Space

Apr 23rd, 2024 - The universe's early galaxies were less chaotic and developed much faster than previously thought, according to new research looking back more than ten billion years in time. An international team of astronomers led by Durham University, UK, has used the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to find evidence of bar formation when the universe was only a few billion years old. This latest research is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society . Bars are elongated ... [Read More]

Apr 23rd, 2024 - In celebration of the 34th anniversary of the launch of NASA's legendary Hubble Space Telescope on April 24, astronomers took a snapshot of the Little Dumbbell Nebula (also known as Messier 76, M76, or NGC 650/651) located 3,400 light-years away in the northern circumpolar constellation Perseus. The photogenic nebula is a favorite target of amateur astronomers. M76 is classified as a planetary nebula , an expanding shell of glowing gases that were ejected from a dying red giant star. The star ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - Using the James Webb Space Telescope ( JWST ), astronomers have made the surprising discovery of methane emissions coming from a brown dwarf, or "failed star." The find suggests that the brown dwarf features aurorae, and might even be orbited by an undiscovered exomoon, researchers said. The JWST brown dwarf discovery is surprising, because these cold and isolated worlds are not expected to be warm enough for methane to emit infrared light.  The findings came about as a result of a JWST ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - Astronomers have recently created a high-resolution map showcasing a colossal outflow of gas within the nearby galaxy NGC 4383. This galactic explosion is shedding light on the intricate processes that contribute to the chemical enrichment of intergalactic space and provides clues about the mechanisms that regulate galaxy evolution. Intergalactic enrichment Galaxies are vast, dynamic environments where stars act as cosmic factories, transforming simple elements into heavier ones throughout ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - TOPICS: What Is an Open Cluster? Open clusters are loosely bound groups of a few tens to a few hundred stars. They are found in spiral and irregular galaxies. Open clusters are significantly smaller and less densely populated than globular clusters . Open clusters may contain anything from a few dozen stars up to a few hundred stars. Open clusters have been observed with a range of ages — they may be made up of young stars or older stars. Owing to their open and diffuse structure, they ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - The Lyrid meteor shower is the first major meteor shower of the year – and it's set to treat us all to some fireballs tonight (if you're lucky). With a nearly-full Moon at the meteor shower's peak, conditions this year are sadly unfavourable. However, although the Perseid meteor shower (in mid-July to August) is the reigning champion at producing fireballs, the Lyrids also have tantalising potential for fireballs. It's one of the oldest-known meteor showers, with recorded observations ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - The recent discovery of a potential new class of distant and mysterious "free-floating" planets has intrigued astronomers since stunning new images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope were shared late last year. These candidate planets, known as Jupiter-mass Binary Objects (JuMBOs), seem to orbit one another as they float freely in space unbound to any star—which counters prevailing theories of how planetary systems were thought to work. Now, a new study by a team of ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - Can tidal forces cause an exoplanet's surface to radiate heat? This is what a recent study accepted to The Astronomical Journal hopes to address as a team of international researchers used data collected from ground-based instruments to confirm the existence of a second exoplanet residing within the exoplanetary system, HD 104067 , along with using NASA's Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) mission to identify an additional exoplanet candidate, as well. What's unique about this ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - TOPICS: Using AI and ALMA data, scientists create a groundbreaking 3D video of flares around our galaxy's central black hole , offering new insights into its dynamic environment. Scientists believe the environment immediately surrounding a black hole is tumultuous, featuring hot magnetized gas that spirals in a disk at tremendous speeds and temperatures. Astronomical observations show that within such a disk, mysterious flares occur up to several times a day, temporarily brightening and then ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - Dragonfly will push the boundaries of engineering and science as it explores Titan. NASA has formally approved the robotic Dragonfly mission for full development, committing to a revolutionary project to explore Saturn's largest moon with a quadcopter drone. Agency officials announced the outcome of Dragonfly's confirmation review last week. This review is a checkpoint in the lifetime of most NASA projects and marks the moment when the agency formally commits to the final design, construction, ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - Hubble's detailed image of the spiral galaxy ESO 422-41 highlights both its star-filled structure and historical significance in astronomical surveys. This Hubble Picture of the Week depicts the spiral galaxy ESO 422-41, which is located approximately 34 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Columba. The patchy, star-filled structure of the galaxy's spiral arms and the glow from its dense core are laid out in intricate detail here by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images of ... [Read More]

Apr 22nd, 2024 - For the first time in five months, NASA engineers have received decipherable data from Voyager 1 after crafting a creative solution to fix a communication problem aboard humanity's most distant spacecraft in the cosmos. Voyager 1 is currently about 15 billion miles away, and at 46 years old, the probe has shown multiple quirks and signs of aging in recent years. Related video above: Voyager 1, in March, responded to NASA's bid to fix communications The latest issue experienced by Voyager 1 ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2024 - TOPICS:   Imagery from the solar-powered spacecraft provides close-ups of intriguing features on the hellish Jovian moon. Scientists on NASA 's Juno mission to Jupiter have transformed data collected during two recent flybys of Io into animations that highlight two of the Jovian moon's most dramatic features: a mountain and an almost glass-smooth lake of cooling lava. Other recent science results from the solar-powered spacecraft include updates on Jupiter's polar cyclones and water ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2024 - An international team of astronomers has identified the most massive black hole known to exist within a binary star system in our Milky Way galaxy. This extraordinary black hole challenges current models of stellar evolution and sheds new light on the enigmatic nature of these cosmic behemoths. The enigma of black holes Black holes represent the final stage in the life cycle of the most massive stars in the universe. Imagine a star many times larger than our own Sun. When a monster star finally ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2024 - Worlds don't get much wilder than Jupiter 's moon Io. It packs more volcanism than any other body in the Solar System, in a sphere just a little larger than Earth's cold, dusty Moon. Its surface is riddled with volcanoes, some 400 of which are active at any given time. Io is an absolutely jaw-dropping place – and we just got a front-row seat to some of its strange, untameable landscapes. As NASA's Juno swooped in for two close flybys of the moon in December 2023 and February 2024, it took ... [Read More]

Apr 21st, 2024 - A new animation reveals an enormous lava lake on the surface of Jupiter's moon Io.  The close-up view comes from NASA's Juno spacecraft, which swept within 930 miles (1,500 kilometers) of the volcanic surface of Io in December 2023 and January 2024. These flybys provided the closest look ever at Jupiter's innermost large moon. Io hosts hundreds of active volcanoes . According to NASA , their eruptions are sometimes so powerful that they can be seen with telescopes on Earth.  The new ... [Read More]