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UrduForming planets are one possible explanation for the rings and gaps observed in disks of gas and dust around young stars.
Tag: Astronomy
Near-earth asteroid might be a lost fragment of the moon
A near-Earth asteroid named Kamo`oalewa could be a fragment of our moon, according to a new paper published in Nature Communications Earth and Environment by a team of astronomers led by the University of Arizona.
Tread lightly: ‘Eggshell planets’ possible around other stars
Strange ‘eggshell planets’ are among the rich variety of exoplanets possible, according to a study from Washington University in St. Louis. These rocky worlds have an ultra-thin outer brittle layer and little to no topography. Such worlds are unlikely to have plate tectonics, raising questions as to their habitability.
Gamma ray discovery could advance understanding of UFOs’ role in the evolution of galaxies
Researchers detected gamma rays from ultra-fast outflows (UFOs) in several nearby galaxies for the first time, providing a basis for scientists to understand what happened in our own Milky Way galaxy.
ALMA Scientists Detect Signs of Water in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Scientists studying SPT0311-58 found H20, along with carbon monoxide in the galaxy, which is located nearly 12.88 billion light years from Earth. Detection of these two molecules in abundance suggests that the molecular Universe was going strong shortly after the elements were forged in early stars.
A Cosmic Whodunit: ALMA Study Confirms What’s Robbing Galaxies of Their Star-Forming Gas
Astronomers examining the nearby Universe with the help of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have just completed the largest high-resolution survey of star-forming fuel ever conducted in galaxy clusters. But more importantly, they’re tackling a long-standing mystery in astrophysics: what’s killing galaxies? The research, which provides the clearest evidence to date that extreme environments in space have severe impacts on the galaxies within them, will be published in an upcoming edition of The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series.
New galaxy images reveal a fitful start to the Universe
New images have revealed detailed clues about how the first stars and structures were formed in the Universe and suggest the formation of the Galaxy got off to a fitful start.
Need for Larger Space Telescope Inspires Lightweight Flexible Holographic Lens
Inspired by a concept for discovering exoplanets with a giant space telescope, a team of researchers is developing holographic lenses that render visible and infrared starlight into either a focused image or a spectrum.
New Receivers Achieve First Light, Set Record for Observational Capabilities at ALMA
A new set of receivers installed on antennas at the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have achieved first light. With it, they set a new record for the longest wavelengths visible with the radio array.
How disorderly young galaxies grow up and mature
Using a supercomputer simulation, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has succeeded in following the development of a galaxy over a span of 13.8 billion years.
New class of habitable exoplanets represent a big step forward in the search for life
A new class of exoplanet very different to our own, but which could support life, has been identified by astronomers, which could greatly accelerate the search for life outside our Solar System.
Unveiling a century-old mystery: Where the Milky Way’s cosmic rays come from
Astronomers have succeeded for the first time in quantifying the proton and electron components of cosmic rays in a supernova remnant.
Astronomers Uncover Briefest Supernova-Powered Gamma-Ray Burst
Astronomers have discovered the shortest-ever gamma-ray burst (GRB) caused by the implosion of a massive star. Using the international Gemini Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, astronomers identified the cause of this 0.6-second flurry of gamma rays as a supernova explosion in a distant galaxy. GRBs caused by supernovae are usually more than twice as long, which suggests that some short GRBs might actually be imposters — supernova-produced GRBs in disguise.
Spotted: An exoplanet with the potential to form moons
Cambridge, MA ¬- Astronomers at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian have helped detect the clear presence of a moon-forming region around an exoplanet — a planet outside of our Solar System. The new observations, published Thursday in…
InSight mission: Mars unveiled
Using information obtained from around a dozen earthquakes detected on Mars by the Very Broad Band SEIS seismometer, developed in France, the international team of NASA’s InSight mission has unveiled the internal structure of Mars. The three papers published on…
A large tidal stream observed in the Sombrero galaxy
According to the latest cosmological models, large spiral galaxies such as the Milky Way grew by absorbing smaller galaxies, by a sort of galactic cannibalism. Evidence for this is given by very large structures, the tidal stellar streams, which are…
New Method Predicts ‘Stealth’ Solar Storms Before They Wreak Geomagnetic Havoc on Earth
On 23 July 2012, humanity escaped technological and economic disaster. A diffuse cloud of magnetized plasma in the shape of a slinky toy tens of thousands of kilometers across was hurled from the Sun at a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second.
The origin of bifurcated current sheets explained
A Korean research team has identified the origin of bifurcated current sheets, considered one of the most unsolved mysteries in the Earth’s magnetosphere and in magnetized plasma physics. A POSTECH joint research team led by Professor Gunsu S. Yun of…
New method predicts ‘stealth’ solar storms before they wreak geomagnetic havoc on Earth
For the first time, stealth coronal mass ejections can be detected before they wreak havoc on Earth without the need for dedicated spacecraft
Long-period oscillations of the Sun discovered
Ten years of data from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory combined with numerical models reveal the deep low musical notes of the Sun.
From the Sun to the stars
A journey of exoplanet discovery begins as Penn State’s NEID spectrometer starts its scientific mission
NASA returns Hubble Space Telescope to science operations
NASA has returned the science instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope to operational status, and the collection of science data will now resume. This will be the first science data collected since the payload computer experienced a problem on June…
Cosmic rays help supernovae explosions pack a bigger punch
The final stage of cataclysmic explosions of dying massive stars, called supernovae, could pack an up to six times bigger punch on the surrounding interstellar gas with the help of cosmic rays, according to a new study led by researchers…
RAS launches new multi-disciplinary journal
The Royal Astronomical Society (RAS) is pleased to announce the launch of its first new journal in almost 100 years. Tentatively titled RAS Techniques and Instruments , it will cover topics in astronomy and geophysics ranging from instrumentation, data science,…
Tail without a comet: the dusty remains of Comet ATLAS
A serendipitous flythrough of the tail of a disintegrated comet has offered scientists a unique opportunity to study these remarkable structures, in new research presented today at the National Astronomy Meeting 2021. Comet ATLAS fragmented just before its closest approach…
Researchers Reveal Cause of Jupiter’s X-Ray Aurorae
An international research team led by YAO Zhonghua from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) has explained the cause of Jupiter’s X-ray aurorae, a mystery that has puzzled scientists for 40 years.
Researchers reveal cause of Jupiter’s x-ray aurorae
An international research team led by YAO Zhonghua from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IGGCAS) has explained the cause of Jupiter’s X-ray aurorae, a mystery that has puzzled scientists for 40 years. The…
National Astronomy Meeting 2021: Media invitation
Around 850 astronomers and space scientists will gather online from 19 – 23 July, for the Royal Astronomical Society National Astronomy Meeting 2021 (NAM 2021) hosted by the University of Bath. Postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the…
A star in a distant galaxy blew up in a powerful explosion, solving an astronomical mystery
Giant explosion in space illuminates thousand-year mystery
CUR Physics and Astronomy Division Announces 2021 Outstanding Research Mentor Awardee
The Physics and Astronomy Division of the Council on Undergraduate Research announces the 2021 recipient of its Outstanding Research Mentor award: Thomas Pannuti (Morehead State University).
Galactic gamma ray bursts predicted last year show up right on schedule
Sherlock Holmes story gives clue to successful prediction of bursts from nearby magnetar
New research suggests explosive volcanic activity on Venus
Traces of the gas phosphine point to volcanic activity on Venus, according to new research from Cornell University.
Haziness of exoplanet atmospheres depends on properties of aerosol particles
A laboratory study of haze particles produced under different conditions helps explain why some exoplanets may be obscured by hazy atmospheres
Danish student solves how the Universe is reflected near black holes
In the vicinity of black holes, space is so warped that even light rays may curve around them several times. This phenomenon may enable us to see multiple versions of the same thing. While this has been known for decades,…
NASA Lucy mission’s message to the future
In the 1970s four spacecraft began their one-way trips out of our Solar System. As the first human-built objects to ever venture into interstellar space, NASA chose to place plaques on Pioneer 10 and 11 and golden records on Voyager…
Scientists solve 40-year mystery over Jupiter’s X-ray aurora
A research team co-led by UCL has solved a decades-old mystery as to how Jupiter produces a spectacular burst of X-rays every few minutes.
New radio receiver opens wider window to radio universe
Researchers have used the latest wireless technology to develop a new radio receiver for astronomy. The receiver is capable of capturing radio waves at frequencies over a range several times wider than conventional ones, and can detect radio waves emitted…
LHAASO’s measurement of Crab Nebula brightness yields new UHE gamma-ray standard
The Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), one of China’s key national science and technology infrastructure facilities, has accurately measured the brightness over 3.5 orders of magnitude of the standard candle in high-energy astronomy, thus calibrating a new standard…
Small amount of lithium production in classical nova
A new study of lithium production in a classical nova found a production rate of only a couple of percent that seen in other examples. This shows that there is a large diversity within classical novae and implies that nova…
New type of massive explosion explains mystery star
‘Magneto-rotational hypernova’ soon after the Big Bang fuelled high levels of uranium, zinc in ancient stellar oddity
Satellite galaxies can carry on forming stars when they pass close to their parent galaxies
Historically most scientists thought that once a satellite galaxy has passed close by its higher mass parent galaxy its star formation would stop because the larger galaxy would remove the gas from it, leaving it shorn of the material it…
Kepler telescope glimpses population of free-floating planets
Tantalising evidence has been uncovered for a mysterious population of “free-floating” planets, planets that may be alone in deep space, unbound to any host star. The results include four new discoveries that are consistent with planets of similar masses to…
Astronomers discover an oversized black hole population in the star cluster Palomar 5
“The number of black holes is roughly three times larger than expected from the number of stars in the cluster, and it means that more than 20% of the total cluster mass is made up of black holes. They each…
Observation, simulation, and AI join forces to reveal a clear universe
Japanese astronomers have developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) technique to remove noise in astronomical data due to random variations in galaxy shapes. After extensive training and testing on large mock data created by supercomputer simulations, they then applied this…
Why does Mercury have such a big iron core? Magnetism!
New research from the University of Maryland shows that proximity to the sun’s magnetic field determines a planet’s interior composition
Physicists observationally confirm Hawking’s black hole theorem for the first time
There are certain rules that even the most extreme objects in the universe must obey. A central law for black holes predicts that the area of their event horizons — the boundary beyond which nothing can ever escape — should never shrink.
Closing the gap on the missing lithium
Researchers account for some of the lithium missing from our universe
‘There may not be a conflict after all’ in expanding universe debate
In a new review paper accepted to the Astrophysical Journal, Freedman gives an overview of the most recent observations. Her conclusion: the latest observations are beginning to close the gap. That is, there may not be a conflict after all, and our standard model of the universe does not need to be significantly modified.
Black holes swallow neutron stars like ‘Pac Man’
Scientists have for the first time detected black holes eating neutron stars, “like Pac Man”, in a discovery documenting the collision of the two most extreme and enigmatic objects in the Universe. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) in the…
Astronomers seek gravitational waves with renewed NSF grant
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has renewed a Physics Frontiers Center grant to the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) consortium, giving Cornell University astronomy researchers in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S), together with more than 200 collaborators around the world, five more years to seek gravitational waves.