Astronomers Identify Major Challenges for the Development of Life in TRAPPIST-1 System
Two separate teams of researchers have identified major challenges for the development of life in the TRAPPIST-1 system. The red dwarf star in this system…
astronomy
New Images from Juno’s Recent Flyby of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot
The JunoCam imager aboard NASA’s Juno Spacecraft captured new images of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot, revealing a tangle of dark, veinous clouds weaving their way…
Chandra Peers Into The Giant Molecular Cloud Known As W51
By studying the distribution of the X-rays and their properties in the giant molecular cloud known as W51, astronomers are trying to better understand the…
NASA’s SDO Watches a Sunspot That is Larger Than Earth
NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory observes a sunspot that is the first to appear after the sun was spotless for two days. The dark core of…
Closely Orbiting Stars May Make Planets Appear Smaller
New research reveals that two closely orbiting stars may appear in images as a single point of light, making planets appear less dense than previously…
Juno Spacecraft Completes Flyby of Jupiter and Its Great Red Spot
NASA’s Juno Spacecraft successfully completed a close flyby of Jupiter and its Great Red Spot on July 10, during its sixth science orbit. All of…
Astronomers Track Multiple Disk Gaps and Rings Generated by a Single Super-Earth
By combining two-fluid global hydrodynamics simulations with a radiative transfer code, astronomers from the University of Arizona track and investigate the observational signatures of super-Earths….
Supernova 1987A Reveals the Cold, Inner Regions of the Exploded Star’s Remnants
A team of researchers has discovered a rich inventory of molecules at the center of an exploded star for the very first time. Two previously…
Harvard Astronomers Examine Y-Type Brown Dwarfs
A newly published Harvard-Smithsonian study of the twenty-four known Y-dwarfs finds that the models for the coolest of them fail to explain the observed properties….
Hubble Space Telescope Views Spiral Galaxy NGC 2500
This Hubble image of the week shows spiral galaxy NGC 2500, which is located roughly 30 million light-years away. Discovered by British astronomer William Herschel…
Hubble Telescope Spots Clumps of New Stars in Distant Galaxy
By applying a new computational analysis to a galaxy magnified by a gravitational lens, scientists have obtained images 10 times sharper than what the Hubble…
Yale Astronomers Identify 60 New Hot Jupiter Candidates
A team of researchers from Yale University has identified 60 potential new “Hot Jupiters” — highly irradiated worlds that glow like coals on a barbecue…
NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Zooms-In On Epimetheus
This newly released zoomed-in view of Epimetheus is one of the highest resolution images ever taken of the inner satellite of Saturn. It shows a…
New Mysteries Surround Kuiper Belt Object 2014 MU69
The New Horizons Spacecraft won’t pass its next target until New Year’s Day 2019, but Kuiper Belt object 2014 MU69 is already revealing surprises. Scientists…
ESO Captures Face-On View of the Barred Spiral Galaxy Messier 77
This newly released face-on view of the barred spiral galaxy Messier 77 comes from ESO’s Very Large Telescope. The image does justice to the galaxy’s…
Radioactive Elements in Cas A Provide Glimpses into the Explosion of Massive Stars
Using elaborate computer simulations, researchers show how radioactive elements in gaseous supernova remnant Cassiopeia A can provide glimpses into the explosion of massive stars. Stars…
Astronomers Discover an Extremely Metal-Poor Star-Forming Galaxy in the Local Universe
Astronomers view a primitive galaxy that is about to be consumed by a gigantic neighboring galaxy. The discovery could provide clues about the early Universe….
Astronomers Spot “Indigestion” in Supermassive Black Hole
A new multi-wavelength study of a pair of colliding galaxies has revealed the cause of a supermassive black hole’s case of “indigestion.” The new research…