based deep learning method...

This image shows the Milky Way-like galaxy UGC 10738. Image credit: Centre de Données astronomiques de Strasbourg / SIMBAD / PanSTARRS.

Milky Way Galaxy Evolved Gradually, Astronomers Say

May 25, 2021 by News Staff

Astronomers the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO’s Very Large Telescope have observed UGC 10738, a nearby, edge-on Milky Way-like galaxy,...

TESS Discovers Jupiter-Sized Exoplanet around Ancient Binary Star

May 24, 2021 by Natali Anderson

The newfound circumbinary planet, named TIC 172900988b, is slightly larger than Jupiter and transits both of its host stars, according to a paper to be...

This Hubble image shows NGC 5037, a spiral galaxy some 91 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Rosario / L. Shatz.

Hubble Looks at Stunning Spiral Galaxy: NGC 5037

May 24, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has taken a picture of the nearly edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 5037. This Hubble image shows NGC 5037, a spiral galaxy...

The meteoroid stream of long-period comet Thatcher from CAMS data; outer blue ellipse is the orbit of Neptune. Image credit: P. Jenniskens / SETI Institute.

Long-Period Comets Can Cause Meteor Showers on Earth, Astronomers Say

May 21, 2021 by News Staff

Dr. Peter Jenniskens of the SETI Institute and NASA’s Ames Research Center and his colleagues say they can detect meteor showers from the debris in the...

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